What is Confluent used for?

Confluent is a data streaming platform built on Apache Kafka and Flink, available as a managed cloud service or as software you run on your own infrastructure. It is a good fit for building real-time data architectures, replacing self-managed Kafka clusters, and streaming events into data lakes and warehouses.

Yes. Confluent has a free plan. Usage-based. Basic starts at $0 per month, Standard at about $385, Enterprise at about $895 and Freight at about $2,300, each plus data in/out and storage charges.

Is Confluent open source?

No. Confluent is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Confluent include Kafka.

Can I self-host Confluent?

Yes. Although Confluent is closed source, it can be self-hosted on your own servers, and the vendor also offers a hosted version.

What are some alternatives to Confluent?

Confluent competes with Amazon Kinesis, Aiven and Instaclustr. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Confluent alternatives.

Confluent: features, pricing and alternatives

About Confluent

Confluent is a data streaming platform created around Apache Kafka and extended with Apache Flink for stream processing. It handles moving events between systems in real time, with the aim of letting applications, analytics and AI features react to data as it is produced.

Beyond core Kafka, the platform adds connectors for integrating the surrounding data ecosystem, stream governance for data quality and access, stream processing, and Tableflow for turning topics into tables. The vendor also promotes streaming agents and an offering for real-time AI context. Deployment choices include the fully managed Confluent Cloud, Confluent Platform for on-premises use, Confluent Private Cloud and WarpStream, a Kafka-compatible service for private clouds.

Confluent is commercial software that builds on the open-source Kafka project. A pricing page and a cost estimator that compares against self-managed Kafka are provided, and its customers range across many industries.

Key features

Managed Apache Kafka service
Apache Flink stream processing
Prebuilt connectors for data systems
Stream governance for data quality and access
Tableflow to convert topics into tables
On-premises and private cloud editions

Good fit for

→Building real-time data architectures
→Replacing self-managed Kafka clusters
→Streaming events into data lakes and warehouses

Tags: kafka; streaming; flink; event-streaming; data-pipelines; connectors; real-time; managed-service

Confluent: questions and answers

What is Confluent used for?: Confluent is a data streaming platform built on Apache Kafka and Flink, available as a managed cloud service or as software you run on your own infrastructure. It is a good fit for building real-time data architectures, replacing self-managed Kafka clusters, and streaming events into data lakes and warehouses.
Is Confluent free?: Yes. Confluent has a free plan. Usage-based. Basic starts at $0 per month, Standard at about $385, Enterprise at about $895 and Freight at about $2,300, each plus data in/out and storage charges.
Is Confluent open source?: No. Confluent is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Confluent include Kafka.
Can I self-host Confluent?: Yes. Although Confluent is closed source, it can be self-hosted on your own servers, and the vendor also offers a hosted version.
What are some alternatives to Confluent?: Confluent competes with Amazon Kinesis, Aiven and Instaclustr. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Confluent alternatives.