Question 1

Why should I use a managed cloud Kafka service?

Accepted Answer

Using a managed Apache Kafka service like Aiven for Apache Kafka, allows data teams to overcome the challenges of building, maintaining, and operating the Apache Kafka infrastructure while at the same time leveraging the elasticity, scalability, and global availability of the cloud.

Question 2

Can I run Aiven services within my own cloud account?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we offer a Bring-your-own-cloud (BYOC) deployment model for strict control requirements or to take advantage of your cloud provider discounts. Please contact sales for more information, or check out our BYOC documentation.

Question 3

Which connectors can I use with Aiven for Apache Kafka?

Accepted Answer

Easily connect to your data producers and data consumers with 30+ pre-built Kafka connectors. Click here to view the full list.

Question 4

How do I reduce Kafka costs while retaining more historical data?

Accepted Answer

Tiered Storage reduces storage costs, increases operational flexibility, and provides unlimited data retention scalability.

Retain data indefinitely: Retain data in Kafka for extended periods or indefinitely, with incurring significant costs
Cost optimization: Reduce Kafka storage costs, especially for large datasets with long retention periods
Improve scalability and performance: Decouple compute (brokers) and storage (remote) to scale each independently
Simplify operations: Simplify cluster management, reduce maintenance downtime, optimize resource utilization, and reduce Kafka admin time spent managing operations
Innovation: Unlock new use cases where Kafka was once deemed impractical or too expensive

Question 5

What happens to my service and data during upgrades and migrations?

Accepted Answer

During any upgrade process, new Kafka nodes are started alongside your existing nodes.

They join the Kafka cluster, now a mixture of old and new nodes. Aiven code coordinates streaming data from old to new nodes and moves partition leadership to new nodes. Old nodes with no more data are then retired from the cluster. Read more for a detailed step-by-step explanation of how this works.

Question 6

How do I ensure adequate capacity if I’m expecting incoming data spikes?

Accepted Answer

Scaling options are available for all Aiven for Apache Kafka customers and require near-zero downtime, keeping your cluster up and running during the upgrade. Learn how you can increase the capacity of an existing Kafka cluster.

Question 7

What’s included in Aiven customer support?

Accepted Answer

We proactively monitor all services 24/7/365. Our personnel are automatically alerted to any service anomalies for immediate resolution. Additionally, your account includes email and chat support. Three additional support tiers are available for a fee. Learn more about support response times and plans.

Question 8

Is Aiven for Kafka cheaper than Confluent?

Accepted Answer

Yes. With Aiven’s BYOC model, our customers cut costs by up to 40% or more with simple, predictable pricing — unlike Confluent’s complex, usage-based fees.

Feature	Self-Hosted	AWS MSK	Aiven
Vendor Independence	Open-source Kafka, trade no lock in for additional engineering time.	Introduces vendor lock-in, limiting flexibility.	True fully managed open-source Kafka.
Control	Gives full control but demands extensive day-to-day management.	Only offers partial control of services.	Delivers a fully managed service, reducing operational burden.
Predictable Pricing	Involves unpredictable costs due to fluctuating resource needs.	Has variable costs, making budget forecasting challenging.	Provides predictable pricing, simplifying financial planning.
Flexible Scaling	Bring your own scaling.	Requires manual scaling, lacking automation.	Features auto-scaling, ensuring seamless adaptation to demand-scaling.
Simple Setup	Involves a complex setup process.	Requires a complex VPC setup.	Simple setup in < 5 minutes, accelerating deployment.
Cloud Support	Can be deployed on any cloud.	Limited to AWS only.	Offers multi-cloud support including AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Support	Relies on community support.	AWS support.	24/7 expert support.
SLA	Bring your own SLAs.	Provides a 99.9% SLA.	Offers a 99.99% SLA, indicating a greater commitment to uptime and reliability.
Additional Services	Limited to Kafka; manual integration with other services.	Access to the entire AWS Service catalogue and integrations.	Fully managed open-source services for a complete data pipeline (e.g. PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, etc).

A better approach to managed Kafka

Aiven for Kafka: A Head to Head Comparison

Why choose Aiven for Kafka

Simplified Operations

Mature Ecosystem

Cost Optimization

Aiven’s Committed to Open Source

Enterprise Reliability

Streamlined Solutions

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How our customers use Apache Kafka

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