Side by side
Confluent Cloud vs RisingWave
Both stand on event streaming platforms. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxWeb
Confluent Cloud combines managed Kafka streaming with connectors, stream processing, and governance options. A free plan is available, while paid plans start at $385.00 per month and new signups receive $400 in first-30-day credits.
Visit Confluent Cloud
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
RisingWave combines SQL access with incremental streaming views and an exactly-once processing guarantee. Hosted Basic has regional and core limits, while self-managed deployments have no license fees or usage restrictions.
Visit RisingWaveThe facts
| Confluent Cloud | RisingWave | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Web | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Standard: $385 a month | See the plans |
| Plans published | 4 | 3 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | confluent.io | risingwave.com |
| On event streaming platforms | #5 of 27 | #9 of 27 |
Confluent Cloud: what it does well
- Free Basic plan with serverless managed clusters.
- More than 80 managed connectors are listed.
- Supports AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
- Cluster Linking spans regions and public clouds.
- Client language support includes Java, Python, and Go.
What to know first
- Paid plans start at $385.00 per month.
- Usage-based pricing applies after the 30-day credits.
- Dedicated clusters require pre-provisioned resources.
RisingWave: what it does well
- PostgreSQL clients, drivers, and tools can connect.
- Materialized views update incrementally as events arrive.
- Lists 31+ native connectors.
- Self-managed deployment has no license fees or usage restrictions.
- Exactly-once processing is listed.
What to know first
- Hosted Basic is limited to 64 cores.
- Basic is available only in select regions.
- The local playground stops after 30 minutes of inactivity.
- Basic includes standard support; premium 24x7 is an option on Pro.
Alternatives to Confluent Cloud Alternatives to RisingWave The whole list