

Confluent is a data streaming platform based on Apache Kafka and Apache Flink. It is designed for organizations that handle data as a continuous flow of events rather than static batches, supporting the creation of real-time data architectures.
The platform is intended for software companies and large enterprises. It helps teams integrate data systems, manage data quality via a schema registry, and process streams in flight to create data products.
Buyers can choose between different deployment models, including a fully managed cloud service (Confluent Cloud), a self-managed version (Confluent Platform), or private cloud options. This allows teams to choose between managed operational ease and infrastructure control.
Buyers should confirm their specific throughput requirements and whether they need the networking and partition limits found in the Enterprise or Freight tiers.
Supports the continuous flow of events across a business to power real-time applications.
Includes a Schema Registry, Stream Catalog, and Stream Lineage to manage data quality and compatibility.
Integrates Apache Flink to filter, join, and enrich data streams using SQL syntax.
Provides a library of pre-built connectors to integrate with various databases, SaaS apps, and cloud services.
Supports real-time, context-aware AI capabilities for data streams.
Offers options for fully managed cloud, self-managed on-premises, and private cloud environments.
Building Change Data Capture pipelines to synchronize data between relational databases in real time.
Developing decoupled application architectures that react to business events as they occur.
Cleaning and governing data at the source before it is ingested into data lakes or warehouses.
Analyzing data streams in real time to identify and respond to fraudulent activity.
Integrating data from multiple sources to create a real-time view of customer activity.
Confluent Cloud uses a consumption-based model with tiered serverless clusters starting from a Basic tier at $0/month, Standard at ~$385/month, and Enterprise at ~$895/month. New sign-ups receive $400 in credits.
While built on Kafka, Confluent provides a platform with additional tools for security, governance, and managed connectors, as well as a cloud-native architecture.
Users can choose Confluent Cloud for a fully managed service, Confluent Platform for self-managed on-premises or hybrid deployments, or Confluent Private Cloud.
The Standard plan, starting at approximately $385/month, is designed for production-ready use cases and includes an extended feature set and a 99.99% uptime SLA for certain configurations.
Source category: Data & Analytics
Source subcategory: Data Integration
Confluent is a data streaming platform built on Apache Kafka designed for software and enterprise companies. It supports real-time data integration and stream processing workflows, including RAG and agentic AI use cases. Specialized networking and high-scale limits are reserved for the Enterprise and Freight pricing tiers.