ALTIBASE vs HSQLDB
ALTIBASE
altibase.comHSQLDB
hsqldb.orgSide by side
| Figure | ALTIBASE | HSQLDB |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $8.33/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 11 |
| Spec score · Relational Databases | 8.1 (#12) | 9.1 (#2) |
| Spec score · Sql Databases | 8.1 (#10) | 9.2 (#1) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 7.5 (#69) | 8.9 (#13) |
| Founded | 1999 | 2001 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Integrations | ALTIBASE V7.3 lists DBeaver compatibility through plugins and describes the Altibase Kubernetes Utility for cloud use and replication scaling. | The project documents JDBC and ODBC connectivity and integration with OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice. |
| Product | ALTIBASE is a hybrid relational DBMS combining in-memory and on-disk databases in one engine. | HSQLDB is a Java-based relational database engine with in-memory and disk-based tables, supporting embedded and server modes. |
| Support | Altibase says subscription-based clients receive support, patches, and upgrades; emergency patches and updates require a subscription agreement. | Support options include a help forum, a user mailing list, bug and feature request trackers, paid SupportWare, and professional commercial support. |
Plans
HSQLDB
- Developer subscription$100 a year
- Basic Corporate subscriptionPrice not published
- Premier Corporate subscription$2,500 a year
- HSQLDBFree
- HSQLDB softwareFree
- Developer SupportWare$100 a year
- SupportWare Developer subscription$100 a year
- Basic Corporate SupportWare$500 a year
- SupportWare Basic Corporate subscription$500 a year
- Premier Corporate SupportWare$2,500 a year
In their own words
ALTIBASE
ALTIBASE is a relational database engine that combines in-memory and on-disk storage. It can run entirely in memory, entirely on disk, or in a hybrid mode, with features for both OLTP and OLAP workloads. Built-in replication supports synchronous or asynchronous consistency and Active-Active or Active-Standby architectures. Listed interfaces include ODBC, JDBC, .NET and Entity Framework, OLEDB, Embedded SQL, CLI, Perl DBD, and PHP. ALTIBASE V7.3 lists migration support for Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Tibero, and CUBRID, along with DBeaver compatibility through plugins. Its listed utilities cover querying, replication management, profiling, monitoring, migration, exporting, and loading data. Security capabilities include SSL/TLS communication, SQL auditing, password policies, IP access control, object privileges, and methods to integrate third-party encryption. The Linux, self-hosted product offers a free A+ Edition for development, testing, and education; it is not for commercial use and is limited to 128 concurrent users, 10 GB in-memory, and 50 GB disk database. Enterprise subscription pricing is available on request.
HSQLDB
HSQLDB is a Java-based relational database engine for embedded or server use, with both in-memory and disk-based tables. It supports SQL:2023 core features and many optional features, plus lock-based and MVCC transaction models; the engine is fully multithreaded. Listed capabilities include JSON constructor functions, CSV loading and unloading, temporal system-versioned tables, row-level access control, and log-based replica synchronization. It includes a command-line SQL tool and simple GUI query tools. The latest official release listed is version 2.7.4, compatible with JDK 8 and above, and packages include Java 11 module jars as well as Java 8 jars for HSQLDB and SQL Tool. HSQLDB is self-hosted, with high availability, read replicas, and JSON data support listed. Its default combined limit for CACHED tables is 8TB, extendable to 256TB with a connection property; each TEXT table is limited to 256GB, and memory tables depend on available memory. The software is free to use in commercial products when license terms are met; its licenses are based on the new BSD License. The HSQLDB plan is free. A Developer subscription is $100 a year; Premier Corporate is $2,500 a year at the base level. Support options include community channels and paid commercial support.