Apache Kafka Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Run a ready-to-use KRaft Kafka broker with a generated login and persistent storage, without hand-writing listener and storage configuration. xCloud configures the pinned Apache Kafka 4.3.1 image in minutes.

Deploy your Apache Kafka

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

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

Kafka runs in full here — the same event-streaming broker as any hosted Kafka install, 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

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.

What is Apache Kafka?

Apache Kafka is a distributed event-streaming platform used for message queues and log pipelines. This template deploys a single-node broker at version 4.3.1 running in KRaft mode.

What is the license?

Apache-2.0, per the upstream repository.

Does it need ZooKeeper?

No. It runs in KRaft mode with one container acting as broker and controller — there is no ZooKeeper to run.

How do I connect?

Use the Bootstrap Server, security protocol SASL_PLAINTEXT, mechanism PLAIN, user kafka and the generated password from the credentials panel.

Is the connection encrypted?

No. TLS is not enabled — keep clients on a trusted network, firewall the client port to trusted addresses, or tunnel the connection.

Configure firewall management

What does xCloud configure automatically?

The generated SASL/PLAIN credentials and the advertised address, set to the server's public IP and published port so external clients connect correctly. There is no web UI and no domain to set up.

Is it a cluster?

No, a single node with replication factor 1.

What should I back up?

The kafka_data volume (topics, consumer offsets and cluster metadata) and the .env values (cluster ID, password), with the broker stopped first — this is a single node, so a lost volume means lost data.

Backups in xCloud

Does xCloud automatically back up or update Kafka?

No. The template pins Apache Kafka 4.3.1 by immutable digest; a catalog re-sync affects new installations only. To upgrade, bump the pinned tag and digest together after reading upstream release notes.

Can I rotate the SASL password?

Yes. Change SASL_PASSWORD in the Environment editor and Save & Redeploy — the password is applied on every start — then update your clients.

What are the server requirements?

The template manifest asks for 1024 MB of RAM, 1 CPU core and 10 GB of disk as a floor, with the broker heap pinned at 512 MB. This page sells the 6 GB tier, comfortable headroom above that floor.

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.