Apache Kafka Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Apache Kafka hosting on xCloud gives you a self-hosted event streaming platform without hand-writing listener and storage configuration. Deploy Apache Kafka from the OneClick catalog and xCloud starts the pinned 4.3.1 image as a single node in KRaft mode, generates the SASL password, mounts a persistent volume and publishes the client port on your server address. It has no web interface and no TLS, so firewall it to trusted clients.

Deploy your Apache Kafka

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Apache Kafka?

Apache Kafka is, in its README's words, an open-source distributed event streaming platform used for high-performance data pipelines, streaming analytics, data integration and mission-critical applications. Producers write events to topics and consumers read them back, which makes it a common backbone for message queues, log pipelines and event-driven applications. Self-hosted Apache Kafka is a broker you run yourself instead of renting a managed service such as Confluent Cloud or Amazon MSK. It is licensed under Apache-2.0.

On xCloud, the template deploys Apache Kafka 4.3.1 as one container acting as both broker and controller in KRaft mode, with no ZooKeeper, pinned by digest. It is a data service with no domain and no web UI, and topics, offsets and metadata sit on the kafka_data volume. It is a single node with replication factor one, not a cluster, and the SASL connection is not encrypted.

From Sign-Up to a Live Apache Kafka Broker In Just 3 Easy Steps

Self-hosting Kafka normally means listener configuration, storage formatting and a SASL login before a single topic can be created. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Apache Kafka from the OneClick catalog. There are no extra fields — xCloud generates the credentials.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the pinned Apache Kafka 4.3.1 image as a single-node KRaft broker — one container acting as both broker and controller — and format storage on first boot (about a minute).
Step 03
Connect And Create A Topic
Save the SASL password from your protected installation credentials, point your client at the Bootstrap Server shown using SASL_PLAINTEXT with mechanism PLAIN and user kafka, then create your first topic.

Everything Apache Kafka Does, On Your Own Server

Apache Kafka runs in full here as a single-node KRaft broker, on infrastructure you control.

Event Streaming, Queues And Log Pipelines
Event streaming, message queues and log or metrics pipelines on your own server.
KRaft Mode, No ZooKeeper
One container is both broker and controller — there is no ZooKeeper to run alongside it.
Generated SASL/PLAIN Login
A required SASL/PLAIN login protects the client port; a wrong password and unauthenticated clients are both refused.
Correct Advertised Address Out Of The Box
The advertised address is set to the server's public IP and published port, so external clients connect correctly.
Tunable Through The Environment Editor
Optional tuning for partitions, retention, message size and heap, set through the Environment editor.
Restart-Safe Topics And Offsets
Topics, offsets and cluster metadata live in a named volume and survive an xCloud Restart.

Everything You Need To Run Your Event Streaming 24/7

Managed hosting for Apache Kafka, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Apache Kafka 4.3.1 deployed instantly
KRaft mode, no ZooKeeper
Generated SASL/PLAIN login
Correct advertised address configured
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Apache Kafka

Decouple services with events
Services publish events to topics and others consume them at their own pace, instead of calling each other directly.
Collect logs and metrics
An application ships logs or metrics to a topic, and a pipeline reads them for storage or analysis.
Develop and test against a real broker
A team points its staging services at one broker to test producers and consumers before production.
Keep event data on your own server
A company that does not want its event stream in a managed cloud service keeps topics on a volume it controls.

Apache Kafka vs Alternatives

Confluent Cloud: Confluent Cloud is a hosted Kafka service. This template is a single self-hosted broker on a server you rent, without clustering, and this page makes no feature-parity claim.
Amazon MSK: Amazon MSK is a managed Kafka service on AWS. A single-node broker here suits development and light workloads, not a replicated production cluster.
RabbitMQ: RabbitMQ is a separate message broker with its own OneClick page. Kafka is built around a replayable log of events.
Redis: Redis has its own OneClick page. Kafka here is a dedicated event streaming platform with topics kept on a persistent volume.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Apache Kafka hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

Cloud VPS 24 GB

Kafka alongside a whole self-hosted stack.

$84.99per month

24 GB RAM
8 vCPU cores
300 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Apache Kafka on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Own Your Event Pipeline?

Apache Kafka on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

xCloud works really well, I am surprised by its performance being this the release version, I have tried many paid platforms such as runcloud, cloudpages or serveravatar, as well as free platforms such as CyberPanel, CloudPanel or Hestia Control Panel and direct competitors such as SpinupWP and FlyWP. Of all those that I have tried, the platform that works best for WordPress is SpinupWP and I believe that xCloud can reach and surpass that development, its roadmap is promising. Congratulations to the xCloud team, I hope they become the leading platform in the segment, it has all the potential to achieve it!

Brian Geovanny

I've been with runcloud for the last 3 years. However, after trying xcloud for the last month, I'm switching over. They are on a roll with their setup.

Kevin Pineda

I'm moving my servers to xCloud, a cloud control panel by M Asif Rahman and the WPDeveloper team. Their roadmap looks interesting and no, there are no team mates nor API limits with xCloud! #xCloud #wordpress #hosting

Leo Koo

How Cloud Nine Web Elevated Client Experience While Streamlining Hosting Operations using xCloud

Ed Ellingham

xCloud is like having an expert server team on call — without the big agency costs. It's given me back my time and given my clients peace of mind. Highly recommended for freelancers and small teams who want reliable performance and security.

Dumitru Butucel

xCloud isn't just a solution. It's like one of that friend who got your back when you screw things up pretty bad.

