Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Apache Flink VS GetStream.io

Compare Apache Flink VS GetStream.io and see what are their differences

Apache Flink logo Apache Flink

Flink is a streaming dataflow engine that provides data distribution, communication, and fault tolerance for distributed computations.

GetStream.io logo GetStream.io

APIs for the development of scalable newsfeeds and chat applications.
  • Apache Flink Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03
  • GetStream.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-30

Apache Flink

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

GetStream.io

$ Details
paid
Platforms
iOS Android REST API Cross Platform
Release Date
2014 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
Colorado
City
Boulder
Founder(s)
Thierry Schellenbach
Employees
100 - 249

Apache Flink features and specs

  • Real-time Stream Processing
    Apache Flink is designed for real-time data streaming, offering low-latency processing capabilities that are essential for applications requiring immediate data insights.
  • Event Time Processing
    Flink supports event time processing, which allows it to handle out-of-order events effectively and provide accurate results based on the time events actually occurred rather than when they were processed.
  • State Management
    Flink provides robust state management features, making it easier to maintain and query state across distributed nodes, which is crucial for managing long-running applications.
  • Fault Tolerance
    The framework includes built-in mechanisms for fault tolerance, such as consistent checkpoints and savepoints, ensuring high reliability and data consistency even in the case of failures.
  • Scalability
    Apache Flink is highly scalable, capable of handling both batch and stream processing workloads across a distributed cluster, making it suitable for large-scale data processing tasks.
  • Rich Ecosystem
    Flink has a rich set of APIs and integrations with other big data tools, such as Apache Kafka, Apache Hadoop, and Apache Cassandra, enhancing its versatility and ease of integration into existing data pipelines.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Flink

  • Complexity
    Flink’s advanced features and capabilities come with a steep learning curve, making it more challenging to set up and use compared to simpler stream processing frameworks.
  • Resource Intensive
    The framework can be resource-intensive, requiring substantial memory and CPU resources for optimal performance, which might be a concern for smaller setups or cost-sensitive environments.
  • Community Support
    While growing, the community around Apache Flink is not as large or mature as some other big data frameworks like Apache Spark, potentially limiting the availability of community-contributed resources and support.
  • Ecosystem Maturity
    Despite its integrations, the Flink ecosystem is still maturing, and certain tools and plugins may not be as developed or stable as those available for more established frameworks.
  • Operational Overhead
    Running and maintaining a Flink cluster can involve significant operational overhead, including monitoring, scaling, and troubleshooting, which might require a dedicated team or additional expertise.

GetStream.io features and specs

  • Scalability
    GetStream.io is designed to handle large-scale applications with ease, making it suitable for both small projects and enterprise-level implementations.
  • Real-time Updates
    Provides robust real-time functionalities, allowing for instant updates and notifications, which is crucial for chat applications and activity feeds.
  • Flexibility
    Offers a wide variety of SDKs and APIs for different programming languages, giving developers the flexibility to integrate the services within a wide range of applications.
  • Feature-rich
    Includes features like user authentication, image processing, moderation tools, analytics, and more, providing a comprehensive solution for social feeds and chat functionalities.
  • Security
    Implements robust security measures like JWT (JSON Web Tokens) for ensuring secure communication between clients and servers.
  • Documentation and Support
    Offers extensive documentation and dedicated customer support, helping developers to efficiently integrate and troubleshoot the service.

Possible disadvantages of GetStream.io

  • Complex Pricing
    The pricing model can be complex and may become expensive for large-scale implementations, which could be a deterrent for some businesses.
  • Initial Learning Curve
    Can have a steep initial learning curve, especially for developers who are not familiar with real-time technologies or the specific APIs provided by GetStream.io.
  • Dependency
    Relying on an external service for critical application features introduces dependency risks, such as uptime dependency and potential service changes.
  • Latency
    Depending on user locations and service regions, there might be latency issues, which could impact the real-time performance for some users.
  • Customization Limits
    While feature-rich, there might be limitations on customization options if the provided functionalities do not align perfectly with specific use-case requirements.

Analysis of Apache Flink

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Apache Flink is considered a good distributed stream processing framework.

Why this product is good

  • Rich api
    Flink offers a rich set of APIs for various levels of abstraction, catering to different needs of developers.
  • Scalability
    Flink provides excellent horizontal scalability, making it suitable for handling large data streams and high-throughput applications.
  • Fault tolerance
    Flink's checkpointing mechanism ensures fault-tolerance, maintaining data state consistency even after failures.
  • Ease of integration
    Flink integrates well with other big data tools and ecosystems, facilitating broader data architecture designs.
  • Real-time processing
    It excels at processing data in real-time, allowing for immediate insights and action on streaming data.
  • Community and support
    Being a part of the Apache Software Foundation, Flink benefits from a large community and comprehensive documentation.
  • Complex event processing
    It supports complex event processing, which is essential for many real-time applications.

Recommended for

  • real-time analytics
  • stream data processing
  • complex event processing
  • machine learning in streaming applications
  • applications requiring high-throughput and low-latency processing
  • companies looking for robust fault-tolerance in distributed systems

Analysis of GetStream.io

Overall verdict

  • GetStream.io is generally considered a good choice for developers and companies needing a reliable and scalable solution for integrating activity feeds and chat functionality into their applications. Its comprehensive feature set and ease of integration make it a favorite among many in the developer community.

