Apache Storm vs Materialize
Apache Storm
storm.apache.org
Materialize
materialize.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache Storm | Materialize |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.13/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Streaming Analytics Software | 8.0 (#8) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Spec score · Stream Analytics Software | 8.1 (#9) | 8.1 (#12) |
| Spec score · Stream Processing Software | 8.1 (#9) | 8.0 (#10) |
| Spec score · Big Data Analytics Software | 8.0 (#15) | 8.0 (#16) |
| Deployment | Storm provides local mode for in-process development and remote mode for submitting topologies to a cluster. | Materialize is offered as a fully managed Cloud service, self-managed software for Kubernetes environments, and a Docker-based local development Emulator. |
| Integrations | Out-of-the-box integrations include Apache Kafka, HDFS, JDBC databases, JMS, and Redis. | The integrations page lists PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, CockroachDB, Kafka, Model Context Protocol, dbt and webhooks, including EventBridge and Segment. |
| Support | Users can get help through the user mailing list at [email protected]. | Cloud On-Demand includes chatbot and helpdesk ticket support, while Cloud Capacity includes a dedicated account team and guided onboarding. |
Plans
Materialize
- Community LicenseFree
- Cloud Capacity$1.50 a year
- Cloud On-Demand$1.50 a month
- Enterprise LicensePrice not published
In their own words
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.
Materialize
Materialize is a live data layer for apps and AI agents that uses SQL to create up-to-the-second views. Rather than rebuilding query results from scratch as data arrives, it updates them incrementally. Connected sources appear as continually updating tables with sub-second freshness. SQL features include multi-way, lateral, and outer joins, recursive SQL, and SUBSCRIBE, which streams query-result changes over a standard Postgres connection.
Materialize is wire-compatible with PostgreSQL and supports clients and tools that work with PostgreSQL. Listed integrations include PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, CockroachDB, Kafka, Model Context Protocol, dbt, and webhooks such as EventBridge and Segment. Transformed updates can go to downstream systems including Kafka and Apache Iceberg. It is available as managed Cloud, self-managed Kubernetes software, and a Docker-based local development Emulator. The free self-managed Community Edition is limited to 24 GiB memory and 48 GiB disk. Cloud On-Demand is $1.50 a month, with usage-based compute, storage, and networking; Cloud Capacity is $1.50 a year, with storage and networking billed separately.