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Apache Kafka vs Google Cloud Dataflow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Apache Kafka offers substantial returns, especially in high-value applications, with enhanced data buffering, cost savings, and ease of use.
Sentiment score
7.2
Google Cloud Dataflow offers substantial cost savings and efficiencies, with organizations experiencing 70% time savings and clear financial benefits.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.8
Apache Kafka's support is community-driven, with varying user experiences and enhanced options available through paid subscriptions and consultants.
Sentiment score
7.9
Google Cloud Dataflow customer support experiences vary from slow to effective, with proactive updates and dedicated managers enhancing service.
There is plenty of community support available online.
The Apache community provides support for the open-source version.
Google's support team is good at resolving issues, especially with large data.
The fact that no interaction is needed shows their great support since I don't face issues.
Whenever we have issues, we can consult with Google.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Apache Kafka is praised for its robust scalability, efficiently handling high data throughput, with some challenges in cluster management.
Sentiment score
7.3
Google Cloud Dataflow is highly rated for scalability, handling large data loads seamlessly and offering dynamic resource optimization.
Customers have not faced issues with user growth or data streaming needs.
Google Cloud Dataflow has auto-scaling capabilities, allowing me to add different machine types based on pace and requirements.
Google Cloud Dataflow can handle large data processing for real-time streaming workloads as they grow, making it a good fit for our business.
As a team lead, I'm responsible for handling five to six applications, but Google Cloud Dataflow seems to handle our use case effectively.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Apache Kafka is stable and performs well with high data volumes, though some configurations may affect its reliability.
Sentiment score
8.2
Google Cloud Dataflow is reliable and stable, with automatic scaling and minor errors in complex, long-running tasks.
Partitioning helps us distribute all the messages that we receive between all partitions, which helps us to be stable.
Apache Kafka is stable.
I have not encountered any issues with the performance of Dataflow, as it is stable and backed by Google services.
The job we built has not failed once over six to seven months.
The automatic scaling feature helps maintain stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Enhancing Kafka involves user-friendly UI, improved monitoring, reduced ZooKeeper dependency, better documentation, flexibility, and integration with other platforms.
Google Cloud Dataflow improves integrations, but faces challenges in SDK features, support, authentication, cost, and scalability.
The performance angle is critical, and while it works in milliseconds, the goal is to move towards microseconds.
We are always trying to find the best configs, which is a challenge.
A more user-friendly interface and better management consoles with improved documentation could be beneficial.
Outside of Google Cloud Platform, it is problematic for others to use it and may require promotion as an actual technology.
I would like to see improvements in consistency and flexibility for schema design for NoSQL data stored in wide columns.
Dealing with a huge volume of data causes failure due to array size.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Kafka is free to use, but costs vary for managed services and enterprise solutions, potentially exceeding 100,000 euros annually.
Google Cloud Dataflow is cost-effective and competitive, with expenses aligned to usage, often cheaper than AWS.
The open-source version of Apache Kafka results in minimal costs, mainly linked to accessing documentation and limited support.
Its pricing is reasonable.
It is part of a package received from Google, and they are not charging us too high.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Kafka excels in scalability, real-time streaming, and flexibility, ideal for large data volumes and event-driven architectures.
Google Cloud Dataflow offers seamless integration, flexibility, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and powerful event stream processing for real-time insights.
Apache Kafka is effective when dealing with large volumes of data flowing at high speeds, requiring real-time processing.
The impact of Apache Kafka's scalability features on my organization and data processing capabilities depends on how many messages each company wants to receive.
It allows the use of data in motion, allowing data to propagate from one source to another while it is in motion.
It supports multiple programming languages such as Java and Python, enabling flexibility without the need to learn something new.
The integration within Google Cloud Platform is very good.
Google Cloud Dataflow's features for event stream processing allow us to gain various insights like detecting real-time alerts.
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Kafka
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Google Cloud Dataflow
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Streaming Analytics category, the mindshare of Apache Kafka is 3.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Dataflow is 6.8%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Streaming Analytics
 

Featured Reviews

Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Data streaming transforms real-time data movement with impressive scalability
I worked with Apache Kafka for customers in the financial industry and OTT platforms. They use Kafka particularly for data streaming. Companies offering movie and entertainment as a service, similar to Netflix, use Kafka Apache Kafka offers unique data streaming. It allows the use of data in…
Jana Polianskaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Build Scalable Data Pipelines with Apache Beam and Google Cloud Dataflow
As a data engineer, I find several features of Google Cloud Dataflow particularly valuable. The ability to test solutions locally using Direct Runner is crucial for development, allowing me to validate pipelines without incurring the costs of full Dataflow jobs. The unified programming model for both batch and streaming processing is exceptional - requiring only minor code adjustments to optimize for either mode. This flexibility extends to language support, with robust implementations in both Java and Python, allowing teams to leverage their existing expertise. The platform's comprehensive monitoring capabilities are another standout feature. The intuitive interface, Grafana integration, and extensive service connectivity make troubleshooting and performance tracking highly efficient. Furthermore, seamless integration with Google Cloud Composer (managed Airflow) enables sophisticated orchestration of data pipelines.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Retailer
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are the differences between Apache Kafka and IBM MQ?
Apache Kafka is open source and can be used for free. It has very good log management and has a way to store the data used for analytics. Apache Kafka is very good if you have a high number of user...
What do you like most about Apache Kafka?
Apache Kafka is an open-source solution that can be used for messaging or event processing.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Kafka?
Its pricing is reasonable. It's not always about cost, but about meeting specific needs.
What do you like most about Google Cloud Dataflow?
The product's installation process is easy...The tool's maintenance part is somewhat easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Dataflow?
Pricing is normal. It is part of a package received from Google, and they are not charging us too high.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Dataflow?
I am not sure, as we built only one job, and it is running on a daily basis. Everything else is managed using BigQuery schedulers and Talend. However, occasionally, dealing with a huge volume of da...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Google Dataflow
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
Absolutdata, Backflip Studios, Bluecore, Claritics, Crystalloids, Energyworx, GenieConnect, Leanplum, Nomanini, Redbus, Streak, TabTale
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Kafka vs. Google Cloud Dataflow and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,585 professionals have used our research since 2012.