Why this product is good

  • GetStream.io is widely regarded as a reliable service for building scalable, activity feed and chat applications. It offers a robust API and pre-built components to help developers implement real-time features quickly and efficiently. Its strength lies in the ease of use and customizability it provides, along with excellent documentation and support. Furthermore, it scales well with increasing demand, making it suitable for applications with significant growth potential.

Recommended for

  • Developers seeking to integrate real-time chat into their applications
  • Companies needing scalable activity feed infrastructure
  • Startups looking for quick-to-deploy solutions with strong support
  • Applications expecting significant user base growth
  • Projects requiring high customizability and robust API access

Apache Flink videos

GOTO 2019 • Introduction to Stateful Stream Processing with Apache Flink • Robert Metzger

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Apache Flink Tutorial | Flink vs Spark | Real Time Analytics Using Flink | Apache Flink Training
  • Tutorial - How to build a modern stream processor: The science behind Apache Flink - Stefan Richter

GetStream.io videos

Reviewing Your Twitch Channels LIVE - STREAM REVIEW EP14

More videos:

  • Review - Do you REALLY need a Stream Deck? - Elgato Stream Deck XL Review & Explanation
  • Review - Ninja Reviews the Elgato Stream Deck

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Flink and GetStream.io)
Big Data
100 100%
0% 0
APIs
0 0%
100% 100
Stream Processing
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Apache Flink might be a bit more popular than GetStream.io. We know about 41 links to it since March 2021 and only 36 links to GetStream.io. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Flink mentions (41)

  • What is Apache Flink? Exploring Its Open Source Business Model, Funding, and Community
    Continuous Learning: Leverage online tutorials from the official Flink website and attend webinars for deeper insights. - Source: dev.to / 18 days ago
  • Is RisingWave the Next Apache Flink?
    Apache Flink, known initially as Stratosphere, is a distributed stream processing engine initiated by a group of researchers at TU Berlin. Since its initial release in May 2011, Flink has gained immense popularity in both academia and industry. And it is currently the most well-known streaming system globally (challenge me if you think I got it wrong!). - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Every Database Will Support Iceberg — Here's Why
    Apache Iceberg defines a table format that separates how data is stored from how data is queried. Any engine that implements the Iceberg integration — Spark, Flink, Trino, DuckDB, Snowflake, RisingWave — can read and/or write Iceberg data directly. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • RisingWave Turns Four: Our Journey Beyond Democratizing Stream Processing
    The last decade saw the rise of open-source frameworks like Apache Flink, Spark Streaming, and Apache Samza. These offered more flexibility but still demanded significant engineering muscle to run effectively at scale. Companies using them often needed specialized stream processing engineers just to manage internal state, tune performance, and handle the day-to-day operational challenges. The barrier to entry... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Twitter's 600-Tweet Daily Limit Crisis: Soaring GCP Costs and the Open Source Fix Elon Musk Ignored
    Apache Flink: Flink is a unified streaming and batching platform developed under the Apache Foundation. It provides support for Java API and a SQL interface. Flink boasts a large ecosystem and can seamlessly integrate with various services, including Kafka, Pulsar, HDFS, Iceberg, Hudi, and other systems. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
View more

GetStream.io mentions (36)

  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2025)
    Company: Stream https://getstream.io/ We are consistently hiring backend engineers ranging from Senior level to Staff / Lead / Director / Principal Go engineers. If you have experience with a different tech stack, we offer a 10-week onboarding program to train you in Go, scaling and other key topics: https://tinyurl.com/2u5x9f9w At Stream, we use Go for our video SFU, chat API, Moderation and Feeds, serving high... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2025)
    FYI, Your website (https://getstream.io/) is broken :-) Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser console for more information). - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2025)
    Stream | Golang Staff Engineer | On-site: Amsterdam/Boulder/Skopje (sometimes remote) Stream (https://getstream.io/) provides APIs for building in-app chat, feeds and realtime video. We do this for over a billion end users, and thousands of apps such as Nextdoor, Strava, Gojek, Alfagift and others Looking for Go engineers of all levels, and in particular staff and above. Also very happy to train people on Go if... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2025)
    Company: Stream https://getstream.io/ We are hiring backend engineers ranging from Senior level to Staff / Lead / Director / Principal Go engineers. If you have experience with a different tech stack, we offer a 10-week onboarding program to train you in Go, scaling and other key topics: https://tinyurl.com/2u5x9f9w At Stream, we use Go for our video SFU, chat API, Moderation and Feeds, serving high traffic from... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Building a Slack Clone with Next.js and TailwindCSS - Part One
    Stream is a platform that allows developers to add rich chat and video features to their applications. Instead of dealing with the complexity of creating chat and video from the ground up, Stream provides APIs and SDKs to help you add them quickly and easily. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Flink and GetStream.io, you can also consider the following products

Apache Spark - Apache Spark is an engine for big data processing, with built-in modules for streaming, SQL, machine learning and graph processing.

SendBird - SendBird is messaging-as-a-service.

Spring Framework - The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.

Ethora - Ethora: Seamlessly build, deploy, and manage web2 & Web3 applications with no-code solutions.

Amazon Kinesis - Amazon Kinesis services make it easy to work with real-time streaming data in the AWS cloud.

ZmURL - Build a beautiful page for your Zoom event in 2 minutes