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Apache Spark vs npm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Ranking in Java Frameworks
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
Hadoop (1st), Compute Service (6th)
npm
Ranking in Java Frameworks
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Java Frameworks category, the mindshare of Apache Spark is 11.2%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of npm is 2.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Java Frameworks Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Apache Spark11.2%
npm2.3%
Other86.5%
Java Frameworks
 

Featured Reviews

Devindra Weerasooriya - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Architect at Devtech
Provides a consistent framework for building data integration and access solutions with reliable performance
The in-memory computation feature is certainly helpful for my processing tasks. It is helpful because while using structures that could be held in memory rather than stored during the period of computation, I go for the in-memory option, though there are limitations related to holding it in memory that need to be addressed, but I have a preference for in-memory computation. The solution is beneficial in that it provides a base-level long-held understanding of the framework that is not variant day by day, which is very helpful in my prototyping activity as an architect trying to assess Apache Spark, Great Expectations, and Vault-based solutions versus those proposed by clients like TIBCO or Informatica.
Harsh Dabas - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior QA Automation Engineer at LogMeIn, Inc.
Automation has boosted test coverage and now supports reliable CI workflows
BrowserStack is able to solve every issue which we have been facing, so I would rate it as a 10 out of 10 in terms of my experience. Regarding pricing, I think the organization takes care of that. I am not really aware of the pricing of this, but I have made some personal projects as well in which I use GitHub Actions for free. We can push our code as well. As of now, I am using the free version for my personal use. For the organization, I think the organization is taking care of the same, so we do not need to bother about it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Apache Spark is a framework, which allows one organization to perform business and data analytics, at a very low cost, as compared to Ab-Initio or Informatica."
"Spark helps us reduce startup time for our customers and gives a very high ROI in the medium term."
"DataFrame: Spark SQL gives the leverage to create applications more easily and with less coding effort."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its capacity for processing large amounts of data."
"As it uses in-memory data processing, Spark is very fast."
"We are using Apache Spark, for large volume interactive data analysis."
"The fault tolerant feature is provided."
"It is useful for handling large amounts of data. It is very useful for scientific purposes."
"It's an open-source setting that's very scalable and easily approachable. I like that you can plug in many features to my product."
"The solution is scalable, and approximately ten users are utilizing this solution in our organization."
"The solution is scalable."
"BrowserStack is able to solve every issue which we have been facing, so I would rate it as a 10 out of 10 in terms of my experience."
"The most valuable feature of NPM is to trigger APMs."
"There are a lot of features that are very fast in npm, even though it was developed 10 or 12 years back."
"The reversal build, gendered build, migrated PCA, and CT features are excellent."
"The product's most valuable feature is dependency installation."
 

Cons

"I would like to see integration with data science platforms to optimize the processing capability for these tasks."
"Include more machine learning algorithms and the ability to handle streaming of data versus micro batch processing."
"The Spark solution could improve in scheduling tasks and managing dependencies."
"From my perspective, the only thing that needs improvement is the interface, as it was not easily understandable."
"Spark could be improved by adding support for other open-source storage layers than Delta Lake."
"There could be enhancements in optimization techniques, as there are some limitations in this area that could be addressed to further refine Spark's performance."
"Apache Spark lacks geospatial data."
"They currently use a JDK version which is a little bit old. Not all features are on it."
"I would like to see compatible versions, and what new features they will be providing."
"NPM can improve the package manager."
"Some of the libraries that we try to use in npm have issues with security."
"The product should be compatible with various programming languages, including both native and upcoming languages."
"Some of the libraries that we try to use in npm have issues with security. Also, because it's an open-source solution, I think there are lots of challenges with security. So, the security layer could be improved."
"The product can be improved by updating the libraries. Previously, libraries were missing, and we had difficulty building them."
"The only room for improvement for npm is their audit capabilities; otherwise, I am satisfied with the solution."
"NPM can improve the package manager. For the packages we download for our APM studio to trigger our APM driver, it would benefit if we could have the latest version of NuGet Package Manager within the package manager control. For example, Visual Studio would be good. Then it would be easy for us to get the package manager from there instead of Googling it out and matching it with the current version. It would be less time-consuming for us."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Considering the product version used in my company, I feel that the tool is not costly since the product is available for free."
"It is an open-source platform. We do not pay for its subscription."
"Apache Spark is open-source. You have to pay only when you use any bundled product, such as Cloudera."
"The tool is an open-source product. If you're using the open-source Apache Spark, no fees are involved at any time. Charges only come into play when using it with other services like Databricks."
"They provide an open-source license for the on-premise version."
"Apache Spark is not too cheap. You have to pay for hardware and Cloudera licenses. Of course, there is a solution with open source without Cloudera."
"Spark is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs."
"We are using the free version of the solution."
"The licensing cost is around one hundred and fifty dollars on a quarterly basis."
"We use the open-source version, so it is free."
"NPM is an open-source solution."
"It's an open-source solution, and there are no hidden fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Spark?
Apache Spark is open-source, so it doesn't incur any charges.
What needs improvement with Apache Spark?
I find that there really lacks the technical depth to do any recommendations for future updates of Apache Spark. I used it for two years for our prototype work and testing things, but because I had...
What is your primary use case for Apache Spark?
I attempted to use Apache Spark in one of our customer projects, but after the initial test, our customer moved to another technology and another database system. I do not have any final remarks on...
What needs improvement with NPM?
Audit capabilities should be improved. Regarding npm, I think that's all I remember for anything else I would like to add or improve. The only room for improvement for npm is their audit capabiliti...
What is your primary use case for NPM?
I have experience in both GitHub and JMeter. I used JMeter in the earlier phase of my career for performance testing for around two to three years, and with GitHub, I have been using it almost ever...
What advice do you have for others considering NPM?
I can talk about BrowserStack regarding the features I find most valuable in LambdaTest. npm is a 10 out of 10 for me. I am currently working as a Senior QA Automation Engineer for Cosm. My overall...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NASA JPL, UC Berkeley AMPLab, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, UC Santa Cruz, TripAdvisor, Taboola, Agile Lab, Art.com, Baidu, Alibaba Taobao, EURECOM, Hitachi Solutions
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Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Spark vs. npm and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.