Amazon MSK pricing
Apache Kafka · Amazon Web Services · snapshot captured June 2026
Amazon MSK is a managed Apache Kafka offering from Amazon Web Services. It uses provisioned broker-hour or serverless (cluster-hour + throughput). Its representative entry tier is 3 x kafka.m7g.large brokers at ~$447/mo. Provisioned storage $0.10/GB-month; serverless adds $0.10/GB ingress, $0.05/GB egress, $0.0015/partition-hour. Free tier: No free tier published for MSK. Prices are a June-2026 snapshot; verify on the linked vendor pricing page before relying on them.
Source: Amazon Web Services pricing. Data as of June 2026.
Amazon MSK pricing tiers
| Tier | Specs | Hourly | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kafka.m7g.large (per broker) | Graviton3 broker | $0.20/hr | ~$149/mo | Per broker; a real cluster needs >=3 brokers. |
| 3-broker m7g.large cluster | Minimum production cluster | $0.61/hr | ~$447/mo | 3 brokers + storage extra. |
| MSK Serverless | Per-cluster, usage-based | $0.75/hr | ~$548/mo | $0.75/cluster-hour base + throughput + partitions. |
Source: Amazon Web Services pricing. Prices are a June-2026 snapshot; verify on the linked vendor pricing page before relying on them.
At a glance
| Cost factor | Amazon MSK |
|---|---|
| Engine | Apache Kafka |
| Vendor | Amazon Web Services |
| Pricing model | Provisioned broker-hour or serverless (cluster-hour + throughput) |
| Representative tier | 3 x kafka.m7g.large brokers (~$447/mo) |
| Storage / extras | Provisioned storage $0.10/GB-month; serverless adds $0.10/GB ingress, $0.05/GB egress, $0.0015/partition-hour. |
| Free tier | No free tier published for MSK. |
| Region note | US East; provisioned per-broker, serverless per-cluster. |
Source: Amazon Web Services pricing page. Data as of June 2026.
Cost pros & cons
Where MSK saves money
- Fully managed open-source Apache Kafka with AWS integration
- Serverless option removes broker sizing for spiky workloads
- Graviton (m7g) brokers cut cost vs older generations
Watch-outs
- Multi-broker minimum makes even a small cluster ~$447/month
- Serverless base ($0.75/cluster-hour) plus throughput adds up fast
- Storage, data transfer and partition costs all bill separately
Amazon MSK vs similar offerings
How Amazon MSK compares with other managed Apache Kafka and adjacent offerings:
| Offering | Engine | Representative tier | Est. monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon MSK (this offering) | Apache Kafka | 3 x kafka.m7g.large brokers | ~$447/mo |
| Confluent Cloud | Apache Kafka | Standard (~$385/month entry) | ~$385/mo |
| Aiven for Apache Kafka | Apache Kafka | Startup-2 (smallest Startup plan) | ~$200/mo |
| Upstash Kafka | Apache Kafka | Discontinued | Usage-based |
| Amazon RDS for MySQL | MySQL | db.t3.medium (2 vCPU / 4 GiB) | ~$52/mo |
| Google Cloud SQL for MySQL | MySQL | 2 vCPU / 8 GB (Enterprise edition, compute only) | ~$101/mo |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Amazon MSK cost?
Amazon MSK uses provisioned broker-hour or serverless (cluster-hour + throughput). Its representative entry is 3 x kafka.m7g.large brokers at ~$447/mo. Provisioned storage $0.10/GB-month; serverless adds $0.10/GB ingress, $0.05/GB egress, $0.0015/partition-hour. snapshot captured June 2026 — verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Does Amazon MSK have a free tier?
Yes. No free tier published for MSK.
What is the cheapest Amazon MSK tier?
The smallest tier is kafka.m7g.large (per broker) (Graviton3 broker): ~$149/mo. Per broker; a real cluster needs >=3 brokers. Prices are a June-2026 snapshot; verify on the linked vendor pricing page before relying on them.
What should I watch for in Amazon MSK pricing?
Watch-outs: Multi-broker minimum makes even a small cluster ~$447/month; Serverless base ($0.75/cluster-hour) plus throughput adds up fast; Storage, data transfer and partition costs all bill separately.
Keep exploring
Source & accuracy
Figures are a dated snapshot from Amazon Web Services's pricing page (snapshot captured June 2026). Managed-database pricing is volatile and varies by region, tier, storage and discounts — verify current prices on the vendor's page before purchasing. This is an informational comparison, not a quote. See our methodology and disclaimer.
Last updated: 2026-06-20