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Best Kafka Streams Alternatives in 2026

Updated

20 platforms from stream processing software ranked against Kafka Streams on the same published basis.

  1. 1
    Confluent Cloud Free plan apiLinuxWeb $385/mo7.4
    Kafka Streams vs Confluent Cloud
  2. 2
    Esper Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWin Free7.4
    Kafka Streams vs Esper
  3. 3
    Materialize Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb $0.13/mo7.4
    Kafka Streams vs Materialize
  4. 4
    Pathway Live Data Framework Free plan apiself-hosted Free7.4
    Kafka Streams vs Pathway Live Data Framework
  5. 5
    Apache Flink Free plan apiLinuxself-hosted Free7.3
    Kafka Streams vs Apache Flink
  6. 6
    Apache Samza Free plan apiLinuxself-hosted Free7.3
    Kafka Streams vs Apache Samza
  7. 7
    Apache Storm Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free7.3
    Kafka Streams vs Apache Storm
  8. 8
    Arroyo Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free7.3
    Kafka Streams vs Arroyo
  9. 9
    Feldera Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free7.3
    Kafka Streams vs Feldera
  10. 10
    Timeplus Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb $199/mo7.3
    Kafka Streams vs Timeplus
  11. 11
    Apache Beam Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free7.2
    Kafka Streams vs Apache Beam
  12. 12
    Apache NiFi Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free7.2
    Kafka Streams vs Apache NiFi
  13. 13
    Apache Spark Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.2
    Kafka Streams vs Apache Spark
  14. 14
    Siddhi apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin 7.0
    Kafka Streams vs Siddhi
  15. 15
    Hazelcast Platform Free trial apiLinuxMacself-hostedWin 6.9
    Kafka Streams vs Hazelcast Platform
  16. 16
    RisingWave Free trial apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb $0.23/mo6.9
    Kafka Streams vs RisingWave
  17. 17
    Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink apiWeb 6.7
    Kafka Streams vs Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink
  18. 18
    AFL++ Free plan AndroidLinuxMacself-hostedWin €1666.67/mo5.9
    Kafka Streams vs AFL++
  19. 20
    Apache Heron Linuxself-hosted 5.4
    Kafka Streams vs Apache Heron
  20. 21
    Timely Dataflow self-hosted 5.4
    Kafka Streams vs Timely Dataflow

Kafka Streams alternatives compared

#PlatformScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Confluent Cloud7.4Free plan$385/moAPI, Linux, Web
2Esper7.4Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted, Windows
3Materialize7.4Free plan$0.13/moAPI, Linux, self-hosted, Web
4Pathway Live Data Framework7.4Free planFreeAPI, self-hosted
5Apache Flink7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted
6Apache Samza7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted
7Apache Storm7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
8Arroyo7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web
9Feldera7.3Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
10Timeplus7.3Free plan$199/moAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
11Apache Beam7.2Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
12Apache NiFi7.2Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
13Apache Spark7.2Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
14Siddhi7.0No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
15Hazelcast Platform6.9No—API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
16RisingWave6.9No$0.23/moAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web
17Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink6.7No—API, Web
18AFL++5.9Free plan€1666.67/moAndroid, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
20Apache Heron5.4No—Linux, self-hosted
21Timely Dataflow5.4No—self-hosted
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Questions about Kafka Streams alternatives

What is the best alternative to Kafka Streams?

Confluent Cloud, number 1 in stream processing software with a score of 7.4 out of 10. The others here: Esper, Materialize, Pathway Live Data Framework and 16 more.

What is the best free alternative to Kafka Streams?

Confluent Cloud is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 14 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

How are these alternatives ranked?

Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.