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Apache Kafka vs Qlik Talend Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 22, 2026

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
6.3
Apache Kafka users experience improved profitability, scalability, and efficiency, benefiting from cost-effectiveness and customization for timely decision-making.
Sentiment score
6.1
Qlik Talend Cloud enhances efficiency and data quality, automating processes to save time, reduce errors, and accelerate business decisions.
It has helped us save a lot of time by automating repetitive data processes and reducing manual interventions.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
We achieved around 20% to 30% time savings in the ETL process, reduced operational errors, and improved pipeline stability.
Data & Analytics Engineer at PicPay
We actually achieved the first 18 months worth of work in the first six months.
Enterprise Architect at Waikato Regional Council
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
Apache Kafka support is community-driven, supplemented by third-party services, with quick responses and extensive online resources available.
Sentiment score
7.1
Qlik Talend Cloud users praise responsive support but suggest expert involvement and documentation improvements; community and AI also assist.
The Apache community provides support for the open-source version.
Technology Leader at eTCaaS
There is plenty of community support available online.
With Microsoft, expectations are higher because we pay for a license and have a contract.
Senior Manager at Timestamp, SA
The support team is responsive when we raise issues, and they usually provide clear guidance or solutions.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
I would rate the technical support from Talend Data Quality as an 8 or 9.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The customer support for Talend Data Integration is very good; whenever I raise a ticket in the customer portal, I immediately receive an email, and follow-up communication is prompt.
Assistant Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Apache Kafka is favored for its impressive scalability, efficient data handling, and seamless integration with Kubernetes and distributed environments.
Sentiment score
6.8
Qlik Talend Cloud efficiently scales with resources, but performance varies; infrastructure management ensures adaptability and dynamic scaling.
Customers have not faced issues with user growth or data streaming needs.
Technology Leader at eTCaaS
Apache Kafka is highly scalable and supports horizontal scaling by allowing you to add more brokers to the cluster and increase the number of partitions for a topic.
Senior Engineer at Airy Software Technologies Private Limited
I need to enable my solution with high availability and scalability.
Data Architect at Ascendion
By using features like job parallelization and modular design, we can expand our data flows without having to rebuild everything.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Its scalability is good, as Qlik Talend Cloud can handle large amounts of data and grow as needed, especially in cloud environments.
Data & Analytics Engineer at PicPay
We've set up alerts, so if we have an increasing volume and so on, it's up to us to increase CPU, increase RAM, and all those details.
Software Development Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Apache Kafka is stable and reliable, though proper configuration is crucial; users experience few stability issues despite evolving APIs.
Sentiment score
7.1
Qlik Talend Cloud is stable with an 8/10 rating, but requires correct configuration and faces minor issues.
Apache Kafka is stable.
Technology Leader at eTCaaS
This feature of Apache Kafka has helped enhance our system stability when handling high volume data.
DevOps Engineer
Apache Kafka is more stable and is very good technology for asynchronous programming.
Senior Engineer at Airy Software Technologies Private Limited
We have not encountered many issues with remote engines, and the interfaces are properly developed.
Consultant en intelligence décisionnelle at VO2 Group
Once the jobs are properly designed and deployed, they run reliably without major issues.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
It was not as stable when we were using TAC and on-premise systems, but currently, with Qlik Talend Cloud version 8.3 or 8.1, it is stable.
Data Engineer at HCLSoftware
 

Room For Improvement

Users desire enhancements in Kafka's operational complexity, scalability, monitoring, debugging, and management tools for better user experience.
Qlik Talend Cloud needs improved speed, governance, AI, real-time processing, connectors, documentation, and monitoring for enhanced usability and support.
Operating an Apache Kafka cluster requires expertise in partitioning, application monitoring, and capacity planning.
Senior Engineer at Airy Software Technologies Private Limited
The performance angle is critical, and while it works in milliseconds, the goal is to move towards microseconds.
Technology Leader at eTCaaS
Apache Kafka groups could introduce themes or profiles of configuration to help manage this complexity without needing expertise.
Senior Principal Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
On the flip side, that is one of its amazing strengths, as you are not locked into a very rigid way of doing something.
Enterprise Architect at Waikato Regional Council
Better cost and resource visibility would help teams optimize their workloads.
Data & Analytics Engineer at PicPay
It would be great to have more ready-to-use connectors for modern cloud and SaaS platforms.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Setup Cost

Enterprises favor Apache Kafka for its free open-source model, despite potential costs from managed services and infrastructure.
Qlik Talend Cloud is cost-effective with flexible pricing, though add-ons and global pricing variations impact affordability.
From a price perspective, if you are asking about Apache Kafka, I would rate it a nine.
Senior Principal Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
The open-source version of Apache Kafka results in minimal costs, mainly linked to accessing documentation and limited support.
Technology Leader at eTCaaS
Apache Kafka itself is open source and free to use.
Senior Engineer at Airy Software Technologies Private Limited
The setup cost is very expensive.
Software Development Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
My experience with Talend Data Integration's pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is a bit higher compared to other tools, making it not very affordable.
Assistant Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The license cost has increased significantly, leading many companies to seek more profitable options in the market.
ETL developer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Apache Kafka excels in real-time processing, scalability, and integration, offering robust support for high-volume, event-driven architectures.
Qlik Talend Cloud excels in open-source ETL, seamless data integration, user-friendly interfaces, and scalable, efficient, collaborative data management.
Apache Kafka is effective when dealing with large volumes of data flowing at high speeds, requiring real-time processing.
Apache Kafka is particularly valuable for managing high levels of transactions.
Senior Manager at Timestamp, SA
The best features include high throughput with low latency and support for horizontal scaling.
Senior Engineer at Airy Software Technologies Private Limited
By automating daily data loading processes, we reduced manual effort by around three or four hours per day, which saved roughly 60 to 80 hours per month.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
We perform profiling prior to data quality and post-data quality, and based on that, we determine how much it has improved to measure the efficiency of Talend Data Quality cleaning tools.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The feature that has made the biggest difference for me in Qlik Talend Cloud is the scheduling and automation, which helps me run ETL jobs automatically without manual work.
Data & Analytics Engineer at PicPay
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Kafka
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Qlik Talend Cloud
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (7th), Data Quality (2nd), Data Scrubbing Software (1st), Master Data Management (MDM) Software (3rd), Cloud Data Integration (6th), Data Governance (9th), Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) (3rd), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Streaming Analytics category, the mindshare of Apache Kafka is 3.8%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qlik Talend Cloud is 3.2%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Streaming Analytics Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Apache Kafka3.8%
Qlik Talend Cloud3.2%
Other93.0%
Streaming Analytics
 

