Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

A Cloud Guru vs Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud 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

A Cloud Guru
Ranking in AWS Marketplace
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Training (1st), eLearning (2nd)
Apache Kafka on Confluent C...
Ranking in AWS Marketplace
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the AWS Marketplace category, the mindshare of A Cloud Guru is 0.2%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is 0.8%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
AWS Marketplace
 

Featured Reviews

Justin Wheeler - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides high-quality course content to study different tools and technologies
The certification courses are typically divided into multiple sections. At the end of each section, there are exam tips for that section. I would like to go through all the different exam tips the day before my exam. It'd be nice if there were a way to go through all the different exam tips more easily. Right now, I have to find every video, play it for however long it is, skip ahead until I find the next one, and then play that one. The solution could include a playlist-type feature where I can select the ones I want to play. Having an exam tips section for the certification courses would be helpful. It would be good if there were a way to subscribe to new content when it comes out. Right now, I have to check the tool daily to see if they upload new content. It does not have a newsletter I could subscribe to and get updates on when new courses drop. I've also seen that A Cloud Guru is not as fast at dropping new courses and making updates as some competitors like Udemy. Cloud Academy normally updates for new exams faster than A Cloud Guru. However, A Cloud Guru's quality is higher. After acquiring A Cloud Guru, Pluralsight has imported all the A Cloud Guru courses into the Pluralsight mobile app. When I click on the A Cloud Guru videos on the Pluralsight mobile app, I'm not authorized to view them even though I have subscriptions to Pluralsight and A Cloud Guru. I'm not sure if that's an A Cloud Guru bug or something from Pluralsight's side. I haven't dug too much into it because I normally go on my computer and navigate to the A Cloud Guru website, which works fine. Pluralsight and A Cloud Guru offer many similar courses and overlapping content. It can be hard for a user to tell whether to go to Pluralsight or A Cloud Guru for a particular course or content. The acquisition also introduced some confusion.
Anantharaman Ganesan - PeerSpot reviewer
Can be easily installed and is reliable
Maybe in terms of Apache Kafka's integration with other Microsoft tools, our company faced some challenges. With other products, specifically non-Apache ones or Microsoft, our company had created some wrapper classes around them. The integration issues of Apache Kafka revolve around other products like Tomcat, other web servers, or Node.js and .NET Core-related areas. After creating some wrapper classes around them, we were able to get the information we wanted. My company has not used any AI features in the product, but I would like to see AI features in the product because they currently help generate real-time content. AI can help our company slowly create some LLM. My company is not currently implementing any AI features, but I see that there will be a lot of opportunities to use such functionalities. I have experience with Databricks, for which I have used AI.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has streamlined my knowledge of cloud migration strategies, particularly in managing public and private cloud environments and hybrid setups."
"The solution has labs that help to learn different technologies. The main value of using it is learning new technologies."
"The content is engaging."
"The hands-on labs are really helpful."
"The platform is user-friendly and can be used by absolute beginners and more advanced users."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the hands-on experience it provides through very good labs."
"A Cloud Guru has labs; we don't have to create them. It helps to be trained on multiple topics."
"The solution's lab feature is good and offers hands-on experience. It is easily accessible."
"Overall, I think it's a good experience. Apache Kafka can be quite complex and difficult to maintain on your own, so using Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud makes it much easier to use it without worrying about setup and maintenance."
"The state-saving feature is very much appreciated. It allows me to rewind a certain process if I see an error and then reprocess it."
"Confluent Cloud handles data volume pretty well."
"Kafka and Confluent Cloud have proven to be cost-effective, especially when compared to other tools. In a recent BI integration program over the past year, we assessed multiple use cases spanning ship-to-shore and various Azure integrations. Our findings revealed that Confluent Kafka performed exceptionally well, standing out alongside Genesys and Azure Event Hubs. While these three are top contenders, the choice among other tools depends on the specific use case and project requirements. The customer initially used tools like SMQs, FITRA, and Stream for real-time data processing. However, after our recommendation, Confluent Cloud proved to be a superior choice, capable of replacing these three tools and simplifying their data infrastructure. This shift to a single tool, Confluent Cloud, streamlined their operations, making maintenance and management more efficient for their internal projects."
"In case of huge transactions on the web or mobile apps, it helps you capture real-time data and analyze it."
"The product's installation phase is pretty straightforward for us since we know how to use it."
"Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is more reliable and frequent to use compared to Apache Kafka."
"Kafka provides handy properties that allow us to directly configure the data, whether to keep it or discard it after use."
 

