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Apache Pulsar
What it is
Apache Pulsar is a free, open-source distributed messaging and streaming platform that can be self-hosted. It supports message consumption with latency below 10 ms and as many as one million unique topics in a cluster. Geographic replication is configurable, with automatic client failover to healthy clusters. Tenants and policies control data and action access and can isolate brokers against noisy-neighbor effects. Maintained client libraries cover Java, Go, Python, C++, Node.js, and C#. Built-in connectors handle data exchange with systems including Kafka, RabbitMQ, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, and Elasticsearch. Pulsar Functions run user-defined processing in Java, Python, or Go, and tiered storage can move BookKeeper data to blob storage such as S3 for unlimited retention. It runs in Docker or Kubernetes, with a Helm chart for Kubernetes deployment. Encryption, pluggable authentication, and authorization are available but disabled by default. The 5.0.0-M2 milestone is for early testing and feedback, not production use.
For and against
For
- Free under Apache License 2.0.
- Supports configurable cross-region replication and client failover.
- Maintained clients cover seven listed languages.
- Tiered storage supports unlimited retention.
Against
- Security controls are not enabled by default.
- 5.0.0-M2 is not meant for production use.
- Self-hosted deployment requires managing the deployment environment.
The verdict
Pulsar offers messaging, streaming, connectors, and processing across several deployment options. Configure its security controls, and avoid the 5.0.0-M2 milestone for production use.
Who it suits
Apache Pulsar may suit organizations building distributed messaging or streaming systems that need self-hosting, multi-region replication, or integrations with listed systems. Teams should account for security controls requiring configuration.
Plans and prices
Apache Pulsar
Open-source distributed messaging and streaming platform · Apache License 2.0
Read 29 Sep 2026 · pulsar.apache.org
On the record
- Clients
- Officially maintained client libraries are available for Java, Go, Python, C++, Node.js, and C#.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Deployment
- Pulsar can run in Docker or Kubernetes, and the project offers a Helm chart for Kubernetes deployment.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Geo-replication
- Pulsar supports configurable replication across geographic regions and automatic client failover to healthy clusters.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Integrations
- Built-in connectors import and export data for systems including Kafka, RabbitMQ, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, and Elasticsearch.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Latency and scale
- Pulsar supports message consumption with less than 10 ms latency and up to one million unique topics in a single cluster.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Maker
- The Apache Software Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides software for the public good.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Notable release limit
- The 5.0.0-M2 milestone is intended for early testing and feedback and is not meant for production use.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Release integrity
- Pulsar release files have OpenPGP signatures and SHA-512 checksums for integrity verification.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Security controls
- Pulsar provides encryption, pluggable authentication, and authorization controls, but these are not enabled by default.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Serverless processing
- Pulsar Functions process messages using user-defined logic and support Java, Python, and Go.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Storage and retention
- Tiered storage can offload data from BookKeeper to blob storage such as S3 for unlimited retention.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- Tenancy and access
- Tenants and policies let organizations control access to data and actions, and isolate brokers for noisy-neighbor protection.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
- What it does
- Apache Pulsar is an open-source, distributed messaging and streaming platform built for the cloud.pulsar.apache.org · read 29 Sep 2026
