Kafka Streams comparisons
Kafka Streams is compared head-to-head with Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink, Apache Flink and Azure Stream Analytics and more: 7 head-to-heads in Stream Processing Software, each with the specs and prices we checked.
Kafka Streams head-to-head
- Kafka Streams vs Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink
- Kafka Streams vs Apache Flink
- Kafka Streams vs Azure Stream Analytics
- Kafka Streams vs Google Cloud Dataflow
- Kafka Streams vs Confluent Cloud
- Kafka Streams vs Apache Beam
- Kafka Streams vs Apache Spark
Kafka Streams vs each of them
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | SQL processing | Stateful processing | Event-time windows | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Kafka Streams | Yes | Free | Self-hosted | No | Yes | Yes | 8.9 |
| 1 | Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink | No | $0.11/unit usage-based | Cloud | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.3 |
| 2 | Apache Flink | Yes | Free | Self-hosted | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.2 |
| 3 | Azure Stream Analytics | No | Hybrid | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.1 | |
| 4 | Google Cloud Dataflow | No | 9.0 | |||||
| 6 | Confluent Cloud | Yes | $385/mo | Cloud | 8.8 | |||
| 7 | Apache Beam | Free | 8.7 | |||||
| 8 | Apache Spark | Yes | Free | 8.6 |
Compare Kafka Streams with any stream processing platform
These are the matchups our editors wrote up. The compare tool pairs Kafka Streams with any other product in Stream Processing Software — and up to four at once — from the same checked specs.
Compare Kafka Streams with any tool side by side →
Every stream processing software head-to-head →
Our full Kafka Streams verdict, pricing and fact sheet →
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.
Compared by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update