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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
6.9
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
Streaming Analytics (8th)
Redis
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
22
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 2.5%, up 2.0% compared to last year.
Redis, on the other hand, focuses on In-Memory Data Store Services, holds 16.0% mindshare, down 17.2% 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

"The high availability is valuable. It is robust, and we can rely on it for a huge amount of data."
"Kafka's most valuable feature is its user-friendliness."
"The most valuable feature of Apache Kafka is the clustering which is very easy to scale and we have multiple servers all over our platforms. It has been useful for stability and performance."
"The use of Kafka's logging mechanism has been extremely beneficial for us, as it allows us to sequence messages, track pointers, and manage memory without having to create multiple copies."
"Apache Kafka is effective when dealing with large volumes of data flowing at high speeds, requiring real-time processing."
"We appreciate the ability to persistently and quickly write data, as well as the flexibility to customize it for multiple customers. Additionally, we like the ability to retain data within Apache Kafka and use features, such as time travel to access past customer data. The connection with other systems, such as Apache Kafka and IBM DB2."
"Kafka provides us with a way to store the data used for analytics. That's the big selling point. There's very good log management."
"Kafka is scalable. It can manage a high volume of data from many sources."
"The performance of Redis is very fast."
"The product offers fast access to my database."
"It makes operations more efficient. The information processing is very fast, and very responsive. It's all about the technology."
"Redis is a simple, powerful, and fast solution."
"What I like best about Redis is its fast and easy use. It has interesting algorithms like HyperLogLog and provides useful features. It's also good for implementing scalable rate limiting."
"Redis is good for distributed caching management."
"The online interface is very fast and easy to use."
"It is particularly efficient for cloud-based storage and operations."
 

Cons

"Too much dependency on the zookeeper and leader selection is still the bottleneck for Kafka implementation."
"would like to see real-time event-based consumption of messages rather than the traditional way through a loop. The traditional messaging system works by listing and looping with a small wait to check to see what the messages are. A push system is where you have something that is ready to receive a message and when the message comes in and hits the partition, it goes straight to the consumer versus the consumer having to pull. I believe this consumer approach is something they are working on and may come in an upcoming release. However, that is message consumption versus message listening."
"Apache Kafka can improve by adding a feature out of the box which allows it to deliver only one message."
"The price for the enterprise version is quite high. It would be better to have a lower price."
"The user interface is one weakness. Sometimes, our data isn't as accessible as we'd like. It takes a lot of work to retrieve the data and the index."
"The interface has room for improvement, and there is a steep learning curve for Hadoop integration. It was a struggle learning to send from Hadoop to Kafka. In future releases, I'd like to see improvements in ETL functionality and Hadoop integration."
"The UI is based on command line. It would be helpful if they could come up with a simpler user interface."
"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."
"Redis presents a single point of failure and lacks fault tolerance."
"There are some features from MongoDB that I would like to see included in Redis to enhance its overall efficiency, such as the ability to perform remote behaviour. MongoDB is more efficient in handling updates than deletions and is quicker in processing updates, but it can be slower regarding deletions. This can sometimes pose a challenge, especially when dealing with large datasets or frequent data manipulations that involve deletions. In such cases, I often rewrite columns or update values instead of directly deleting data, as it can be more efficient."
"The development of clusters could improve. Additionally, it would be helpful if it was integrated with Amazon AWS or Google Cloud."
"Redis could improve its efficiency in handling locally stored data, not just Amazon Cloud or Google Cloud."
"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."
"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."
"I would prefer it if there was more information available about Redis. That would make it easier for new beginners. Currently, there is a lack of resources."
"There is a lack of documentation on the scalability of the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is low."
"Apache Kafka is free."
"Apache Kafka is an open-source solution."
"It's quite affordable considering the value it provides."
"Kafka is more reasonably priced than IBM MQ."
"Apache Kafka is an open-source solution and there are no fees, but there are fees associated with confluence, which are based on subscription."
"I would not subscribe to the Confluent platform, but rather stay on the free open source version. The extra cost wasn't justified."
"Apache Kafka has an open-source pricing."
"The tool is open-source. There are no additional costs."
"We saw an ROI. It made the processing of our transactions faster."
"Redis is an open-source solution. There are not any hidden fees."
"Redis is an open-source product."
"Redis is not an overpriced solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
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?
Its pricing is reasonable. It's not always about cost, but about meeting specific needs.
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?
There are a few areas where Redis could improve. The pub-sub capabilities could be optimized to handle network sessions better, as there are challenges with maintaining sessions between clients and...
What is your primary use case for Redis?
We use Redis ( /products/redis-reviews ) for several purposes, including ranking, counting, saving, sharing, caching, and setting time-to-live notifications. These functionalities are employed acro...
 

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.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.