Apache Kafka vs. Zapier

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apache Kafka
Score 8.1 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
Zapier
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
The Zapier Automation Platform designed to integrate data between web apps. It is scaled for small to mid-sized businesses, with a functional but limited free version of the program.
$29.99
per month 750 tasks per month
Pricing
Apache KafkaZapier
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Starter
$29.99
per month 750 tasks per month
Professional
$73.50
per month 2k tasks per month
Team
$103.50
per month 2k tasks per month
Company
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apache KafkaZapier
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details33% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Features
Apache KafkaZapier
Cloud Data Integration
Comparison of Cloud Data Integration features of Product A and Product B
Apache Kafka
-
Ratings
Zapier
8.4
105 Ratings
5% above category average
Pre-built connectors00 Ratings8.5102 Ratings
Connector modification00 Ratings7.690 Ratings
Support for real-time and batch integration00 Ratings8.489 Ratings
Data quality services00 Ratings8.770 Ratings
Data security features00 Ratings9.269 Ratings
Monitoring console00 Ratings8.278 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Apache KafkaZapier
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

Make
Make
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
IBM MQ
IBM MQ
Score 9.2 out of 10
Make
Make
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM MQ
IBM MQ
Score 9.2 out of 10
IBM App Connect
IBM App Connect
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apache KafkaZapier
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(19 ratings)
7.3
(110 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(2 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(4 ratings)
1.0
(10 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apache KafkaZapier
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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Zapier
If you have processes that are now managed and controlled using a spreadsheet, Zapier will give you a lot more control over what is happening and will help you increase productivity by eliminating simple steps such as sending emails and sharing information with your colleagues. It frees time for very transactional activities.
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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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Zapier
  • Ease of use - multiple people in the organization can set up and run Zaps per their specific use cases without much training.
  • Connectivity - Zapier is able to connect to multiple applications we use on a regular basis.
  • Functionality - Zapier provides embedded functionality within the app itself (email, data conversion), but also appropriate triggers and actions for apps it connects to.
  • Versatile - Zapier can execute complicated and simple tasks and thus has many use cases.
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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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Zapier
  • Being able to turn off one leg of a Zap without having to delete it or turn the whole Zap off
  • Not all fields populate when using certain aspects of Salesforce, but that could be an SF issue
  • Communication when support is actually needed basically doesn't happen
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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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Zapier
Zapier is now very much an integral part of our business and we could not operate without it!
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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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Zapier
The interface is very user-friendly, and there are also many tools to help a brand-new user get started. For example, you can put your Zap idea into the AI bot, and it will basically build a shell of your Zap to get started on. The format for each step within a Zap is also very helpful (set up the connection/app, set up the fields/details, then test).
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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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Zapier
Before we purchased Zapier, I contacted support and asked them if Zapier could support my intended workflow (this is actually a selection on their support form - awesome). Within 2 hours, I was contacted by a support team member who seemed sure it would work, but granted me premium access for 2 weeks to try it out for myself. Sure enough, it did! Ever since then, support has replied rapidly to any problems I have experienced and answered my questions within a few sentences.
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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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Zapier
We actually utilize both Integromat and Zapier at our company, for all the reasons detailed in this review. Though Zapier is excellent for simple client integrations, we often run into internal use cases that require complexity that Zapier cannot provide. Specifically working with API calls (not just webhooks), complex multi-step integrations with Routing/parsing/etc, and large volume integrations. Integromat is perfect for these use cases, but doesn’t provide the simplicity and account scalability that Zapier offers.
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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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Zapier
  • It has saved me the money in hiring an administrative assistant
  • It also saved me the time it took to do these tasks
  • It also allowed me to automate things that increased my lead generation
  • It also allowed me to automate several processes
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