Apache Spark vs Timely Dataflow
Apache Spark
spark.apache.orgTimely Dataflow
timelydataflow.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Apache Spark | Timely Dataflow |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Stream Processing Software | 8.2 (#7) | 6.6 (#23) |
| License | The project website states Apache Spark is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. | The GitHub repository identifies the project as MIT licensed. |
| Purpose | Apache Spark is a unified engine for large-scale data analytics. | Timely Dataflow is a system for implementing distributed streaming computation and a way to structure computation generally. |
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.
Timely Dataflow
Timely Dataflow has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.