Laminar vs Kafka Connect

Full SQL transformations vs SMTs. Native Iceberg support vs connector configuration. See why teams are switching to Laminar.

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Key Differences

Full SQL Support

Joins, aggregations, windowing. SMTs only support simple transforms.

Native Iceberg

Built-in Iceberg writer with compaction. No connector configuration.

Schema Evolution

Automatic schema handling. No Schema Registry required.

Simpler Config

SQL pipelines vs JSON connector configs. Easier to read and maintain.

Pipeline Definition

Compare how you define a Kafka to Iceberg pipeline in each system.

Kafka Connect

{
  "name": "iceberg-sink",
  "config": {
    "connector.class": "io.tabular.iceberg.connect.IcebergSinkConnector",
    "tasks.max": "2",
    "topics": "orders",
    "iceberg.tables": "db.orders",
    "iceberg.catalog.type": "glue",
    "iceberg.catalog.warehouse": "s3://bucket/warehouse",
    "key.converter": "org.apache.kafka.connect.storage.StringConverter",
    "value.converter": "io.confluent.connect.avro.AvroConverter",
    "value.converter.schema.registry.url": "http://schema-registry:8081",
    "transforms": "flatten",
    "transforms.flatten.type": "org.apache.kafka.connect.transforms.Flatten$Value"
  }
}

+ Schema Registry + Connect cluster + Connector JAR

Laminar

1-- CDC Pipeline: PostgreSQL to Iceberg
2CREATE SOURCE postgres_cdc FROM POSTGRES
3  WITH (
4    host = 'db.example.com',
5    port = 5432,
6    database = 'orders',
7    slot_name = 'laminar_slot'
8  );
9 
10CREATE SINK iceberg_orders INTO ICEBERG
11  WITH (
12    catalog = 'glue',
13    database = 'analytics',
14    table = 'orders'
15  )
16  AS SELECT
17    id,
18    customer_id,
19    total_amount,
20    status,
21    created_at,
22    updated_at
23  FROM postgres_cdc;

Just SQL. No additional infrastructure.

No comparison data

When to Use Each

Choose Kafka Connect if:

You need a specific connector that Laminar doesn't support
Simple passthrough without transformation
Already invested in Confluent ecosystem

Choose Laminar if:

Need transformations beyond simple SMTs
Want aggregations before writing to sink
Prefer SQL over JSON configuration
Want built-in compaction for Iceberg
Need exactly-once without complex config

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