Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka vs Lightstreamer
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka
aws.amazon.comLightstreamer
lightstreamer.comSide by side
| Figure | Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka | Lightstreamer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.11/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 5 |
| Spec score · Event Streaming Platforms | 7.9 (#10) | 7.9 (#11) |
| Integrations | Listed integrations include Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink, AWS Lambda, AWS Glue Schema Registry, and AWS Database Migration Service. | Ready-made connectors integrate with Kafka, MQTT, and JMS; named examples include Confluent Cloud, Amazon MSK, Redpanda, AWS IoT Core, IBM MQ, and ActiveMQ. |
| Intended users | AWS describes MSK as intended for developers and DevOps or platform engineers building streaming data applications on AWS. | The maker describes Lightstreamer for business-critical real-time applications across finance, gaming, aerospace, logistics, and media. |
| Security | MSK supports IAM access control, SASL/SCRAM or mutual TLS authentication for Provisioned clusters, and encryption at rest and in transit. | The broker supports TLS with configurable cipher suites, client and server certificates, mutual authentication, and custom authentication and authorization through a Metadata Adapter. |
Plans
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka
- MSK Connect$0.11 a month
- MSK Provisioned — Standard brokers$0.20 a month
- MSK Replicator$0.30 a month
- MSK Provisioned — Express brokers$0.41 a month
- MSK Serverless$0.75 a month
Lightstreamer
- Demo LicenseFree
- Annual subscription — Per Client LicensePrice not published
- Annual subscription — Per Server LicensePrice not published
- PAYG — Per Client-Hour LicensePrice not published
- PAYG — Per Core-Hour LicensePrice not published
In their own words
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) manages Apache Kafka infrastructure on AWS for developers and platform engineers. It provisions and configures clusters, replaces failed servers, coordinates patches and upgrades, and handles monitoring and scaling. Provisioned clusters let customers choose broker and storage options, while Serverless clusters adjust resources to workload needs. MSK keeps compatibility with the Apache Kafka client protocol, so existing Kafka applications and tools can work without application code changes. Integrations include Amazon S3, Redshift, Managed Service for Apache Flink, Lambda, Glue Schema Registry, and Database Migration Service. Clusters span multiple Availability Zones, with three as the default, and the service-level agreement specifies three 9s of availability. Security includes IAM, SASL/SCRAM or mutual TLS for Provisioned clusters, and encryption in transit and at rest. CloudWatch supplies over 50 default metrics at no additional cost. MSK is paid, with separate charges possible for storage, processing, connectivity, and enhanced metrics.
Lightstreamer
Lightstreamer is an event broker for delivering real-time data to web and mobile applications, including across proxies, firewalls, disconnections, and network congestion. Intelligent Streaming adjusts data flow to network conditions and can resample or combine updates to keep users synchronized. Messaging options include publish/subscribe, request/response, client-to-server messaging, and fine-grained item and field subscriptions. StreamSense chooses WebSockets or HTTP connections for each client, including through restrictive firewalls and legacy proxies.
Ready-made connectors cover Kafka, MQTT, and JMS, with named examples including Confluent Cloud, Amazon MSK, Redpanda, AWS IoT Core, IBM MQ, and ActiveMQ. Custom adapters can be built with Java, Python, Node.js, .NET, and TCP sockets. Lightstreamer supports TLS, certificates, mutual authentication, and custom authentication and authorization. It can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, with Helm, Docker, and Kubernetes support. Monitoring options include a web dashboard, configurable logs, JMX, Prometheus, and Grafana integrations. The free Non-Production Limited License requires a Production License and a server restart after at most 210 minutes of uptime.