Apache Flink vs Apache Kafka: Which One Should I Choose?

Ansam Yousry
ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR
4 min readApr 3, 2023

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When it comes to real-time stream processing, Apache Flink and Apache Kafka are two of the most popular open-source solutions available. While both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, deciding between them can be challenging. In this article, we will compare Apache Flink and Apache Kafka to help you decide which one is right for your use case.

What is Apache Flink?

Apache Flink is an open-source, distributed computing platform that enables real-time stream processing and batch processing. It was originally developed by the Apache Software Foundation in 2014 and has quickly become one of the most popular stream-processing frameworks in the industry. Flink’s key feature is its ability to process data streams in real time, providing fast, low-latency processing for large-scale data sets.

What is Apache Kafka?

Apache Kafka is another open-source distributed computing platform that is designed for real-time data streaming. It was originally developed by LinkedIn in 2011 and was later open-sourced and taken over by the Apache Software Foundation. Kafka is a messaging system that provides a high-throughput, fault-tolerant mechanism for publishing and subscribing to streams of records in real time.

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Ansam Yousry
ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR

Help data engineers grow their skills by sharing real-world demos and in-depth technical articles. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ansam-yousry/