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

AWS Lambda vs Apache NiFi 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 NiFi
Ranking in Compute Service
8th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
AWS Lambda
Ranking in Compute Service
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Compute Service category, the mindshare of Apache NiFi is 7.9%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Lambda is 20.8%, down from 26.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Compute Service
 

Featured Reviews

Bharghava Raghavendra Beesa - PeerSpot reviewer
The tool enables effective data transformation and integration
There are some areas for improvement, particularly with record-level tasks that take a bit of time. The quality of JSON data processing could be improved, as JSON workloads require manual conversions without a specific process. Enhancing features related to alerting would be helpful, including mobile alerts for pipeline issues. Integration with mobile devices for error alerts would simplify information delivery.
Wai L Lin O - PeerSpot reviewer
A serverless solution with easy integration features
We use AWS Lambda because it provides a solution for our needs without requiring us to manage our infrastructure. With the tool, we only pay for the resources we use. Additionally, it is straightforward to implement and integrates with other services like API Gateway. The tool's serverless nature has had the most significant impact on our workflow. I find it particularly attractive because it eliminates the need for managing servers. In my previous experience, managing upgrades and updates was quite challenging. The solution's integration process with other AWS services was relatively easy. We primarily use AWS services such as EventBridge for scheduling processes and log management.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is very easy. I would rate my experience with the initial setup a ten out of ten, where one point is difficult, and ten points are easy."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"We can integrate the tool with other applications easily."
"Apache NiFi is user-friendly. Its most valuable features for handling large volumes of data include its multitude of integrated endpoints and clients and the ability to create cron jobs to run tasks at regular intervals."
"The user interface is good and makes it easy to design very popular workflows."
"The most valuable features of this solution are ease of use and implementation."
"It's an automated flow, where you can build a flow from source to destination, then do the transformation in between."
"It is highly effective for handling real-time data by working with APIs for immediate and continuous data extraction."
"I have used AWS Lambda for simple messaging for SQS, creating a cron job, and delay messaging."
"The installation and configuration of the solution is straightforward."
"It enables the launch of thousands of instances simultaneously,"
"Lambda allows you to focus on the code itself."
"It is easy to use."
"It is serverless and scalable. It can scale infinitely. You don't have to worry about the size of the servers that you're pre-allocating. You don't have to build server scale-out models. Auto scale and other similar features are just inherent in Lambda. So, for atomic and fairly non-persistent transactional units of work, Lambda works very well."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the API Gateway."
"The most valuable feature of AWS Lambda is that you can trigger and run jobs instantly, and after you complete the job, that function is either destroyed or stopped automatedly."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in integration with SSO. For example, NiFi does not have any integration with SSO. And if I want to give some kind of rollback access control across the organization. That is not possible."
"I think the UI interface needs to be more user-friendly."
"There are some claims that NiFi is cloud-native but we have tested it, and it's not."
"There should be a better way to integrate a development environment with local tools."
"The quality of JSON data processing could be improved, as JSON workloads require manual conversions without a specific process."
"The tool should incorporate more tutorials for advanced use cases. It has tutorials for simple use cases."
"The overall stability of this solution could be improved. In a future release, we would like to have access to more features that could be used in a parallel way. This would provide more freedom with processing."
"We run many jobs, and there are already large tables. When we do not control NiFi on time, all reports fail for the day. So it's pretty slow to control, and it has to be improved."
"The setup was pretty complex because there were many steps. For me, it was complex because I was somewhat new at it. It could be easier for someone who has done it a bunch of times. I just found that it was a very dense user experience. There's a lot going on during setup."
"AWS Lambda has a limitation where the execution time is capped at 15 minutes per task. Increasing this time would allow for handling heavier tasks more efficiently."
"Having a better preview would be helpful."
"Another challenge I've noticed is that there is a limit to the environment variables such as the 4 KB limit. Although, the advice is to use parameters or other things to store the details when the limit has exceeded the data, this adds additional intensity to the application. If the size limits for environment variables can be revealed, it would be helpful. Even if we have to pay for it, at least we would know that we are not dealing with latency. So, I would like to see the size of the environment variables increased."
"AWS Lambda should support additional languages."
"The execution time could be better. One of the major limitations is the time period because it doesn't give you more than seven minutes. So, before thinking about Lambda, you should think through your use case and ensure it's a good fit. Otherwise, you can use batch, step functions, or other methods. Reports and the monitoring board could also be improved in terms of alerts. The threshold alerts are there but can be improved. It takes some time to get used to these methods and get the hang of them."
"The support team does not know how to implement and build the solution."
"Lambda would benefit from a debugging feature as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I used the tool's free version."
"It's an open-source solution."
"The solution is open-source."
"We use the free version of Apache NiFi."
"It computes by the cycle, and it's very cheap."
"The solution's price is average."
"We only need to pay for the compute time our code consumes."
"It costs maybe less than $10 per month in my use case."
"The price is expensive and is based on usage. The more users you have the higher the cost."
"AWS Lambda license is paid on a monthly basis."
"I think the price is okay. However, if they add more functionality, they can have better prices. In fact, they should have better and more flexible packages for clients who have greater consumption of Lambda."
"AWS Lambda's cloud version isn't expensive, and I'd rate its pricing as five out of five."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Compute Service solutions are best for your needs.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
7%
Educational Organization
67%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Apache NiFi?
There are some areas for improvement, particularly with record-level tasks that take a bit of time. The quality of JSON data processing could be improved, as JSON workloads require manual conversio...
Which is better, AWS Lambda or Batch?
AWS Lambda is a serverless solution. It doesn’t require any infrastructure, which allows for cost savings. There is no setup process to deal with, as the entire solution is in the cloud. If you use...
What do you like most about AWS Lambda?
The tool scales automatically based on the number of incoming requests.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Lambda?
AWS Lambda is cheaper compared to running an instance continuously. You only pay for what you use, making it cost-effective.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Macquarie Telecom Group, Dovestech, Slovak Telekom, Looker, Hastings Group
Netflix
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Lambda vs. Apache NiFi and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.