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Comparison

Architectural Considerations​

Confluent Kafka On-premises​

  • Complete control over hardware, network, and security configurations
  • Requires dedicated infrastructure team for maintenance
  • Supports multi-datacenter deployments
  • Fully customizable retention and scaling policies
  • Can be deployed in air-gapped environments
  • Requires manual updates and maintenance windows

Confluent Kafka on Azure​

  • Managed by Confluent while running on Azure infrastructure
  • Seamless integration with other Azure services
  • Private link support for secure connectivity
  • Auto-scaling and self-balancing clusters
  • 99.95% uptime SLA
  • Automatic updates and maintenance handled by Confluent

Azure Event Hubs​

  • Native Azure PaaS solution
  • Supports Azure Private Link
  • Auto-inflate for automatic scaling
  • 99.95% availability SLA for standard tier, 99.99% for premium
  • Native integration with Azure Monitor and Log Analytics

Comparison Overview​

Comparison Overview

ASP.NET Client Library Support​

ASP.NET Client Library Support

Pricing Comparison (as of February 2025)​

Confluent Kafka On-premises​

  • License: Per broker, starting at ~$10,000-$15,000 per broker per year for Confluent Enterprise
  • Infrastructure: Hardware costs, data center costs, network costs
  • Operations: Personnel costs for management and maintenance
  • Total Cost Estimate: $100,000+ per year depending on scale (3+ broker cluster with support)

Confluent Kafka on Azure​

  • Basic: $0.09/hour per CKU (Confluent Kafka Unit)
  • Each CKU provides 250 MBps throughput
  • 100 GB storage included per CKU
  • Standard: $0.12/hour per CKU
  • Adds enhanced networking and higher SLAs
  • Dedicated: Starting at $15,000/month
  • Custom sizing based on requirements
  • Additional Storage: $0.10/GB/month
  • Connect/ksqlDB: $0.39/CCU/hour (Confluent Compute Unit)
  • Schema Registry: $0.08/SR/hour (Schema Registry unit)
  • Estimated Monthly Cost: $2,500-$10,000 depending on scale and features

Azure Event Hubs​

  • Basic Tier: $0.015 per million operations
  • Limited features, no publisher policies
  • Standard Tier: $0.03 per throughput unit (TU) per hour
  • 1 TU = 1 MB/s ingress, 2 MB/s egress
  • Retention: $0.03/GB/day beyond 84GB included
  • Premium Tier: Starting at $0.13 per processing unit (PU) per hour
  • 1 PU = 1 MB/s ingress, 2 MB/s egress
  • Dedicated resources
  • Includes extended retention (up to 90 days)
  • Event Hubs Dedicated: Starting at $4,000/month
  • Custom CUs based on requirements
  • Estimated Monthly Cost: $750-$6,000 depending on scale and tier

Total Cost of Ownership Comparison​

Total Cost of Ownership Comparison

Ideal Use Cases​

Confluent Kafka On-premises​

  • Stringent data locality requirements
  • Air-gapped environments
  • Complete infrastructure control needed
  • Existing large investment in on-premises infrastructure
  • Highly customized deployment requirements

Confluent Kafka on Azure​

  • Full Kafka ecosystem required (Connect, KSQL, etc.)
  • Hybrid cloud architectures with Kafka
  • Advanced streaming features needed
  • Desire for Kafka-native tools and interfaces
  • Need for longer message retention
  • Complex stream processing requirements

Azure Event Hubs​

  • Native Azure integration is a priority
  • Simpler event ingestion requirements
  • Cost-sensitive implementations
  • Azure-centric architectures
  • Integration with Azure Functions and Logic Apps
  • Quick startup with minimal configuration