Matchups: Apache Pulsar vs Google Cloud Pub/Sub | Real Time Data Platforms Comparison

Overview

Apache Pulsar is an open-source, distributed messaging and streaming platform with a layered architecture, supporting multi-tenancy and tiered storage.

Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a fully managed, cloud-native messaging service for real-time message delivery, optimized for Google Cloud integration.

Both handle messaging and streaming: Pulsar offers flexibility and on-premises deployment, Pub/Sub provides managed simplicity and cloud scalability.

Fun Fact: Pulsar’s tiered storage offloads data to long-term storage!

Section 1 - Architecture

Pulsar producer/consumer (Python):

from pulsar import Client, Producer client = Client('pulsar://localhost:6650') producer = client.create_producer('my-topic') producer.send(('Hello, Pulsar!').encode('utf-8')) client.close()

Pub/Sub publisher (Python):

from google.cloud import pubsub_v1 publisher = pubsub_v1.PublisherClient() topic_path = publisher.topic_path('my-project', 'my-topic') publisher.publish(topic_path, b'Hello, Pub/Sub!')

Pulsar uses a layered architecture separating serving (brokers) and storage (Apache BookKeeper), enabling multi-tenancy, geo-replication, and tiered storage (e.g., S3). Pub/Sub is a serverless, cloud-native system with a centralized message queue, leveraging Google’s infrastructure for automatic scaling and global delivery. Pulsar is flexible for hybrid deployments, Pub/Sub is tightly integrated with GCP.

Scenario: Streaming 1M messages—Pulsar processes in ~10s with custom setup, Pub/Sub in ~8s with auto-scaling.

Pro Tip: Use Pulsar’s multi-tenancy for multi-team environments!

Section 2 - Performance

Pulsar achieves ~100K messages/sec throughput with ~10ms latency for 1M messages, excelling in high-volume, on-premises workloads with tuning.

Pub/Sub delivers ~120K messages/sec with ~8ms latency, optimized for cloud environments with automatic scaling and low management overhead.

Scenario: A real-time analytics pipeline—Pub/Sub scales seamlessly in GCP, Pulsar offers control for hybrid setups. Pub/Sub is cloud-optimized, Pulsar is customizable.

Key Insight: Pub/Sub’s serverless design minimizes latency!

Section 3 - Ease of Use

Pulsar requires manual setup (brokers, BookKeeper, ZooKeeper), complex for beginners, but offers extensive configuration for advanced users.

Pub/Sub provides a fully managed API, simple setup via GCP console or SDK, but is tied to Google Cloud’s ecosystem.

Scenario: A messaging app—Pub/Sub enables rapid deployment, Pulsar needs infrastructure expertise. Pub/Sub is beginner-friendly, Pulsar is expert-oriented.

Advanced Tip: Use Pulsar’s functions for serverless stream processing!

Section 4 - Use Cases

Pulsar powers hybrid streaming (e.g., event sourcing, IoT) with ~500K messages/sec, ideal for multi-cloud or on-premises systems.

Pub/Sub supports cloud-native apps (e.g., data pipelines, microservices) with ~1M messages/sec, suited for GCP-integrated workflows.

Pulsar drives enterprise streaming (e.g., Streamlio), Pub/Sub powers cloud analytics (e.g., Google’s BigQuery). Pulsar is flexible, Pub/Sub is cloud-native.

Example: Pulsar in IoT platforms; Pub/Sub in GCP analytics!

Section 5 - Comparison Table

Aspect	Apache Pulsar	Google Cloud Pub/Sub
Architecture	Layered, brokers+BookKeeper	Serverless, centralized
Performance	100K msg/s, 10ms	120K msg/s, 8ms
Ease of Use	Complex, configurable	Simple, managed
Use Cases	Hybrid streaming, IoT	Cloud analytics, microservices
Scalability	Manual, multi-cloud	Auto-scaling, GCP

Pulsar is flexible, Pub/Sub is cloud-optimized.

Conclusion

Apache Pulsar and Google Cloud Pub/Sub are robust messaging platforms with distinct strengths. Pulsar excels in flexible, hybrid deployments with multi-tenancy and tiered storage, ideal for on-premises or multi-cloud setups. Pub/Sub is best for cloud-native, fully managed messaging, seamlessly scaling within GCP.

Choose based on needs: Pulsar for custom infrastructure, Pub/Sub for GCP integration. Optimize with Pulsar’s tiered storage or Pub/Sub’s auto-scaling. Hybrid setups (e.g., Pulsar for on-premises, Pub/Sub for cloud) are viable.

Pro Tip: Use Pulsar’s geo-replication for global messaging!

Tech Matchups: Apache Pulsar vs. Google Cloud Pub/Sub