Waqar Ahmed

Trust me when I say, once people explore the potential of xCloud they gonna switch from other panels, just keep delivering the best tech, lots of love for the team 😍😍

Rahul Singh

So far my experience has been smooth like silk. I didn't imagine that configuring and managing a VPS would be so easy. As of today, I have deployed 8 sites. The support is good, and they treat users with respect, even if they ask stupid questions (myself included). For the future, I hope for greater flexibility in scheduled backups and more comprehensive and consistent documentation. I'm sure that within a few months, xCloud will become the leader in its segment. This community is amazing, and the Staff here is super helpful.

Massimo Villa

Came from cloudways then to runcloud then to xcloud. Looks like I'm staying here.

Gerson El

I've recently taken all of my Vultr-hosted sites and gotten rid of cPanel for them to substitute it with xCloud. I have to say, I'm really impressed with xCloud so far! The interface is definitely the standout feature for me.

Tony Lewis

I came from Cloudways and won't go back. Highly impressed with xCloud. Glad I gave them a chance.

Jared McDowell

I like xCloud better than RunCloud, but one thing I'll point out is that some years ago RunCloud was hungry for business, the support was outstanding, and the community was active and helped each other. Maybe it was sold, there was a change in management, or they stopped being hungry, but the quality of the RunCloud offering declined and it hasn't been moving forward quickly. My point is that currently the xCloud team has the edge and it is theirs to keep or lose

David McCan

How Kevin Heinrichs Cut Hosting Costs by 84% While Running WooCommerce & Node.js Sites Efficiently

Kevin Heinrichs

I had 150 sites on cloudways and am in the process of moving them to xcloud. Much faster and better priced.

Dan Spinoza

Dear xCloud Team, I have been using xCloud for some time now and am genuinely impressed with its capabilities and the flexibility it offers by allowing users to bring their own VPS for management. It's a fantastic service, and my experience so far has been very positive. Successful migrated 5 sites on a single server. Xcloud migration tool worked great. There were few hiccups with security plugin like MalCare but disabling the plugin prior to migration worked just fine.

Rahil Maknojia

Came from runcloud. Tried xcloud and never came back.

Karl Fanega

How Advanced Web Strategies Saved Over $2,000 & Recovered 56 Hours per Month Managing 70+ Client Websites

Gary Moody

xCloud gave me what no other hosting platform could: the flexibility of a VPS with the convenience of managed WordPress. As a solo founder running an entire business on one server, that combination is an important unfair advantage.

Jorge de los Reyes Martínez

I use Server Avatar and xCloud and I'll sooner use xCloud than Server Avatar personally.

Jay Pagano

How Newman Web Solutions Ensured Perfect Uptime and Seamless Scaling For 120+ WordPress Sites with xCloud

Lori Newman

I too have moved over to xCloud. It's pretty sweet. One click n8n and uptime Kuma apps

John Aperture

I went from Cloudways to xCloud. No intention on switching in the foreseeable future.

Blaine Moore

Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Is Apache Kafka free?

Yes. Apache Kafka is open source under Apache-2.0, whose file is linked here at the pinned 4.3.1 tag. xCloud bills for the Cloud VPS under it, not for Kafka, and there is no per-message fee. Managed Kafka services from other vendors are separate products.

Can you self-host Apache Kafka with Docker?

Yes, and this Apache Kafka Docker hosting template does it for you: the official apache/kafka image, pinned by digest, runs as a single KRaft node on your own server with a published client port. It is not an Apache Kafka cloud account, so your events stay on your server.

How much RAM does Apache Kafka need?

The manifest minimum for Apache Kafka is 1024 MB of RAM for the single broker and controller. Topic volume, retention and client count grow memory and disk use. The 6 GB tier sold here leaves room to spare.

How do I connect a client to Apache Kafka?

Use the bootstrap server from the credentials with security protocol SASL_PLAINTEXT, mechanism PLAIN, username kafka and the generated password, and the PlainLoginModule JAAS line. With the command-line tools, put those lines in a client properties file and pass it with the command config option.

Is the Apache Kafka connection encrypted?

No. The login is a generated SASL/PLAIN password, but there is no TLS, so the password and every message travel in clear text. Keep clients on a trusted or private network, tunnel the connection, or use a provider-level firewall that allows only your client addresses.

Does Apache Kafka need ZooKeeper?

No. This template runs Kafka in KRaft mode, where one container acts as both broker and controller, so there is no ZooKeeper to run. The controller port and an internal broker listener are not published. Only the client listener is reachable from outside the container.

Is this an Apache Kafka cluster?

No. It is a single node with replication factor one, so losing the kafka_data volume means losing the data. It is suited to development, testing and light workloads, not to replicated production use. One install is allowed per server, and the single account manages every topic.

Who can reach the Apache Kafka port?

Anyone, by default. The client port is published on all interfaces and open to the internet from install because Docker publishes it directly, bypassing ufw. A password is required, but the connection is unencrypted, so restrict it with a provider-level firewall to your client addresses.

How do I back up Apache Kafka?

Back up the kafka_data volume, which holds topics, offsets and metadata, ideally with the broker stopped for a consistent copy. Keep the generated SASL password and cluster ID in your notes. With one node and no replication, the backup is your only copy of the data.

Backup and restore Docker apps

How do I rotate the Apache Kafka SASL password?

Change SASL_PASSWORD in the Environment editor and redeploy, then update every client to use the new password. If the server's IP changes, also update ADVERTISED_HOST, because Kafka tells clients which address to reconnect to. Clients that cache the old address will fail until updated.

How do I upgrade Apache Kafka?

Your running 4.3.1 install is left alone when the catalog moves on; adopting a newer template version is your decision. Back up the volume first and read the upstream release and upgrade notes, since Kafka versions have compatibility rules. Then test a producer and a consumer.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.