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Apache Samza

Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted

What Apache Samza is

Apache Samza is a distributed framework for building applications that process live data from multiple sources. It supports stateless processing and stateful workloads, with a scalable state store designed to tolerate failures. Developers can build with the Streams API, Task API, Samza SQL, or Apache Beam API. Beam support for Python and Go is described as work in progress; Java and Scala applications can also use Samza as a lightweight client library. Built-in integrations include Apache Kafka, AWS Kinesis, Azure Event Hubs, Elasticsearch, and Apache Hadoop, and custom sources can be connected. Deployment options include YARN, Kubernetes, and use as a standalone library. Documentation covers public-cloud, containerized, and bare-metal environments. Host affinity and incremental checkpointing support recovery of tasks and their state after failures. Samza provides at-least-once processing, SQL processing, and event-time windows. The project describes use in applications with several terabytes of state and thousands of cores. It is free and self-hosted, with Linux and API platforms listed. Distribution is through source artifacts and Maven; there is no binary release at this time.

Who it suits

Samza suits developers building real-time data applications that need stateful or stateless stream processing and integrations with systems such as Kafka, Kinesis, or Hadoop. It is intended for Java and Scala applications and teams able to deploy and operate it themselves on Linux, YARN, Kubernetes, or as a standalone library.

What it does well

Free plan with open-source distribution.
Supports both stateful and stateless stream processing.
Offers Streams, Task, SQL, and Beam APIs.
Integrates with Kafka, Kinesis, Azure Event Hubs, Elasticsearch, and Hadoop.
Supports YARN, Kubernetes, or standalone deployment.
Checkpointing and host affinity support task recovery.

What to know first

Self-hosted deployment requires users to run Samza.
The download page says no binary release is available.
Python and Go support for Beam is work in progress.
Processing guarantee is at least once.

Limits

The free plan is listed as free. The project is distributed as source artifacts and through Maven, and the download page says it has no binary release at this time.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Apache Samza	Open-source stream-processing framework · source artifacts and Maven distribution	Free

As samza.apache.org lists them, read 2 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Visit the Apache Samza website.
Use the source artifact or Maven distribution.
Choose a deployment route: YARN, Kubernetes, or standalone library.
Build with Java or Scala, or use one of Samza's listed APIs.
Connect a built-in integration or add a custom source.

Verdict

Choose Apache Samza if you need a free, self-hosted framework for real-time stream processing with state stores, multiple APIs, and built-in integrations. Look elsewhere if you need a binary release or a processing guarantee beyond at least once.

Questions

How much does Apache Samza cost?

The Apache Samza plan is free, and the pricing model is free.

Is Apache Samza open source?

Yes. It is described as an open-source stream-processing framework and is distributed as source artifacts and through Maven.

Which languages does Samza support?

Samza can be embedded as a lightweight client library in Java and Scala applications. Python and Go support for the Apache Beam API is work in progress.

Where can Samza be deployed?

It supports YARN, Kubernetes, or use as a standalone library. Its documentation describes public-cloud, containerized, and bare-metal environments.

Which systems does Samza integrate with?

Built-in integrations include Apache Kafka, AWS Kinesis, Azure Event Hubs, Elasticsearch, and Apache Hadoop. Custom sources can also be integrated.

Facts from Apache Samza's own pages

APIs: It provides a high-level Streams API, a low-level Task API, Samza SQL, and an Apache Beam API; Python and Go support for Beam are described as work in progress. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Deployment: Samza supports deployment on YARN, Kubernetes, or as a standalone library, and its documentation describes running applications across public clouds, containerized environments, and bare-metal hardware. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Distribution: Samza is distributed as a source artifact and through Maven; the download page says it does not have a binary release at this time. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Founded: 2013 · samza.apache.org, 28 Sept 2026
Integrations: Built-in integrations include Apache Kafka, AWS Kinesis, Azure Event Hubs, Elasticsearch, and Apache Hadoop, and custom sources can also be integrated. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Processing: Samza supports both stateless and stateful stream processing, with a scalable, fault-tolerant state store for stateful workloads. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Processing guarantee: Samza supports at-least-once processing. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Purpose: Apache Samza is a distributed stream-processing framework for building stateful applications that process data in real time from multiple sources. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Recovery: Samza supports host affinity and incremental checkpointing to help recover tasks and their associated state after failures. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Scale: The documentation says Samza has been used in applications with several terabytes of state and thousands of cores. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Security: The background documentation says Samza works with YARN, which supports Hadoop’s security model, and uses Linux cgroups for resource isolation. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Support: The project directs users to a user mailing list subscribed to by Samza users, contributors, and committers. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026
Supported language: Samza can be embedded as a lightweight client library in Java and Scala applications. · samza.apache.org, 2 Oct 2026