Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Skype VS Apache Kafka

Compare Skype VS Apache Kafka and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Skype logo Skype

Stay in touch with your family and friends for free on Skype. Download Skype today to chat and call on desktop and mobile.

Apache Kafka logo Apache Kafka

Apache Kafka is an open-source message broker project developed by the Apache Software Foundation written in Scala.
  • Skype Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-08-22
  • Apache Kafka Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-01

Skype features and specs

  • Cross-platform availability
    Skype is available on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • Integration with Microsoft services
    Being a Microsoft product, Skype integrates well with other Microsoft services such as Outlook, Microsoft Office, and OneDrive, facilitating easier coordination and productivity.
  • Free video and voice calls
    Skype offers free video and voice calls to other Skype users, which is ideal for both personal and professional communication.
  • Screen sharing
    Skype allows users to share their screens during calls, which is useful for presentations, remote support, and collaborative work.
  • Instant messaging
    In addition to audio and video calls, Skype also provides a robust instant messaging service that includes text, images, videos, and file sharing.
  • Skype-to-phone calls
    Users can make calls to landlines and mobile phones at competitive rates, which is beneficial for reaching contacts who do not use Skype.
  • Group video calls
    Skype supports group video calls with up to 100 participants, making it suitable for large virtual meetings or family gatherings.
  • Lightweight Design
    Skype Lite is designed to use fewer resources compared to the standard version of Skype, making it ideal for use on devices with limited hardware capabilities and in areas with poor internet connections.
  • Data Optimization
    It features data optimization capabilities that help minimize data usage, which is crucial in limited data environments or for users with restricted data plans.
  • Integration with Indian Features
    Skype Lite includes services specifically tailored for Indian users, such as integrated SMS and support for local languages, making it highly relevant and user-friendly in the Indian market.
  • Built-in Chat Bots
    The app comes with built-in chat bots that offer a range of helpful services, adding convenience and functionality for users seeking quick service or information.

Possible disadvantages of Skype

  • Dependent on internet connection
    Skype requires a stable internet connection for optimal performance. Poor connectivity can lead to call drops, lag, and reduced call quality.
  • Resource-intensive
    Skype can be resource-intensive, consuming significant amounts of CPU and memory, which may slow down other applications running on the same device.
  • Privacy concerns
    Being a Microsoft product, Skype collects user data which may raise privacy concerns for some users.
  • Occasional call quality issues
    Users sometimes report issues with call quality, including audio latency, echoing, and video lag, even under good network conditions.
  • Limited customer support
    Skype's customer support can be slow to respond, which may be frustrating for users needing immediate assistance.
  • Interface complexity
    The user interface can be perceived as complex or cluttered, especially for new users, making it less intuitive than some competing platforms.
  • Limited free features
    While Skype offers many features, some advanced functionalities are only available through additional subscription services or credits.
  • Limited Features Compared to Full Skype
    Skype Lite offers a more streamlined set of features compared to the full version of Skype, potentially lacking some advanced functionalities professionals might need.
  • Regional Availability
    The app is tailored primarily for the Indian market, which may limit its functionality or appeal for users in other regions looking for specific global features.
  • Inconsistent Update Cycle
    Skype Lite may not receive updates and new features as frequently as the regular Skype app, which could lead to potential security and usability issues over time.
  • Compatibility Issues
    While it’s designed to work on low-end devices, certain older devices or operating systems might still face compatibility issues, limiting its accessibility.

Apache Kafka features and specs

  • High Throughput
    Kafka is capable of handling thousands of messages per second due to its distributed architecture, making it suitable for applications that require high throughput.
  • Scalability
    Kafka can easily scale horizontally by adding more brokers to a cluster, making it highly scalable to serve increased loads.
  • Fault Tolerance
    Kafka has built-in replication, ensuring that data is replicated across multiple brokers, providing fault tolerance and high availability.
  • Durability
    Kafka ensures data durability by writing data to disk, which can be replicated to other nodes, ensuring data is not lost even if a broker fails.
  • Real-time Processing
    Kafka supports real-time data streaming, enabling applications to process and react to data as it arrives.
  • Decoupling of Systems
    Kafka acts as a buffer and decouples the production and consumption of messages, allowing independent scaling and management of producers and consumers.
  • Wide Ecosystem
    The Kafka ecosystem includes various tools and connectors such as Kafka Streams, Kafka Connect, and KSQL, which enrich the functionality of Kafka.
  • Strong Community Support
    Kafka has strong community support and extensive documentation, making it easier for developers to find help and resources.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Kafka

  • Complex Setup and Management
    Kafka's distributed nature can make initial setup and ongoing management complex, requiring expert knowledge and significant administrative effort.
  • Operational Overhead
    Running Kafka clusters involves additional operational overhead, including hardware provisioning, monitoring, tuning, and scaling.
  • Latency Sensitivity
    Despite its high throughput, Kafka may experience increased latency in certain scenarios, especially when configured for high durability and consistency.
  • Learning Curve
    The concepts and architecture of Kafka can be difficult for new users to grasp, leading to a steep learning curve.
  • Hardware Intensive
    Kafka's performance characteristics often require dedicated and powerful hardware, which can be costly to procure and maintain.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing Kafka's dependencies and ensuring compatibility between versions of Kafka, Zookeeper, and other ecosystem tools can be challenging.
  • Limited Support for Small Messages
    Kafka is optimized for large throughput and can be inefficient for applications that require handling a lot of small messages, where overhead can become significant.
  • Operational Complexity for Small Teams
    Smaller teams might find the operational complexity and maintenance burden of Kafka difficult to manage without a dedicated operations or DevOps team.

