Kafka Streams
- Android app
- Not listed
- Free plan
- Yes
- Runs on
- Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
Summary
Kafka Streams is a client library for building applications and microservices that read and write data in Kafka clusters. It processes Kafka data with event-time handling, windowing, and real-time queries of application state. The Streams DSL provides operations such as mapping, filtering, joining, and aggregation, while the Processor API allows custom processors and state stores. Fault-tolerant local state supports stateful work such as windowed joins and aggregations, and the library supports exactly-once processing semantics. Applications can start on one machine and scale across multiple machines, and can run in containers, virtual machines, on bare metal, or in cloud environments. Kafka Streams uses Kafka as its messaging layer, so it does not require a separate processing cluster. It supports Java and Scala and integrates with Kafka security features for transit encryption, authentication, and authorization. The software is free under Apache License 2.0. The Apache Software Foundation says it does not provide formal or commercial support for its packages; project communication is available through community mailing lists.
Who it is for
It suits Java or Scala developers building applications that process data stored in Kafka. Teams that need stateful stream processing without a separate processing cluster may find its architecture useful.
What is good
- Free software licensed under Apache License 2.0.
- Supports event-time processing and windowing.
- Provides fault-tolerant local state.
- Supports exactly-once processing semantics.
What to know first
- Requires input and output data in Kafka clusters.
- No formal or commercial support from Apache.
- Supports Java and Scala applications.
Verdict
Kafka Streams provides stream-processing APIs and stateful operations for applications built around Kafka data. It is free, but the Apache Software Foundation does not offer formal or commercial package support.
Kafka Streams plans and pricing
All plansCompared on stream processing software
- Free plan
- Yeskafka.apache.org
- Deployment model
- self-hostedkafka.apache.org
- SQL processing
- Nokafka.apache.org
- Stateful processing
- Yeskafka.apache.org
- Event-time windows
- Yeskafka.apache.org
- Supported languages
- Java, Scalakafka.apache.org
Facts
- Purpose
- Kafka Streams is a client library for building applications and microservices whose input and output data are stored in Kafka clusters.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Processing
- Kafka Streams processes and analyzes data stored in Kafka, including event-time processing, windowing, and real-time application-state queries.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Scalability
- Applications can run on one machine for a proof of concept and scale across multiple machines for high-volume production workloads.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Deployment
- Kafka Streams applications can be deployed to containers, virtual machines, bare metal, or cloud environments.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Programming
- Kafka Streams supports standard Java and Scala applications.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Processing semantics
- Kafka Streams supports exactly-once processing semantics.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Architecture
- Kafka Streams requires no separate processing cluster and uses Kafka as its internal messaging layer.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- APIs
- The Streams DSL provides operations such as map, filter, join, and aggregations, while the Processor API supports custom processors and state stores.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- State
- Kafka Streams supports fault-tolerant local state for stateful operations such as windowed joins and aggregations.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Security
- Kafka Streams natively integrates with Kafka security features, including encryption in transit, client authentication, and client authorization.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Integrations
- Kafka's ecosystem includes tools for stream processing, Hadoop integration, monitoring, and deployment, and Kafka Connect provides connectors for external systems.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Support
- The Kafka project provides user, developer, JIRA, and commit mailing lists for community support and project communication.kafka.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- License
- Apache Software Foundation software is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Commercial support
- The Apache Software Foundation says it does not sell its software or provide formal or commercial support for its packages.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Security reporting
- Apache asks potential security vulnerabilities to be reported first to private security mailing lists.apache.org · 30 Sept 2026
Company
- Founded
- 1999kafka.apache.org · 28 Sept 2026
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Sources
- kafka.apache.org/43/streams/introduction/· checked 30 Sept 2026
- kafka.apache.org/43/streams/core-concepts/· checked 30 Sept 2026
- kafka.apache.org/43/streams/developer-guide/security/· checked 30 Sept 2026
- kafka.apache.org/43/getting-started/ecosystem/· checked 30 Sept 2026
- kafka.apache.org/community/contact/· checked 30 Sept 2026
- apache.org/licenses/· checked 30 Sept 2026
- apache.org/foundation/faq.html· checked 30 Sept 2026
- apache.org/security/· checked 30 Sept 2026
- kafka.apache.org/streams/· checked 28 Sept 2026