Redpanda

What it is for

Redpanda is a Kafka-compatible streaming desk: you open a cluster in Console, and Cloud Serverless starts with a $100 (USD) 30-day trial (no card) or $300 (USD) Marketplace credits, then pay as you consume. Use it when the job is topics you start on $100 / $300 credits, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official Redpanda Console Overview (brokers, topics, Schema Registry, cluster status) from the docs still — not a pricing card. The overview itself is ops of a cluster. You can also self-host the engine.

Key features

• Topics — a Kafka-API topic you produce to (Overview still Topics; Serverless Topics). One log. Serverless max 300 topics / 5,000 partitions / 20 MiB message. rpk topic is install.
• Schema Registry — subjects you attach to a topic (cover Schema Registry). A schema, not a message. Serverless max 500 schemas / 500 subjects / 100 req/s.
• Consumer groups — a group that shares offsets (docs Consumer groups). A cursor, not a topic. Serverless max 200 groups.
• Users / ACLs — who may talk to the cluster (Serverless Users / ACLs). A grant, not a topic. Serverless max 30 users / 120 ACLs.
• Self-host / Cloud — the Redpanda binary you run, or Serverless / Dedicated / BYOC (GitHub; Serverless). A control plane, not a topic. Dedicated/BYOC maintenance windows are not on Serverless.

Ingress 100 MB/s and egress 300 MB/s are Serverless caps, not extra desks. Connect pipelines (max 100) sit on Serverless as a metered add-on surface — do not count them as a sixth Kafka API. Per-GB usage rates are on the in-app Billing page; they were not printed on the public Serverless docs we fetched — do not invent them.

Who it's for

Best fit: streaming teams who will start Serverless on the $100 (AWS trial) or $300 (Marketplace) credit, then stay on pay-as-you-go after credits when they need a production Kafka API without running brokers themselves — or self-host the engine for $0 license on the binary.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from Serverless and Manage Billing. Public pages print credits, not a $/GB tile. Confirm the in-app Billing page before you scale.

• AWS free trial — $100 (USD) credits for 30 days. No card. When credits or days expire, clusters suspend; 7-day grace to add a card. Remaining credit is used before you are charged.
• AWS / Google Cloud Marketplace — $300 (USD) free credits for the first 30 days. After that, pay as you consume; cancel anytime. Marketplace does not include Enterprise support (Community Slack only) unless you talk to Sales.
• Pay as you go — “you only pay for what you consume.” View charges and export CSV on the Cloud Billing page. No public $/GB table was printed on the docs we opened — do not invent a usage dollar.
• Sales / committed use — private offer, possible annual discount, immediate Enterprise support. Custom. Do not invent that dollar.
• Self-host — Redpanda engine on your machines (GitHub). Cloud Console still bills Cloud.

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Limitations / costs

• Credits are not a $0 forever card. After 30 days the cluster suspends unless you add a card.
• Per-GB rates are in-app. We did not print them from a public pricing table.
• Serverless is single-AZ and has no HTTP Proxy / RBAC-in-dataplane. Dedicated or BYOC if you need those.
• A streaming desk, not a streaming SQL warehouse. For SQL on streams see RisingWave.

Alternatives

• RisingWave — streaming SQL when you will not run a Kafka-API cluster.
• Upstash — serverless Kafka/Redis-style APIs when you want a printed $ tile, not Redpanda Console.
• LiveKit — realtime rooms when the job is media, not topics.

Official tutorial

Official Redpanda Data channel video: Demo: Redpanda Console (Open House 2022) (oEmbed author: Redpanda Data). First-party Console demo; the docs Overview still is the cover.

Written path: Serverless plus the Overview still.

Website

https://www.redpanda.com

Repository

https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official Redpanda Console Overview from the docs still. Dollars checked on Redpanda Serverless docs (AWS trial $100/30 days; Marketplace $300/30 days; PAYG rates in-app). Tutorial oEmbed author: Redpanda Data.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.