Brandwave

Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs Kafka:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Google Cloud Pub/Sub had more branded searches than Kafka among message queue services worldwide. Google Cloud Pub/Sub had about 8,700 branded searches, while Kafka had 880. Google Cloud Pub/Sub made up 6.9% of all message queue service searches we track, and Kafka accounted for 0.7%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about message queue services, Kafka appeared in all five answers and Google Cloud Pub/Sub in four. Kafka was mentioned before Google Cloud Pub/Sub in four out of five answers.

Among message queue services worldwide in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Google Cloud Pub/Sub, about 10 searches for every 1 for Kafka

Google Cloud Pub/Sub 8.7K searchesKafka 880 searches

Who does AI mention more?

Kafka, mentioned in every answer we collected

Kafka in 5 of 5Google Cloud Pub/Sub in 4 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Kafka, named ahead of Google Cloud Pub/Sub in 4 of 5 answers

Kafka first in 4Google Cloud Pub/Sub first in 1

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Top message queue services in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Kafka appeared in all five answers. Google Cloud Pub/Sub was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Kafka was listed before Google Cloud Pub/Sub in four out of five answers.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. RabbitMQ1st
  2. Amazon SQS2nd
  3. Kafka3rd
  4. Azure Service Bus4th
  5. Google Cloud Pub/Sub5th
  6. NATS6th
  7. ActiveMQ–
  8. ZeroMQ–
  9. Redis Streams–
  10. Google Pub/Sub–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • RabbitMQ5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Kafka5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Azure Service Bus4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Google Cloud Pub/Sub4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Amazon SQS4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • NATS3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • ActiveMQ0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • ZeroMQ0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Redis Streams0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Google Pub/Sub0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about message queue services

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 21, 2026.

Is Google Cloud Pub/Sub or Kafka more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Google Cloud Pub/Sub and Kafka by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all ten message queue services we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.

Google Cloud Pub/Sub and Kafka among message queue services worldwide, by month

Share of searches by month for Google Cloud Pub/Sub, Kafka. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthRabbitMQAzure Service BusGoogle Cloud Pub/SubActiveMQAmazon SQSZeroMQRedis StreamsGoogle Pub/SubKafkaNATS
Oct 202562.3%6.8%5%6.8%5.6%6.8%3.7%2%0.46%0.41%
Nov 202559.6%6.6%6.1%6.6%5.4%8%4.4%2.4%0.54%0.48%
Dec 202563.3%5.7%7%5.7%4.7%7%3.8%2.1%0.51%0.41%
Jan 202661.2%6.7%5.3%5.5%5.5%8.2%4.5%2%0.56%0.4%
Feb 202662%6.8%6.4%5.6%5.6%6.8%3.7%2%0.56%0.41%
Mar 202657.8%6.4%8.8%6.4%5.2%7.8%4.3%2.3%0.68%0.46%
Apr 202653.1%7.1%9.3%10.6%5.8%7.1%3.9%2.1%0.59%0.42%
May 202657.9%6.3%8.3%6.3%6.3%7.7%4.2%1.9%0.56%0.46%
Jun 202660.2%8%6.8%6.6%5.4%6.6%3.6%1.9%0.48%0.48%
Jul 202661.4%6.7%6.2%6.7%5.5%6.7%3.7%2%0.6%0.49%
Aug 202658.7%7.9%6.7%6.4%6.4%6.4%4.3%1.9%0.7%0.57%
Sep 202658.6%7.8%6.9%6.4%6.4%6.4%4.3%1.9%0.7%0.57%

How has the Google Cloud Pub/Sub and Kafka comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for message queue services worldwide in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for Google Cloud Pub/Sub worldwide fell 20.2% over 12 measured months, from 10.9K to 8.7K in September 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Kafka worldwide fell 12% over 12 measured months, from 1K to 880 in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

4 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Google Cloud Pub/Sub’s and Kafka’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Google Cloud Pub/Sub

3 branded search terms

  • gcp pub sub
  • google cloud pub sub
  • google pub sub

Kafka

1 branded search term

  • kafka message queue

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among message queue services

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