Q&A Highlights

RS
Solution Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Sep 09, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

Amandeep Pawar - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Engineer at Airy Software Technologies Private Limited
Event-driven architecture has improved asynchronous communication and supports high throughput
We can improve the high throughput because there are some limitations. We could add something to improve Apache Kafka. Based on my daily usage and analysis, there is a complex setup and management, which is one area requiring improvement. Apache Kafka does not have built-in message delay or scheduling capabilities. Apache Kafka cannot natively schedule messages. Limited message prioritization is also an area requiring improvement. Ordering is limited to a single partition. Large messages affect performance. Apache Kafka is optimized for many small to medium-sized messages, but large payloads increase network usage, increase disk usage, and slow down producers and consumers. I rate Apache Kafka eight out of ten instead of ten out of ten because operating an Apache Kafka cluster requires expertise in partitioning, application monitoring, and capacity planning. Self-managed deployment can become complex as the cluster grows. Pro-managed Apache Kafka services significantly reduce the operational overhead.
HJ
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Has automated recurring data flows and improved accuracy in reporting
The best features of Talend Data Integration are its rich set of components that let you connect to almost any data design intuitive and its strong automation and scheduling capabilities. The TMap component is especially valuable because it allows flexible transformation, joins, and filtering in a single place. I also rely a lot on context variables to manage different environments like Dev, Test, and production, without changing the code. The error handling and logging tools are very helpful for monitoring and troubleshooting, which makes the workflow more reliable. Talend Data Integration has helped our company by automating and standardizing data processes. Before, many of these tasks were done manually, which took more time and often led to errors. With Talend Data Integration, we built automated pipelines that extract, clean, and load data consistently. This not only saves hours of manual effort, but also improves the accuracy and reliability of data. As a result, business teams had faster access to trustworthy information for reporting and decision making, which directly improved efficiency and productivity. Talend Data Integration has had a measurable impact on our organization. By automating daily data loading processes, we reduced manual effort by around three or four hours per day, which saved roughly 60 to 80 hours per month. We also improved data accuracy. Error rates dropped by more than 70% because validation rules were built into the jobs. In addition, reporting teams now receive fresh data at least 50% faster, which means they can make decisions earlier and with more confidence. Overall, Talend Data Integration has increased both efficiency and reliability in our data workflows.
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Answers from the Community

RS
Solution Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Sep 9, 2021
Sep 9, 2021
There are two products I know about * TimeXtender : Microsoft based, Transformation logic is quiet good and can easily be extended with T-SQL , Has a semantic layer that generates metat data for cubes . price approx 40K$, works with tables . Attunity (Bought by Qlik) : technology agnostic , nice web interface , expensive > 100K€. Works with transaction logs There are many other pure ETL ...
2 out of 12 answers
SS
CEO / Owner with 51-200 employees
Apr 6, 2020
We usually use Talend. Look here: https://community.talend.com/t5/Design-and-Development/The-way-from-OLTP-to-OLAP/td-p/116719
RS
Solution Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Apr 7, 2020
Thanks Stefan !!! May I know if Talend is opensource /free ? It is available in all 3 editions - basic , standard end enterprise? it is capable to read data from all heterogeneous system like various types of data bases and files etc..?
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise51
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise20
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Kafka?
From the AWS perspective, the price is on the higher side. However, if you go for Apache Kafka, it is low. From a price perspective, if you are asking about Apache Kafka, I would rate it a nine.
What needs improvement with Apache Kafka?
Apache Kafka is abundant with features which only an expert-level person will be able to manage due to the high volume and high concurrent expectations. Apache Kafka groups could introduce themes o...
What needs improvement with Talend Data Quality?
I don't use the automated rule management feature in Talend Data Quality that much, so I cannot provide much feedback. I may not know what Talend Data Quality can improve for data quality. I'm not ...
What is your primary use case for Talend Data Quality?
It is for consistency, mainly; data consistency and data quality are our main use cases for the product. Data consistency is the primary purpose we use it for, as we have written rules in Talend Da...
What advice do you have for others considering Talend Data Quality?
Currently, I'm working with batch jobs and don't perform real-time data quality monitoring because of the large data volume. For real-time, we use a different product. I cannot provide details abou...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Talend Data Quality, Talend Data Management Platform, Talend MDM Platform, Talend Data Streams, Talend Data Integration, Talend Data Integrity and Data Governance
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
Aliaxis, Electrocomponents, M¾NCHENER VEREIN, The Sunset Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Kafka vs. Qlik Talend Cloud and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.