Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka

Input—per 1M tokens

Output—per 1M tokens

Context—tokens

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About

Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka is ranked #9 of 27 in message queue (MQ) software on Inferse. It runs on API, Linux, Web. There is no free plan. Paid plans start at $0.11/mo.

Compared on message queue (MQ) software

Deployment model: cloudaws.amazon.com
Stream processing: Yesaws.amazon.com
Schema registry: Yesaws.amazon.com
Delivery guarantee: bothaws.amazon.com
Supported client languages: Java, Python, Go, JavaScript, .NETaws.amazon.com

Facts

Purpose: Amazon MSK manages Apache Kafka infrastructure and operations so developers and platform engineers can run Kafka on AWS without becoming experts in operating it.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Managed operations: MSK provisions and configures clusters, replaces failed servers, orchestrates patches and upgrades, and handles monitoring and scaling.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Cluster options: MSK offers Provisioned clusters, where customers choose broker and storage options, and Serverless clusters, which automatically adjust resources to workload needs.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Kafka compatibility: MSK maintains compatibility with the Apache Kafka open source client protocol, allowing Kafka applications and tools to work without application code changes.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Integrations: Listed integrations include Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink, AWS Lambda, AWS Glue Schema Registry, and AWS Database Migration Service.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Resilience: Clusters are distributed across multiple Availability Zones, with three as the default, and the MSK service level agreement guarantees three 9s of availability.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Security: MSK supports IAM access control, SASL/SCRAM or mutual TLS authentication for Provisioned clusters, and encryption at rest and in transit.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Monitoring: CloudWatch provides a default set of over 50 metrics at no additional cost; enhanced broker and topic metrics are billed at standard CloudWatch rates.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Open monitoring: For Provisioned clusters, MSK can export JMX and node metrics for monitoring with Prometheus-compatible solutions including Datadog, Lenses, New Relic, and Sumo Logic.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Broker logs: MSK broker logs can be delivered to CloudWatch Logs, Amazon S3, or Amazon Data Firehose, and MSK API calls can be logged with CloudTrail.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Compliance: AWS states that it supports 143 security standards and compliance certifications, including PCI-DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, FedRAMP, GDPR, FIPS 140-3, and NIST 800-171.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Intended users: AWS describes MSK as intended for developers and DevOps or platform engineers building streaming data applications on AWS.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026
Notable cost limit: Enhanced CloudWatch metrics are billed at standard CloudWatch rates, and MSK pricing also lists separate charges for storage, data processing, and some connectivity.aws.amazon.com · 3 Oct 2026