Apache Spark vs Apache Storm
Apache Spark
spark.apache.orgApache Storm
storm.apache.orgSide by side
| Figure | Apache Spark | Apache Storm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Streaming Analytics Software | 8.1 (#5) | 8.0 (#8) |
| Spec score · Stream Analytics Software | 8.2 (#7) | 8.1 (#9) |
| Spec score · Stream Processing Software | 8.2 (#7) | 8.1 (#9) |
| Spec score · Big Data Analytics Software | 8.1 (#13) | 8.0 (#15) |
| Deployment | Spark documents standalone, Hadoop YARN, and Kubernetes deployment options. | Storm provides local mode for in-process development and remote mode for submitting topologies to a cluster. |
| Encryption | Spark supports TLS encryption for RPC connections and encryption of temporary data written to local disks. | Storm supports TLS for Thrift RPC and Netty worker-to-worker messaging through mutual TLS. |
| Integrations | The listed ecosystem includes pandas, TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, Apache Kafka, Kubernetes, Delta Lake, and Apache Iceberg. | Out-of-the-box integrations include Apache Kafka, HDFS, JDBC databases, JMS, and Redis. |
| License | The project website states Apache Spark is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. | Apache Storm is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. |
| Purpose | Apache Spark is a unified engine for large-scale data analytics. | Apache Storm is a distributed realtime computation system for reliably processing unbounded data streams. |
| Security | Security features such as authentication are not enabled by default, and the documentation says deployments are not secure by default. | Storm supports pluggable Kerberos/SASL authentication and SimpleACLAuthorizer authorization, both disabled by default. |
| Support | The project directs users to mailing lists and community resources for help. | Users can get help through the user mailing list at [email protected]. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache Spark
Apache Spark is a free, open-source engine for large-scale data analytics. It processes batches and real-time streams using Python, SQL, Scala, Java, or R. Spark SQL runs distributed ANSI SQL queries on structured tables and unstructured data such as JSON or images; MLlib provides machine-learning algorithms for local use or cluster scale. The project also describes exploratory analysis on petabyte-scale data without downsampling. Listed ecosystem components include pandas, TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, Apache Kafka, Kubernetes, Delta Lake, and Apache Iceberg. Deployment options include standalone, Hadoop YARN, and Kubernetes. Spark runs on Windows and UNIX-like systems, including Linux and macOS, when a supported Java version is available. The 4.2.0 documentation lists Java 17, 21, or 25, Scala 2.13, Python 3.10+, and R 4.0+ (deprecated). Spark Connect separates client applications from clusters for remote access. Security is not enabled by default; Spark supports TLS for RPC connections and encryption of temporary local-disk data. The project is licensed under Apache License, Version 2.0.
Apache Storm
Apache Storm is a distributed system for computing over unbounded data streams in real time. It uses spouts, bolts, and topologies to assemble multi-stage computations, supporting realtime analytics, online machine learning, continuous computation, distributed RPC, and ETL. The project describes Storm as scalable and fault-tolerant, with guaranteed data processing, and reports a benchmark above one million tuples per second per node. Integrations include Apache Kafka, HDFS, JDBC databases, JMS, and Redis. Developers can work in local mode in-process or submit topologies to a remote cluster. Storm supports stateful processing and lists JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and C# among supported languages. It is free under Apache License, Version 2.0; source and binary distributions are available, along with Maven Central and an official Docker image. The current release is 3.1.0. Security options include Kerberos/SASL authentication, SimpleACLAuthorizer authorization, and TLS for Thrift RPC and worker messaging; authentication and authorization options are disabled by default.