Comparison

Amazon SQS vs Apache Kafka

On the evidence we track, Apache Kafka leads this comparison with a composite score of 60/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Amazon SQS48
Apache Kafka60
Score
Vioscale score
Amazon SQS48 / 100medium · 64%
Apache Kafka60 / 100medium · 51%
Pricing
Free tier
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Model
Amazon SQSfreemium
Apache Kafkaopen_source
Price level
Amazon SQSlow
Apache Kafkafree
Transparent
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Integrations
Count
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka4
Security
Disclosure policy
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Fedramp
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Gdpr
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Hipaa
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Pci
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Scorecard
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka6.1
Reliability
Status page
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Adoption
Dependent repos
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka1
Github stars
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka33,629
Package downloads weekly
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka5,508,093
Activity
Commits last 30d
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka100
License
Spdx
Amazon SQS
Apache KafkaApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Amazon SQS
Apache KafkaJava
Market
Availability

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for message queues. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Messaging paradigm
Amazon SQSQueue
Apache KafkaPub/sub
Correctness
Delivery guarantee
Amazon SQSAt-least-once
Apache KafkaExactly-once
Ordering guarantee
Amazon SQSNone
Apache KafkaPer-partition
Durability
Durable replayable log
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Message replay / rewind
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Interop
Wire protocol
Amazon SQS-
Apache KafkaBinary over TCP (SSL/SASL for authentication/encryption)
Kafka-protocol compatible
Amazon SQS-
Apache Kafka
Scale
Partitioned horizontal scaling
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Geo / cross-region replication
Amazon SQS-
Apache Kafka
Consumption
Consumer groups / competing consumers
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Dead-letter queue
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka-
Deployment
Managed cloud offering exists
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Hosting
Amazon SQSCloud only
Apache KafkaSelf-hosted only
Processing
Built-in stream processing
Amazon SQS-
Apache Kafka

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Amazon SQS

A managed service that stores and delivers messages between software components, enabling them to communicate without requiring direct connections or simultaneous availability.

Independently observed

Apache Kafka

Leader

Apache Kafka is a free system for capturing, storing, and processing data streams in real time. It enables organizations to reliably move large volumes of data between applications and systems, with support for transformations, aggregations, and stateful processing.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Amazon SQS

Usage-basedFree tier
as of verify ↗

Apache Kafka

Leader
Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Linux
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
CLI
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka
Self-hosted
Amazon SQS
Apache Kafka

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Amazon SQS

Not documented yet.

Apache Kafka

Leader
4 total
  • Postgres
  • JMS
  • Elasticsearch
  • AWS S3
Independently observed

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.