Kafka: Compression is applied per batch by the producer

The broker stores the compressed batch as-is, so consumers pay the decompression cost, not the broker.

Code

props.put(ProducerConfig.COMPRESSION_TYPE_CONFIG, "zstd");  // or lz4, snappy, gzip

Output

JSON payloads typically compress 5-10x.
lz4:  fastest, moderate ratio
zstd: best ratio, slightly more CPU - usually the right default now

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Published 2026-08-11