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Apache Kafka vs Redis 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 Kafka
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
Streaming Analytics (8th)
Redis
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
NoSQL Databases (7th), In-Memory Data Store Services (1st), Vector Databases (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Apache Kafka and Redis aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Apache Kafka is designed for Streaming Analytics and holds a mindshare of 2.4%, up 2.0% compared to last year.
Redis, on the other hand, focuses on In-Memory Data Store Services, holds 14.7% mindshare, down 17.0% since last year.
Streaming Analytics
In-Memory Data Store Services
 

Featured Reviews

Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Data streaming transforms real-time data movement with impressive scalability
I worked with Apache Kafka for customers in the financial industry and OTT platforms. They use Kafka particularly for data streaming. Companies offering movie and entertainment as a service, similar to Netflix, use Kafka Apache Kafka offers unique data streaming. It allows the use of data in…
Yaseer Arafat - PeerSpot reviewer
Unmatched Performance and Scalability for Modern Applications
Redis has room for improvement in a few areas. Enhanced tools for managing and monitoring clusters would be beneficial, as would built-in security mechanisms like advanced encryption and granular access controls. Simplifying setup and configuration could make Redis more accessible to new users. Introducing more enterprise-grade features, such as better multi-tenancy support and improved backup and restore capabilities, would also be advantageous. For the next release, it would be great to see enhanced cluster management tools, native multi-region supports for better data redundancy, integrated analytics for deeper insights, AI and ML integration features, and improved developer experience through enhanced SDKs and tools.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Kafka makes data streaming asynchronous and decouples the reliance of events on consumers."
"As a software developer, I have found Apache Kafka's support to be the most valuable...The solution is easy to integrate with any of our systems."
"The most valuable feature is that it can handle high volume."
"Kafka, as compared with other messaging system options, is great for large scale message processing applications. It offers high throughput with built-in fault-tolerance and replication."
"It is the performance that is really meaningful."
"The ability to partition data on Kafka is valuable."
"It eases our current data flow and framework."
"valuable features relate to microservices architecture and working on KStream and KSQL DB as a microservices event bus."
"Redis is good for distributed caching management."
"The in-memory data makes it fast."
"The solution is fast, provides good performance, and is not too expensive."
"Redis is better tested and is used by large companies. I haven't found a direct alternative to what Redis offers. Plus, there are a lot of support and learning resources available, which help you use Redis efficiently."
"The solution's technical support team is good...The solution's initial setup process was straightforward."
"It is particularly efficient for cloud-based storage and operations."
"The most valuable features of Redis are its ease of use and speed. It does not have access to the disc and it is fast."
"The ability to fetch and save data quickly is valuable."
 

Cons

"The price for the enterprise version is quite high. It would be better to have a lower price."
"More adapters for connecting to different systems need to be available."
"The solution should be easier to manage. It needs to improve its visualization feature in the next release."
"The manageability should be improved. There are lots of things we need to manage and it should have a function that enables us to manage them all cohesively."
"Observability could be improved."
"If the graphical user interface was easier for the Kafka administration it would be much better. Right now, you need to use the program with the command-line interface. If the graphical user interface was easier, it could be a better product."
"There have been some challenges with monitoring Apache Kafka, as there are currently only a few production-grade solutions available, which are all under enterprise license and therefore not easily accessible. The speaker has not had access to any of these solutions and has instead relied on tools, such as Dynatrace, which do not provide sufficient insight into the Apache Kafka system. While there are other tools available, they do not offer the same level of real-time data as enterprise solutions."
"In the data sharing space, the performance of Apache Kafka could be improved."
"Redis could improve its efficiency in handling locally stored data, not just Amazon Cloud or Google Cloud."
"The solution's pricing for a local installation is very expensive."
"The only thing is the lack of a GUI application. There was a time when we needed to resolve an issue in production. If we had a GUI, it would have been easier."
"It's actually quite expensive."
"The development of clusters could improve. Additionally, it would be helpful if it was integrated with Amazon AWS or Google Cloud."
"Redis presents a single point of failure and lacks fault tolerance."
"In future releases, I would like Redis to provide its users with an option like schema validation. Currently, the solution lacks to offer such functionality."
"For the PubSub feature, we had to create our own tools to monitor the events."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source version."
"Kafka is open-source and it is cheaper than any other product."
"When starting to look at a distributed message system, look for a cloud solution first. It is an easier entry point than an on-premises hardware solution."
"It is open source software."
"Apache Kafka has an open-source pricing."
"Apache Kafka is an open-source solution."
"The solution is open source; it's free to use."
"It is approximately $600,000 USD."
"Redis is not an overpriced solution."
"Redis is an open-source product."
"We saw an ROI. It made the processing of our transactions faster."
"The tool is open-source. There are no additional costs."
"Redis is an open-source solution. There are not any hidden fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are the differences between Apache Kafka and IBM MQ?
Apache Kafka is open source and can be used for free. It has very good log management and has a way to store the data used for analytics. Apache Kafka is very good if you have a high number of user...
What do you like most about Apache Kafka?
Apache Kafka is an open-source solution that can be used for messaging or event processing.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Kafka?
The open-source version of Apache Kafka results in minimal costs, mainly linked to accessing documentation and limited support. Enterprises usually opt for the more cost-effective open-source edition.
What do you like most about Redis?
Redis is better tested and is used by large companies. I haven't found a direct alternative to what Redis offers. Plus, there are a lot of support and learning resources available, which help you u...
What needs improvement with Redis?
Redis could be improved by introducing a GUI to display key-value pair database information, as it is currently a CLI tool with no visual representation. Additionally, better documentation is neede...
What is your primary use case for Redis?
I use Redis as a tool in building projects, specifically for in-memory caching. My backend API uses Redis to cache information retrieved from the database.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Redis Enterprise
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
1. Twitter 2. GitHub 3. StackOverflow 4. Pinterest 5. Snapchat 6. Craigslist 7. Digg 8. Weibo 9. Airbnb 10. Uber 11. Slack 12. Trello 13. Shopify 14. Coursera 15. Medium 16. Twitch 17. Foursquare 18. Meetup 19. Kickstarter 20. Docker 21. Heroku 22. Bitbucket 23. Groupon 24. Flipboard 25. SoundCloud 26. BuzzFeed 27. Disqus 28. The New York Times 29. Walmart 30. Nike 31. Sony 32. Philips
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Kafka vs. Redis and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.