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Apache Spark Streaming vs Azure Stream Analytics 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Spark Streaming
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
10th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Azure Stream Analytics
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Streaming Analytics category, the mindshare of Apache Spark Streaming is 4.6%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Stream Analytics is 6.8%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Streaming Analytics Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Azure Stream Analytics6.8%
Apache Spark Streaming4.6%
Other88.6%
Streaming Analytics
 

Featured Reviews

Himansu Jena - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Project Manager at Raj Subhatech
Efficient real-time data management and analysis with advanced features
There are various ways we can improve Apache Spark Streaming through best practices. The initial part requires attention to batch interval tuning, which helps small intervals in micro batches based on latency requirements and helps prevent back pressure. We can use data formats such as Parquet or ORC for storage that needs faster reads and leveraging feature predicate push-down optimizations. We can implement serialization which helps with any Kyro in terms of .NET or Java. We have boxing and unboxing serialization for XML and JSON for converting key-pair values stored in browser. We can also implement caching mechanisms for storing and recomputing multiple operations. We can use specified joins which help with smaller databases, and distributed joins can minimize users. We can implement project optimization memory for CPU efficiency, known as Tungsten. Additionally, load balancing, checkpointing, and schema evaluation are areas to consider based on performance and bottlenecks. We can use Bugzilla tools for tracking and Splunk to monitor the performance of process systems, utilization, and performance based on data frames or data sets.
Chandra Mani - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical architect at Tech Mahindra
Has supported real-time data validation and processing across multiple use cases but can improve consumer-side integration and streamlined customization
I widely use AKS, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure App Service, and there are APM Gateway kinds of things. I also utilize API Management and Front Door to expose any multi-region application I have, including Web Application Firewalls, and many more—around 20 to 60 services. I use Key Vault for managing secrets and monitoring Azure App Insights for tracing and monitoring. Additionally, I employ AI search for indexer purposes, processing chatbot data or any GenAI integration. I widely use OpenAI for GenAI, integrating various models with our platform. I extensively use hybrid cloud solutions to connect on-premise cloud or cloud to another network, employing public private endpoints or private link service endpoints. Azure DevOps is also on my list, and I leverage many security concepts for end-to-end design. I consider how end users access applications to data storage and secure the entire platform for authenticated users across various use cases, including B2C, B2B, or employee scenarios. I also widely design multi-tenant applications, utilizing Azure AD or Azure AD B2C for consumers. Azure Stream Analytics reads from any real-time stream; it's designed for processing millions of records every millisecond. They utilize Event Hubs for this purpose, as it allows for event processing. After receiving data from various sources, we validate and store it in a data store. Azure Stream Analytics can consume data from Event Hubs, applying basic validation rules to determine the validity of each record before processing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The platform’s most valuable feature for processing real-time data is its ability to handle continuous data streams."
"Apache Spark Streaming is versatile. You can use it for competitive intelligence, gathering data from competitors, or for internal tasks like monitoring workflows."
"Spark Streaming is critical, quite stable, full-featured, and scalable."
"With Apache Spark Streaming, you can have multiple kinds of windows; depending on your use case, you can select either a tumbling window, a sliding window, or a static window to determine how much data you want to process at a single point of time."
"The main benefits of Apache Spark Streaming include cost savings, time savings, and efficiency improvements about data storage."
"The solution is very stable and reliable."
"Apache Spark's capabilities for machine learning are quite extensive and can be used in a low-code way."
"For Apache Spark Streaming, the feature I appreciated most is that it provides live data delivery; additionally, it provides the capability to send a larger amount of data in parallel."
"The support on critical issues depends on the level of subscription that you have with Microsoft itself; their support is very excellent, they understand the case immediately, they start to propose solutions and give you help, and if needed, they can work with you and you can connect with them just to explain more."
"Since implementing Azure, we have been able to monitor things very easily."
"I appreciate this solution because it leverages open-source technologies. It allows us to utilize the latest streaming solutions and it's easy to develop."
"The solution has a lot of functionality that can be pushed out to companies."
"The integrations for this solution are easy to use and there is flexibility in integrating the tool with Azure Stream Analytics."
"I like all the connected ecosystems of Microsoft, it is really good with other BI tools that are easy to connect."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its ability to create a query using SQ."
"The most valuable features of Azure Stream Analytics are the ease of provisioning and the interface is not terribly complex."
 

