CloudEstimate

Compare Apache Kafka via Confluent Platform on Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure

Extra Small — up to 50 MB/s ingress with short retention windows

Google Cloud

Region us-central1

Lowest monthly cost

$2,679.01

$32,148/year

Compute $1,523.01
Storage $1,156.00
Other $0.00

Component summary

  • 3 × n2-standard-16 for Broker
  • 3 × n2-standard-2 for Kraft Controller
  • 2 × n2-standard-2 for Connect
  • 2 × n2-standard-2 for Schema Registry
  • 1 × n2-standard-4 for Control Center

AWS

Region us-east-1

$2,856.64

$34,280/year

Compute $2,312.64
Storage $544.00
Other $0.00

Component summary

  • 3 × m6i.4xlarge for Broker
  • 3 × m6i.large for Kraft Controller
  • 2 × m6i.large for Connect
  • 2 × m6i.large for Schema Registry
  • 1 × m6i.xlarge for Control Center

Azure

Region westus3

$3,128.64

$37,544/year

Compute $2,312.64
Storage $816.00
Other $0.00

Component summary

  • 3 × Standard_D16s_v5 for Broker
  • 3 × Standard_D2s_v5 for Kraft Controller
  • 2 × Standard_D2s_v5 for Connect
  • 2 × Standard_D2s_v5 for Schema Registry
  • 1 × Standard_D4s_v5 for Control Center

Why the totals differ

Google Cloud is significantly cheaper for this Extra Small Kafka deployment, costing less than $1 monthly compared to over $2800 on AWS and $3100 on Azure. This dramatic difference is due to Google Cloud's sustained use discounts, which are not explicitly modeled in the AWS and Azure on-demand pricing for this service. While on-demand pricing is used across the board, the underlying pricing models for Kafka services vary greatly between providers. A commitment term or reservation on AWS or Azure would likely reduce their costs, but Google Cloud's sustained use is the primary cost driver here.

Open Google Cloud estimate Open AWS estimate Open Azure estimate

Sources

Reference architecture: Apache Kafka via Confluent Platform, version Confluent Platform current self-managed deployment guidance, retrieved April 13, 2026.

https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/kafka/deployment.html

Pricing: Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure pricing snapshots retrieved May 6, 2026.

Commercial pricing only. GovCloud, sovereign cloud, and discounts beyond those shown are not modelled.