Side by side

Apache Beam vs Apache Flink

Both stand on big data analytics software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Apache Beam

Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3

Apache Beam provides a common programming model for batch and streaming pipelines across several runners. The model is free, though the chosen runner and infrastructure can carry execution costs.

Visit Apache Beam

Apache Flink offers stream and batch processing APIs with operational capabilities for self-hosted deployments. Its security defaults and code execution permissions make deployment configuration an important consideration.

Visit Apache Flink

The facts

	Apache Beam	Apache Flink
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Yes	Not published
Runs on	API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows	API, Linux, Self-hosted
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	2	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	beam.apache.org	flink.apache.org
On big data analytics software	#1 of 30	#9 of 30

Apache Beam: what it does well

Supports batch and streaming workloads
Runs on multiple execution engines
SDKs for Java, Python, Go, and TypeScript
Playground works without local installation
Free open-source programming model

What to know first

Execution costs depend on runner and infrastructure
APIs may change before the first stable 1.x release

Apache Flink: what it does well

Supports stateful processing of bounded and unbounded streams.
Offers SQL, DataStream, and ProcessFunction APIs.
Lists high availability and incremental checkpoints.
Free under Apache License v2.
Supports Java, Python, and Scala.

What to know first

Self-hosted deployment requires operational responsibility.
SSL/TLS and listed authentication options are disabled by default.
Submitted code is not sandboxed.
Mailing-list posting requires subscription.

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