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Apache Kafka vs TIBCO Streaming comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 25, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Apache Kafka
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
TIBCO Streaming
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
26th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
CEP (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Streaming Analytics category, the mindshare of Apache Kafka is 3.7%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TIBCO Streaming is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Streaming Analytics Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Kafka3.7%
TIBCO Streaming0.7%
Other95.6%
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…
MK
Good stability and scalability with the capability to combine with Spotfire
The ability for StreamBase to combine with Spotfire is its most valuable aspect. The ability to handle data in motion and the entirety of data at the same time is very good. If you don't integrate the two together it's just a monitoring tool, but if they're combined together it becomes a powerful analytical tool. When you can combine live data from streaming data sources with standing data from the customer's primary database then you can calculate some KPIs or thresholds based on the previous information. We can do data science, machine learning methods or just clever queries. You can view all this online. If a KPI hits a redline, you can send alerts, which is the solution's most functional feature.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It seemed pretty stable and didn't have any issues at all."
"The most valuable feature of Kafka is the Kafka Streams client."
"The solution is very easy to set up."
"It's very easy to keep to install and it's pretty stable."
"Ease of use."
"I like Kafka's flexibility, stability, reliability, and robustness."
"This is a system for email and other small devices. There has been a relay of transactions continuously over the last two years it has been in production."
"Its availability is brilliant."
"The ability for StreamBase to combine with Spotfire is its most valuable aspect. The ability to handle data in motion and the entirety of data at the same time is very good. If you don't integrate the two together it's just a monitoring tool, but if they're combined together it becomes a powerful analytical tool."
 

Cons

"I suggest using cloud services because the solution is expensive if you are using it on-premises."
"The solution can improve by having automation for developers. We have done many manual calculations and it has been difficult but if it was automated it would be much better."
"I would like to see an improvement in authentication management."
"For personal preferences, since we use Managed Kafka in AWS, I would appreciate having some kind of UI integrated into Apache Kafka for connecting to it because using code to connect it is basic, but we can use a UI."
"The support on Apache Kafka could be improved."
"Apache Kafka can improve by providing a UI for monitoring. There are third-party tools that can do it, but it would be nice if it was already embedded within Apache Kafka."
"The ability to connect the producers and consumers must be improved."
"More adapters for connecting to different systems need to be available."
"The solution should be more user-friendly for developers. Right now, you need a strong programmer to tune the solution. It's complicated product. I'm not sure if it can be done via self-service with BI. Because I'm from BI, I want more simplicity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are using the free version of Apache Kafka."
"It's quite affordable considering the value it provides."
"It's a bit cheaper compared to other Q applications."
"The price of the solution is low."
"Apache Kafka is an open-source solution and there are no fees, but there are fees associated with confluence, which are based on subscription."
"I would not subscribe to the Confluent platform, but rather stay on the free open source version. The extra cost wasn't justified."
"Running a Kafka cluster can be expensive, especially if you need to scale it up to handle large amounts of data."
"Kafka is more reasonably priced than IBM MQ."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
24%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Performing Arts
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise47
No data available
 

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.
Ask a question
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Also Known As

No data available
TIBCO Streambase CEP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
Blendtec, Brembo, CargoSmart, Hunt Oil, Autodata, Bank of Montreal
Find out what your peers are saying about Databricks, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Confluent and others in Streaming Analytics. Updated: September 2025.
868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.