Redpanda
Data Engineering · Free + paid
Kafka-compatible streaming platform without ZooKeeper
At a glance
- Made by
- Redpanda
- Korean
- None (English and a few others only)
- Available on
- CLI
- GitHub
- 12,612 stars
What is Redpanda?
Redpanda is an Apache Kafka-compatible streaming data platform, designed to run lighter and faster with a C++ engine and no ZooKeeper or JVM. Redpanda Connect provides 300+ connectors and declarative YAML pipelines, and Redpanda SQL provides real-time and historical data queries. The Agentic Data Plane controls the data, tool, and model access used by AI agents, logs every action, and includes a kill switch that stops them when the budget is exceeded. It can be used as Serverless, bring your own cloud (BYOC), or a self-managed Enterprise Edition.
- Kafka-compatible C++ streaming engine (no dependencies)
- Redpanda Connect: 300+ connectors, YAML pipelines
- Redpanda SQL: PostgreSQL-compatible distributed OLAP
- MCP Gateway and AI Gateway for managing AI agents
- Agent audit logs and kill switch
- Tiered storage and Apache Iceberg topics
- SSO, RBAC, and audit logs
Who uses Redpanda and for what
- Load into Iceberg tables and Snowflake via real-time streaming
- Run AI agents safely on enterprise data
- Real-time data infrastructure for industries such as finance, manufacturing, and gaming
Pricing
What you get for free — Yes (Serverless free start, no card required / Community Edition)
| Plan | Price | Main limits |
|---|---|---|
| Serverless | Contact sales | Pay-as-you-go or annual commitment, up to 100MB/s write, 5,000 partitions, 99.9% SLA |
| Bring Your Own Cloud | Contact sales | Annual commitment, your own VPC (AWS, GCP, Azure), up to 2GB/s write, 99.99% SLA, 14-day trial |
| Enterprise Edition | Contact sales | Self-managed, 30-day trial, contact for pricing |
Checked on the official pages on 2026-10-14. Prices and features can change, so check the official site again before paying. · Official pricing page
AI tools similar to Redpanda (alternatives)
Redpanda vs. alternatives at a glance
| AI | Pricing | Combos on the map | Connected tools | Free | Cheapest monthly | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redpanda | Free + paid | 0 | 5 | Yes | — | No |
| Apache Flink | Free + paid | 0 | 6 | No | — | No |
| Apache Hadoop | Free + paid | 0 | 6 | No | — | No |
| Apache Kafka | Free + paid | 10 | 6 | No | — | No |
| Apache Pulsar | Free + paid | 0 | 6 | No | — | No |
1 of these 5 tools have a free plan.
Combo and connection counts are based on the relationships recorded on AI Galaxy Map (2026-10-26); they are not a quality ranking.
Redpanda on AI Galaxy Map
- One of 24 AI tools in the Data Engineering field.
- Connected to 5 other tools — #6 in its field.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Redpanda for free?
Yes (Serverless free start, no card required / Community Edition). Prices can change, so check the official site before paying.
What AI can I use instead of Redpanda?
Tools that do the same job, such as Apache Flink, Apache Hadoop, Apache Kafka, Apache Pulsar, are connected to it on the map.
Can I use Redpanda in Korean?
None (English and a few others only)
Sources (official pages)
- https://www.redpanda.com/
- https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda
- https://www.redpanda.com/try-data-streaming
Checked on the official pages on 2026-10-14. Prices and features can change, so check the official site again before paying.