Apache Kafka vs. Ably Realtime

Apache Kafka is an open-source distributed event streaming platform developed by the Apache Software Foundation. It is designed to handle real-time data feeds with high throughput and low latency, making it ideal for building data pipelines, streaming analytics, and integrating data across various systems. Kafka enables organizations to publish, store, and process streams of records in a fault-tolerant and scalable manner, supporting mission-critical applications across diverse industries.

Ably helps teams deliver resilient AI UX and high-performance live experiences that stay fast and in sync worldwide. We provide the global realtime layer for AI agents, chat, notifications, live dashboards, and collaboration - engineered to handle peak demand without self-managed infrastructure. Teams like HubSpot and Intercom use Ably to avoid the cost and complexity of building and operating realtime systems, while still getting predictable performance at serious scale, handling 2T+ API operations per month.