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Confluent

Unclaimed Editor reviewed

Enterprise event streaming platform built on Kafka

Developer Tools Data & Databases Cloud & Infrastructure

4.4(122 across the web)

FreemiumVisit Website

Reviews onG2Capterra

122 reviews tracked

The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free plan available, paid tiers above

Biggest pro

Managed Kafka

Biggest con

Expensive

TL;DR - Confluent

Confluent is the enterprise platform for Apache Kafka, providing managed streaming infrastructure
It handles Kafka deployment, management, and adds enterprise features like schema registry and ksqlDB
Cloud pricing from $0.00 for basic usage, scaling with throughput

Pricing: Free plan available

Best for: Growing teams

4.4/5 across review platforms

What is Confluent?

Editorial review

Confluent provides enterprise Kafka with the features that make running it in production manageable. Managed cloud service, schema registry, stream processing-everything around Kafka that you'd otherwise build yourself. ksqlDB enables stream processing with SQL. The cloud service handles operations. Enterprise support backs production deployments. Organizations running Kafka in production choose Confluent for the ecosystem and support that makes event streaming reliable at scale.

Available on: Web

LCLouis CorneloupUpdated May 26, 2026 · how we evaluateSourceconfluent.io ↗

Pros & Cons

Pros

Managed Kafka
Stream processing
Schema registry
Good support
Cloud and self-managed

Cons

Expensive
Vendor lock-in
Complex pricing
Learning curve
Overkill for simple needs

Ratings Across the Web

4.4(122 reviews)

Capterra8 reviews

Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more

Key Features

Event streamingKafka managedSchema registryksqlDBConnectorsEnterprise

Pricing Plans

Most Popular

Standard

null

Production teams

Up to 1GBps throughput
500 partitions included
Multi-AZ
Pay-as-you-go

Dedicated

null

Enterprise

Beyond 1GBps
Private networking
Custom SLA
CKU-based pricing

Enterprise

null

Large scale

Annual commitment discounts
Dedicated support
Enterprise features

Calculate your cost View full pricing

Reviews

4.4/5

Across 122 verified user reviews on G2, Capterra

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Best Confluent Alternatives

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Apache FlinkFree

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Still deciding?

Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.

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Confluent FAQ

Is Confluent free?

Free trial and free tier available. Pay-as-you-go pricing. Enterprise licenses vary.

What is Confluent?

Confluent is a streaming data platform based on Apache Kafka. Managed Kafka with additional tools. Founded by Kafka creators.

Confluent vs self-hosted Kafka?

Confluent handles operations and adds features. Self-hosted is cheaper but needs expertise. Confluent for convenience.

What is Confluent Cloud?

Fully managed Kafka service. No infrastructure to manage. Available on AWS, GCP, and Azure.

Source: confluent.io

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