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Apache NiFi vs Azure Stream Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache NiFi
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Compute Service (8th)
Azure Stream Analytics
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Streaming Analytics (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Apache NiFi and Azure Stream Analytics aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Apache NiFi is designed for Compute Service and holds a mindshare of 9.1%, up 8.0% compared to last year.
Azure Stream Analytics, on the other hand, focuses on Streaming Analytics, holds 7.6% mindshare, down 12.2% since last year.
Compute Service Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache NiFi9.1%
AWS Lambda18.2%
AWS Batch17.2%
Other55.5%
Compute Service
Streaming Analytics Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Azure Stream Analytics7.6%
Apache Flink14.8%
Databricks12.5%
Other65.1%
Streaming Analytics
 

Featured Reviews

Bharghava Raghavendra Beesa - PeerSpot reviewer
The tool enables effective data transformation and integration
There are some areas for improvement, particularly with record-level tasks that take a bit of time. The quality of JSON data processing could be improved, as JSON workloads require manual conversions without a specific process. Enhancing features related to alerting would be helpful, including mobile alerts for pipeline issues. Integration with mobile devices for error alerts would simplify information delivery.
SantiagoCordero - PeerSpot reviewer
Native connectors and integration simplify tasks but portfolio complexity needs addressing
There are too many products in the Azure landscape, which sometimes leads to overlap between them. Microsoft continuously releases new products or solutions, which can be frustrating when determining the appropriate features from one solution over another. A cost comparison between products is also not straightforward. They should simplify their portfolio. The Microsoft licensing system is confusing and not easy to understand, and this is something they should address. In the future, I may stop using Stream Analytics and move to other solutions. I discussed Palantir earlier, which is something I want to explore in depth because it allows me to accomplish more efficiently compared to solely using Azure. Additionally, the vendors should make the solution more user-friendly, incorporating low-code and no-code features. This is something I wish to explore further.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature has been the range of clients and the range of connectors that we could use."
"It's an automated flow, where you can build a flow from source to destination, then do the transformation in between."
"Visually, this is a good product."
"It is highly effective for handling real-time data by working with APIs for immediate and continuous data extraction."
"The most valuable features of this solution are ease of use and implementation."
"Apache NiFi is user-friendly. Its most valuable features for handling large volumes of data include its multitude of integrated endpoints and clients and the ability to create cron jobs to run tasks at regular intervals."
"We can integrate the tool with other applications easily."
"The initial setup is very easy. I would rate my experience with the initial setup a ten out of ten, where one point is difficult, and ten points are easy."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"Real-time analytics is the most valuable feature of this solution. I can send the collected data to Power BI in real time."
"The way it organizes data into tables and dashboards is very helpful."
"It provides the capability to streamline multiple output components."
"The life cycle, report management and crash management features are great."
"The most valuable features are the IoT hub and the Blob storage."
"I like all the connected ecosystems of Microsoft, it is really good with other BI tools that are easy to connect."
"The most valuable features of Azure Stream Analytics are the ease of provisioning and the interface is not terribly complex."
 

Cons

"The use case templates could be more precise to typical business needs."
"There should be a better way to integrate a development environment with local tools."
"There are some claims that NiFi is cloud-native but we have tested it, and it's not."
"There is room for improvement in integration with SSO. For example, NiFi does not have any integration with SSO. And if I want to give some kind of rollback access control across the organization. That is not possible."
"The tool should incorporate more tutorials for advanced use cases. It has tutorials for simple use cases."
"The quality of JSON data processing could be improved, as JSON workloads require manual conversions without a specific process."
"We run many jobs, and there are already large tables. When we do not control NiFi on time, all reports fail for the day. So it's pretty slow to control, and it has to be improved."
"The overall stability of this solution could be improved. In a future release, we would like to have access to more features that could be used in a parallel way. This would provide more freedom with processing."
"We would like to have centralized platform altogether since we have different kind of options for data ingestion. Sometimes it gets difficult to manage different platforms."
"More flexibility in terms of writing queries and accommodating additional facilities would be beneficial."
"The only challenge was that the streaming analytics area in Azure Stream Analytics could not meet our company's expectations, making it a component where improvements are required."
"I would like to have a contact individual at Microsoft."
"The collection and analysis of historical data could be better."
"Early in the process, we had some issues with stability."
"The solution’s customer support could be improved."
"Sometimes when we connect Power BI, there is a delay or it throws up some errors, so we're not sure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I used the tool's free version."
"The solution is open-source."
"It's an open-source solution."
"We use the free version of Apache NiFi."
"The cost of this solution is less than competitors such as Amazon or Google Cloud."
"There are different tiers based on retention policies. There are four tiers. The pricing varies based on steaming units and tiers. The standard pricing is $10/hour."
"The product's price is at par with the other solutions provided by the other cloud service providers in the market."
"The licensing for this product is payable on a 'pay as you go' basis. This means that the cost is only based on data volume, and the frequency that the solution is used."
"Azure Stream Analytics is a little bit expensive."
"When scaling up, the pricing for Azure Stream Analytics can get relatively high. Considering its capabilities compared to other solutions, I would rate it a seven out of ten for cost. However, we've found ways to optimize costs using tools like Databricks for specific tasks."
"The current price is substantial."
"I rate the price of Azure Stream Analytics a four out of five."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Retailer
9%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache NiFi?
Apache NiFi is open-source and free. Its integration with systems like Cloudera can be expensive, but Apache NiFi itself presents the best pricing as a standalone tool.
What needs improvement with Apache NiFi?
The logging system of Apache NiFi needs improvement. It is difficult to debug compared to Airflow ( /products/apache-airflow-reviews ), where task details and issues are clear. With Apache NiFi, I ...
Which would you choose - Databricks or Azure Stream Analytics?
Databricks is an easy-to-set-up and versatile tool for data management, analysis, and business analytics. For analytics teams that have to interpret data to further the business goals of their orga...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Stream Analytics?
The solution does not need any license; it comes with your subscription.
What needs improvement with Azure Stream Analytics?
With the deployment of Azure Stream Analytics, there are many challenges. I am working with a DevOps team that I'm part of as a counselor. I'm working with them because they are working in other pa...
 

Also Known As

No data available
ASA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Macquarie Telecom Group, Dovestech, Slovak Telekom, Looker, Hastings Group
Rockwell Automation, Milliman, Honeywell Building Solutions, Arcoflex Automation Solutions, Real Madrid C.F., Aerocrine, Ziosk, Tacoma Public Schools, P97 Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apache, Zadara and others in Compute Service. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.