Apache Kafka Message Size Limit: Best Practices & Config Guide [Video]

Table of Contents

• Default Size Limit
• Kafka Configuration Parameters
• How Kafka Handles Large Messages
• Increasing Kafka’s Message Size Limit
• Message Size Limits in Confluent Cloud
• Best Practices for Handling Large Messages in Kafka
• Monitoring and Troubleshooting Kafka Message Size Issues
• Use Cases for Kafka Message Size Limits
• Alternatives to Handling Large Messages in Kafka
• Conclusion

Default Kafka message size limit

Apache Kafka key’s default maximum message size is 1 MB, a limit designed to help brokers manage memory effectively. While Kafka can process larger batches if there’s sufficient disk space, this often reduces throughput and is generally seen as inefficient—very large messages are considered an anti-pattern in Kafka. Although you can increase this message size limit by adjusting default settings, many recommend against it to preserve platform stability.

Kafka Configuration Parameters for Message Size

Kafka provides several configuration parameters that influence message size limits at both the broker and producer levels. Here’s a look at the key parameters:

1. Broker-Level …