Apache Kafka vs. IBM API Connect

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apache Kafka
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Apache Kafka is an open-source stream processing platform developed by the Apache Software Foundation written in Scala and Java. The Kafka event streaming platform is used by thousands of companies for high-performance data pipelines, streaming analytics, data integration, and mission-critical applications.N/A
IBM API Connect
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
IBM API Connect is a scalable API solution that helps organizations implement a robust API strategy by creating, exposing, managing and monetizing an entire API ecosystem across multiple clouds. As businesses embrace their digital transformation journey, APIs become critical to unlock the value of business data and assets. With increasing adoption of APIs, consistency and governance are needed across the enterprise. API Connect aims to help businesses…
$83
per month
Pricing
Apache KafkaIBM API Connect
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apache KafkaIBM API Connect
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Apache KafkaIBM API Connect
Considered Both Products
Apache Kafka

No answer on this topic

IBM API Connect
Chose IBM API Connect
Ease of use of the product and pricing of the product.
Features
Apache KafkaIBM API Connect
API Management
Comparison of API Management features of Product A and Product B
Apache Kafka
-
Ratings
IBM API Connect
8.5
42 Ratings
3% above category average
API access control00 Ratings8.942 Ratings
Rate limits and usage policies00 Ratings8.737 Ratings
API usage data00 Ratings8.641 Ratings
API user onboarding00 Ratings8.742 Ratings
API versioning00 Ratings8.142 Ratings
Usage billing and payments00 Ratings7.732 Ratings
API monitoring and logging00 Ratings8.742 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Apache KafkaIBM API Connect
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
IBM MQ
IBM MQ
Score 9.2 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM MQ
IBM MQ
Score 9.2 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apache KafkaIBM API Connect
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(19 ratings)
8.7
(41 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(2 ratings)
7.4
(3 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(2 ratings)
8.5
(32 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apache KafkaIBM API Connect
Likelihood to Recommend
Apache
Apache Kafka is well-suited for most data-streaming use cases. Amazon Kinesis and Azure EventHubs, unless you have a specific use case where using those cloud PaAS for your data lakes, once set up well, Apache Kafka will take care of everything else in the background. Azure EventHubs, is good for cross-cloud use cases, and Amazon Kinesis - I have no real-world experience. But I believe it is the same.
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IBM
Overall, it can be stated that IBM API Connect has many benefits and can easily manage complicated integrations. The platform performs best in large environments, especially where microservices and processing of multiple API dependencies are required. On average, we have processed thousands of API calls within a second with good response time.
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Pros
Apache
  • Really easy to configure. I've used other message brokers such as RabbitMQ and compared to them, Kafka's configurations are very easy to understand and tweak.
  • Very scalable: easily configured to run on multiple nodes allowing for ease of parallelism (assuming your queues/topics don't have to be consumed in the exact same order the messages were delivered)
  • Not exactly a feature, but I trust Kafka will be around for at least another decade because active development has continued to be strong and there's a lot of financial backing from Confluent and LinkedIn, and probably many other companies who are using it (which, anecdotally, is many).
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IBM
  • API discovery feature is very helpful to allow us to scope the work required before diving into things.
  • The ability to set permissions and rulesets at a user level is essential to restrict access to specific datasets.
  • Ability for external users (those from outside our organisation) to leverage the API in more restrictive manner.
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Cons
Apache
  • Sometimes it becomes difficult to monitor our Kafka deployments. We've been able to overcome it largely using AWS MSK, a managed service for Apache Kafka, but a separate monitoring dashboard would have been great.
  • Simplify the process for local deployment of Kafka and provide a user interface to get visibility into the different topics and the messages being processed.
  • Learning curve around creation of broker and topics could be simplified
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IBM
  • Improvement can come in the interface of the tool, which is sometimes complex and requires a deep understanding of the tool.
  • Improving the different levels of access to the playroom could be helpful because product owners and developers need to see other information.
  • Publishing API and integration of API can be more straightforward.
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Likelihood to Renew
Apache
Kafka is quickly becoming core product of the organization, indeed it is replacing older messaging systems. No better alternatives found yet
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IBM
No answers on this topic
Usability
Apache
Apache Kafka is highly recommended to develop loosely coupled, real-time processing applications. Also, Apache Kafka provides property based configuration. Producer, Consumer and broker contain their own separate property file
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IBM
I have given an 8 out of 10 rating because I believe multiple authentication security techniques, such as OAUTH, MTLS, JWK, etc., are supported out of the box for APIs. A single interface may be used for API development, automation, and administration, ensuring security and boosting productivity. Highly regarded compared to its rivals, indicating that it has provided good service over time. Although It takes a lot of time and effort to set up initially. However, once everything is set up, it is quite simple to administer, especially because there is only one interface to utilize. This makes it very straightforward to handle.
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Support Rating
Apache
Support for Apache Kafka (if willing to pay) is available from Confluent that includes the same time that created Kafka at Linkedin so they know this software in and out. Moreover, Apache Kafka is well known and best practices documents and deployment scenarios are easily available for download. For example, from eBay, Linkedin, Uber, and NYTimes.
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IBM
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Apache
I used other messaging/queue solutions that are a lot more basic than Confluent Kafka, as well as another solution that is no longer in the market called Xively, which was bought and "buried" by Google. In comparison, these solutions offer way fewer functionalities and respond to other needs.
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IBM
IBM API Connect and Apigee are both robust API management platforms. IBM API Connect was selected for its strong integration capabilities, hybrid cloud deployment options, and comprehensive analytics. It aligns well with organizations seeking flexibility and control over their API ecosystems, especially when dealing with complex integration scenarios across diverse environments.
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Return on Investment
Apache
  • Positive: Get a quick and reliable pub/sub model implemented - data across components flows easily.
  • Positive: it's scalable so we can develop small and scale for real-world scenarios
  • Negative: it's easy to get into a confusing situation if you are not experienced yet or something strange has happened (rare, but it does). Troubleshooting such situations can take time and effort.
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IBM
  • Centralizing on an API management platform was imperative. Being able to support SOAP UIs as well as REST APIs was required. Because of the tooling, service inventory and provisioning can be managed - regardless of the pricing and cost structures are used.
  • Constructing plans that provide tiering options based on rate limits help in onboarding new consumers. The lesser cost in onboarding through an API gateway outweighs the cost of modifying/configuring an API to handle multiple clients.
  • Defining guidance and onboarding practices while rolling out the product also helps in the adoption, reference architecture, and governance that can save your company money.
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ScreenShots

IBM API Connect Screenshots

Screenshot of API tests and insightsScreenshot of API Manager customization interfaceScreenshot of the API designer