Cons

"Instead of covering a broad section of the exam and then offering labs, it would be better to provide targeted exercises right after the relevant lecture, such as creating an EC2 instance."
"There is room for improvement in the portal. It can be more user-friendly."
"As people's maturity increases, there are areas that can be improved in terms of the learning paths."
"I would appreciate more interactive features where users can receive immediate feedback on their actions."
"There could be some performance improvements."
"A Cloud Guru needs to offer more practical quizzes."
"It'd be nice if there were a way to go through all the different exam tips more easily."
"A Cloud Guru should incorporate fewer updates."
"Some areas for improvement in Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud include issues faced during migration with Kubernetes pods."
"There are some premium connectors, for example, available in Confluent, which you cannot access in the marketplace, so there are some limitations."
"Maybe in terms of Apache Kafka's integration with other Microsoft tools, our company faced some challenges."
"The administration port could be more extensive."
"Regarding real-time data usage, there were challenges with CDC (Change Data Capture) integrations. Specifically, with PyTRAN, we encountered difficulties. We recommended using our on-premises Kaspersky as an alternative to PyTRAN for that specific use case due to issues with CDC store configuration and log reading challenges with the iton components."
"The solution is expensive."
"There's one thing that's a common use case, but I don't know why it's not covered in Kafka. When a message comes in, and another message with the same key arrives, the first version should be deleted automatically."
"There could be an in-built feature for data analysis."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You need an annual license to use the platform. Its pricing is fine—good knowledge comes at a price—and doesn't include any extra costs."
"I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"It is not expensive."
"The solution's cloud content is expensive. Compared to other vendors, it is expensive."
"The pricing is good compared to other premium e-learning platforms."
"A Cloud Guru is more expensive than other options on the market."
"I think the pricing is fair, but Confluent requires a little bit more thinking because the price can go up really quickly when it comes to premium connectors."
"Regarding pricing, Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is not a cheap tool. The right use case would justify the cost. It might make sense if you have a high volume of data that you can leverage to generate value for the business. But if you don't have those requirements, there are likely cheaper solutions you could use instead."
"I consider that the product's price falls under the middle range category."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which AWS Marketplace solutions are best for your needs.
842,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Transportation Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are A Cloud Guru's certification options?
Here's how you can publish an A Cloud Guru certificate on your LinkedIn profile: Log in to your A Cloud Guru account. Go to the Certificates page. Click the Export button next to the certificate ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for A Cloud Guru?
Since I'm interested in training certification, the solution is valuable for my career development. A Cloud Guru is more expensive than other options on the market. Whizlabs is a substantially chea...
What needs improvement with A Cloud Guru?
It would be better if the product provided one-on-one tutoring or office hours for certain products. I haven't seen that in A Cloud Guru. The only thing that really annoys me is that I have to log ...
What do you like most about Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?
Kafka and Confluent Cloud have proven to be cost-effective, especially when compared to other tools. In a recent BI integration program over the past year, we assessed multiple use cases spanning s...
What needs improvement with Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?
Improvement can be made by making it easier to build applications on the real-time stream, focusing on real-time pre-processing and anomaly detection. They should enhance their capabilities in real...
What is your primary use case for Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?
I use Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud ( /products/apache-kafka-on-confluent-cloud-reviews ) as a streaming platform for enterprises to move data in real time from the point of generation to where i...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about A Cloud Guru vs. Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.