Actian Zen vs Matisse
Actian Zen
actian.comMatisse
matisse.comSide by side
| Figure | Actian Zen | Matisse |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Spec score · Relational Databases | 8.4 (#7) | 7.9 (#20) |
| Founded | 1980 | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, California, United States | Burlingame, California, United States |
| Integrations | The product page says Zen Enterprise integrates with existing ERP, point-of-sale, and accounting applications. | The site lists Visual Studio .NET, JBuilder, NetBeans, Forte, Rational Rose, and ODBC, JDBC, and ADO.NET connectivity. |
| Product | Actian Zen is an embedded database for edge-to-cloud data management that combines relational data, vector search, semantic queries, and AI-agent connectivity in a lightweight engine. | Matisse combines native support for objects, XML, and SQL in a single database. |
| Support | Actian Support Services says technical expertise, guidance, and knowledge are available 24/7. | Matisse offers training at its offices or on-site, and directs developers to its Developers section for software, documentation, and FAQs. |
Plans
Matisse
- Developer trial versionFree
- Matisse Lite$245, paid once
- Matisse DBMS Standard Edition$1,570, paid once
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).