Actian Zen vs Aiven for PostgreSQL
Actian Zen
actian.com
Aiven for PostgreSQL
aiven.ioSide by side
| Figure | Actian Zen | Aiven for PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $5/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 10 |
| Spec score · Relational Databases | 8.4 (#7) | 9.3 (#1) |
| AI and vector search | Zen supports native vector search for up to 1 million vectors and hybrid queries that combine relational filters with semantic similarity. | Aiven lists pgvector and pgvectorscale among supported extensions and describes PostgreSQL use for vector search and AI applications. |
| Founded | 1980 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, California, United States | Helsinki, Finland |
| Integrations | The product page says Zen Enterprise integrates with existing ERP, point-of-sale, and accounting applications. | PostgreSQL can integrate with Aiven for Grafana for visualization and can send metrics to external endpoints such as Datadog. |
| Support | Actian Support Services says technical expertise, guidance, and knowledge are available 24/7. | Paid services include Basic support, while customers using only free services are directed to documentation and do not receive support services. |
Plans
Aiven for PostgreSQL
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Developer$5 a month
- Developer$5 a month
- Hobbyist$12 a month
- Startup$75 a month
- Startup$75 a month
- Business$180 a month
- Business$180 a month
- Premium$270 a month
In their own words
Actian Zen
Actian Zen is an embedded database for managing data from edge devices through on-premises and cloud applications. Its lightweight engine combines relational storage, native vector search, semantic queries, and connectivity for AI agents. Vector search supports up to 1 million vectors, while hybrid queries combine relational filters with semantic similarity. A native MCP server allows agents such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to query local data. Zen supports SQL through ODBC and JDBC, and NoSQL through Btrieve and Btrieve 2 APIs. Semantic search, vector queries, and agent workflows can run offline, including in air-gapped environments. Zen Enterprise is designed for embedded, on-premises, and cloud deployments, including branch and remote field settings, and supports Windows, Linux, macOS, Intel, ARM, VMware, Hyper-V, and Docker. Zen Mobile supports Android and iOS with AES 256-bit encryption for stored data. Edge supports over 100 concurrent users; Enterprise is designed for thousands. A 30-day trial is available, with paid pricing from $417/mo (annual).
Aiven for PostgreSQL
Aiven for PostgreSQL is a managed, hosted relational database service built on open-source PostgreSQL. It automates setup, maintenance, patching, and scaling, and includes automatic failover and point-in-time recovery. The cloud service can run across providers including AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. Aiven lists more than 50 PostgreSQL extensions, including PostGIS, pgvector, TimescaleDB, and pg_cron, and describes uses in vector search and AI applications. It can integrate with Aiven for Grafana and send metrics to external endpoints such as Datadog. The free tier has a single node, 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 1 GB storage; it has no integrations or connection pooling and a max_connections limit of 20. That tier is excluded from the advertised 99.99% uptime SLA and receives no support services. The Free plan is free; Developer is $5 a month, Startup starts at $75 a month, and Business starts at $180 a month. Paid services include Basic support.