Cons

"The downside is when you have this the other way around in the columns, it becomes really hard to use."
"Monitoring is an area where they could definitely improve Apache Spark Streaming. When you have a streaming application, it generates numerous logs. After some time, the logs become meaningless because they're quite large and impossible to open."
"When dealing with various data types including COBOL, Excel, JSON, video, audio, and MPG files, challenges can arise with incomplete or missing values."
"The cost and load-related optimizations are areas where the tool lacks and needs improvement."
"The debugging aspect could use some improvement."
"The solution itself could be easier to use."
"The initial setup is quite complex."
"There could be an improvement in the area of the user configuration section, it should be less developer-focused and more business user-focused."
"The only challenge was that the streaming analytics area in Azure Stream Analytics could not meet our company's expectations, making it a component where improvements are required."
"Regarding technical support for Azure Stream Analytics, it's not good."
"Sometimes when we connect Power BI, there is a delay or it throws up some errors, so we're not sure."
"The solution's interface could be simpler to understand for non-technical people."
"I would like to have a contact individual at Microsoft."
"The pricing is a little bit high."
"We tried to buy something for the desktop level. We also have systems like anti-virus, anti-malware, but these are all systems which only partly cover the threats which are now mainstream."
"We had some issues with the jobs not behaving properly. They promise a lot, however, sometimes that doesn't happen and we realized that later."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"People pay for Apache Spark Streaming as a service."
"Spark is an affordable solution, especially considering its open-source nature."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive, or not cost-effective, and ten is cheap, I rate the price a seven."
"I was using the open-source community version, which was self-hosted."
"The current price is substantial."
"The cost of this solution is less than competitors such as Amazon or Google Cloud."
"Azure Stream Analytics is a little bit expensive."
"We pay approximately $500,000 a year. It's approximately $10,000 a year per license."
"When scaling up, the pricing for Azure Stream Analytics can get relatively high. Considering its capabilities compared to other solutions, I would rate it a seven out of ten for cost. However, we've found ways to optimize costs using tools like Databricks for specific tasks."
"The product's price is at par with the other solutions provided by the other cloud service providers in the market."
"The licensing for this product is payable on a 'pay as you go' basis. This means that the cost is only based on data volume, and the frequency that the solution is used."
"There are different tiers based on retention policies. There are four tiers. The pricing varies based on steaming units and tiers. The standard pricing is $10/hour."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Apache Spark Streaming?
One of the improvements we need is in Spark SQL and the machine learning library. I don't think there is too much to work on, but the issue is when we want to use machine learning, we always need t...
What is your primary use case for Apache Spark Streaming?
We work with Apache Spark Streaming for our project because we use that as one of the landing data sources, and we work with it to ensure we can get all of the data before it goes through our data ...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache Spark Streaming?
One thing I would share with other organizations considering Apache Spark Streaming is the necessity of having effective data storage. We want to ensure we acquire and manage our data storage effec...
Which would you choose - Databricks or Azure Stream Analytics?
Databricks is an easy-to-set-up and versatile tool for data management, analysis, and business analytics. For analytics teams that have to interpret data to further the business goals of their orga...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Stream Analytics?
Azure charges in various ways based on incoming and outgoing data processing activities. Choosing between pay-as-you-go or enterprise models can affect pricing, and depending on data volume, charge...
What needs improvement with Azure Stream Analytics?
There is a need for improvement in reprocessing or validation without custom code. Azure Stream Analytics currently allows some degree of code writing, which could be simplified with low-code or no...
 

Also Known As

Spark Streaming
ASA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

UC Berkeley AMPLab, Amazon, Alibaba Taobao, Kenshoo, eBay Inc.
Rockwell Automation, Milliman, Honeywell Building Solutions, Arcoflex Automation Solutions, Real Madrid C.F., Aerocrine, Ziosk, Tacoma Public Schools, P97 Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Spark Streaming vs. Azure Stream Analytics and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.