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Head-to-head · Event Streaming Platforms

Confluent Cloud vs RisingWave

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score Confluent Cloud #2 in Event Streaming Platforms 9.2/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 2 of 2 features Try Confluent Cloud
RisingWave #13 in Event Streaming Platforms 8.0/10 7-day trial Free trial✓ 2 of 2 features Visit RisingWave

Confluent Cloud leads on 2 checks, RisingWave on 0, and 2 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreConfluent Cloud · 9.2/10
  • Free planonly Confluent Cloud
  • Free trialboth

Confluent Cloud scores higher on our rubric for event streaming platforms: 9.2 against 8.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #13.

Confluent Cloud offers free plan; RisingWave doesn't. On deployment model, RisingWave gives you Hybrid where Confluent Cloud offers Cloud. On delivery guarantee, Confluent Cloud gives you Both where RisingWave offers Exactly-once. Confluent Cloud leads on connectors listed: 80 connectors versus 31 connectors.

Confluent Cloud is the better fit for enterprises needing governed managed Kafka. RisingWave is the better fit for teams focused on SQL stream processing.

  • Confluent Cloud fits best

    Enterprises needing governed managed Kafka

  • RisingWave fits best

    Teams focused on SQL stream processing

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Confluent Cloud 9.2/10 Visit ↗ RisingWave 8.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.2 8.0
Ranking #2 in Event Streaming Platforms #13 in Event Streaming Platforms
Best for Enterprises needing governed managed Kafka Teams focused on SQL stream processing
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $385/mo $0.23/unit usage-based
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial 30 days 7 days
Free trial length 30 days · card required 7 days
Deployment Cloud Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Web, Linux
Support Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7 Email, Community, Docs
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI DSS, SSO/SAML SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA
Integrations 150+ integrations 31+ integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Confluent Cloud 2/2 · RisingWave 2/2
Stream processing ✓ ✓
Schema registry ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Cloud Hybrid
Maximum retention Not checked yet Not checked yet
Delivery guarantee Both Exactly-once
Connectors listed 80 connectors (best) 31 connectors
Supported client languages Java, Python, Go, JavaScript, .NET, C/C++ Python, Java, Node.js
Our review
Pros
  • Fully managed Kafka with autoscaling and 80+ connectors
  • Schema Registry, Flink processing, governance, and lineage
  • TLS, RBAC, ACLs, audit logs, and SAML/SSO controls
  • SQL-based processing with incremental computation and materialized views
  • Exactly-once processing with barrier-based checkpointing
  • 31 connectors across queues, databases, CDC, and storage systems
Cons
  • Standard starts at $385 per month
  • Consumption-based billing varies by usage and cloud region
  • Advanced enterprise features require the $895-per-month plan
  • No permanent free plan is listed
  • Basic is fully hosted, while self-managed deployment starts with other tiers
  • The entry price is usage-based rather than a fixed monthly subscription
Our verdict

Confluent Cloud is a cloud service for organizations building real-time data pipelines, event-driven applications, streaming analytics, and data integrations. It provides fully managed Apache Kafka clusters through web and API access, with…

Read the review →

RisingWave is a distributed SQL streaming platform for teams that ingest, transform, and serve real-time data. It uses PostgreSQL-compatible SQL, incremental computation, materialized views, and continuous sinks to support real-time…

Read the review →
  1. Confluent CloudEvent Streaming Platforms 9.2Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. RisingWaveEvent Streaming Platforms 8.07-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Confluent Cloud — where it wins

    • Fully managed Kafka with autoscaling and 80+ connectors
    • Schema Registry, Flink processing, governance, and lineage
    • TLS, RBAC, ACLs, audit logs, and SAML/SSO controls

    Where it doesn't

    • Standard starts at $385 per month
    • Consumption-based billing varies by usage and cloud region
    • Advanced enterprise features require the $895-per-month plan

  • RisingWave — where it wins

    • SQL-based processing with incremental computation and materialized views
    • Exactly-once processing with barrier-based checkpointing
    • 31 connectors across queues, databases, CDC, and storage systems

    Where it doesn't

    • No permanent free plan is listed
    • Basic is fully hosted, while self-managed deployment starts with other tiers
    • The entry price is usage-based rather than a fixed monthly subscription

More comparisons

All event streaming platforms comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update