Skype videos

How to use Skype - Beginners Guide

More videos:

  • Review - Skype Lite App which works even in low internet An Useful app if you face low network
  • Review - iPhone 8's 3D Camera, Intel Modem 1 Gbps, Qualcomm X20, Skype Lite
  • Review - How does Google Duo compare to Skype and Facetime?
  • Tutorial - How to Use Skype

Apache Kafka videos

Apache Kafka Tutorial | What is Apache Kafka? | Kafka Tutorial for Beginners | Edureka

More videos:

  • Review - Apache Kafka - Getting Started - Kafka Multi-node Cluster - Review Properties
  • Review - 4. Apache Kafka Fundamentals | Confluent Fundamentals for Apache Kafka®
  • Review - Apache Kafka in 6 minutes
  • Review - Apache Kafka Explained (Comprehensive Overview)
  • Review - 2. Motivations and Customer Use Cases | Apache Kafka Fundamentals

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Skype and Apache Kafka)
Communication
100 100%
0% 0
Stream Processing
0 0%
100% 100
Group Chat & Notifications
Data Integration
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Skype and Apache Kafka. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Skype and Apache Kafka

Skype Reviews

20 Telegram Alternatives to Chat With in 2024
You can use Skype for messaging, including things like emojis and reactions. But the real strength of Skype is its calling features. It can do video calling and screen sharing between devices, but it also has a landline calling feature (for a price), meaning you can do both chats and old-school phone calls.
The 7 best apps you can use as a WhatsApp alternative
Part of Microsoft's office productivity suite, Skype has always had something of a business focus, so it might not spring to mind for casual users. It's a full-featured communication app, though, and suitable for both work and recreation. As you'd expect, it can easily do voice, video, and text chats, as well as exchange files. Thanks to a variety of plug-ins, you can record...
8 Tools You Need For Working Remotely in 2022
We use Google Meet because it’s free. Zoom, on the other hand, requires a fee for sessions longer than 40 minutes. And Skype is already obsolete and constantly glitches.
Source: hackernoon.com
Top 5 Skype Alternatives that you can Switch in 2021
Skype has been existing in the market for many years with once in a blue moon adapted feature updates. Few businesses continued with Skype adjusting to it just because they are used to it neglecting the fact that there are few best and better Skype alternatives in the market.
18 Best Discord Alternatives 2020 | Expert Reviews
Skype is one of the most usable Discord alternatives available. It allows you to have one-on-one as well as group chats. You can use the audio call or video chat options available, along with an option to share your screen. Skype has a very basic user interface, so it hardly requires any time to get your hands around the software and get fluent with it. It allows users to...

Apache Kafka Reviews

Best ETL Tools: A Curated List
Debezium is an open-source Change Data Capture (CDC) tool that originated from RedHat. It leverages Apache Kafka and Kafka Connect to enable real-time data replication from databases. Debezium was partly inspired by Martin Kleppmann’s "Turning the Database Inside Out" concept, which emphasized the power of the CDC for modern data pipelines.
Source: estuary.dev
Best message queue for cloud-native apps
If you take the time to sort out the history of message queues, you will find a very interesting phenomenon. Most of the currently popular message queues were born around 2010. For example, Apache Kafka was born at LinkedIn in 2010, Derek Collison developed Nats in 2010, and Apache Pulsar was born at Yahoo in 2012. What is the reason for this?
Source: docs.vanus.ai
Are Free, Open-Source Message Queues Right For You?
Apache Kafka is a highly scalable and robust messaging queue system designed by LinkedIn and donated to the Apache Software Foundation. It's ideal for real-time data streaming and processing, providing high throughput for publishing and subscribing to records or messages. Kafka is typically used in scenarios that require real-time analytics and monitoring, IoT applications,...
Source: blog.iron.io
10 Best Open Source ETL Tools for Data Integration
It is difficult to anticipate the exact demand for open-source tools in 2023 because it depends on various factors and emerging trends. However, open-source solutions such as Kubernetes for container orchestration, TensorFlow for machine learning, Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming, and Prometheus for monitoring and observability are expected to grow in prominence in...
Source: testsigma.com
11 Best FREE Open-Source ETL Tools in 2024
Apache Kafka is an Open-Source Data Streaming Tool written in Scala and Java. It publishes and subscribes to a stream of records in a fault-tolerant manner and provides a unified, high-throughput, and low-latency platform to manage data.
Source: hevodata.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Kafka seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 144 times since March 2021. 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.

Skype mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Skype yet. Tracking of Skype recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Apache Kafka mentions (144)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Skype and Apache Kafka, you can also consider the following products

Zoom - Equip your team with tools designed to collaborate, connect, and engage with teammates and customers, no matter where you’re located, all in one platform.

RabbitMQ - RabbitMQ is an open source message broker software.

Telegram - Telegram is a messaging app with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free.

StatCounter - StatCounter is a simple but powerful real-time web analytics service that helps you track, analyse and understand your visitors so you can make good decisions to become more successful online.

Slack - A messaging app for teams who see through the Earth!

Apache ActiveMQ - Apache ActiveMQ is an open source messaging and integration patterns server.