Apache IoTDB vs kdb+
Apache IoTDB
iotdb.apache.orgkdb+
kx.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache IoTDB | kdb+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 2 |
| Spec score · Time-Series Databases | 9.1 (#2) | 7.9 (#19) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 8.7 (#19) | 7.9 (#53) |
| SQL support | Yes | Yes |
| What it does | Apache IoTDB is an IoT-native time-series database for collecting, storing, managing and analyzing industrial time-series data. | kdb+ is a time-series database and analytics engine powered by the q vector language, built to capture, analyze, and act on real-time and historical data. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache IoTDB
Apache IoTDB is an open-source industrial IoT time-series database for collecting, storing, managing, and analyzing device data across edge and cloud deployments. The project describes high-speed writes for millions of networked devices alongside fast reads. Query features include aligning time across devices and sensors, time-series computation, and aggregation by time dimensions. Ingestion options include IoTDB-SQL, JDBC, Java, C++, Python, and Go native APIs, REST, MQTT, CSV, and TsFile. Named analysis ecosystem examples include Hadoop, Spark, Flink, and Grafana. Deployment options include cloud installation, a desktop terminal tool, and synchronization between cloud and on-premise machines. The REST service is disabled by default and uses Basic Authentication except for the health check endpoint. Data and cluster permissions can be managed through users, roles, and privileges. The homepage states disk storage can cost less than $0.23 per GB. The project lists energy, aerospace, transportation, steel, and other IoT scenarios. Its JDBC documentation cautions that insert operations may not provide high-performance writing and recommends the Java Native API for Java applications.
kdb+
kdb+ is a time-series database and analytics engine from KX, built around the q vector language. It captures and analyzes real-time and historical data for time-sensitive workloads. KX describes in-memory ingestion and analysis with sub-millisecond performance. Its storage layout separates newest in-memory records in an RDB, recent disk data in an IDB, and long-term columnar archives in an HDB. Query options include q and q-SQL, with support for Python, Java, C#, C++, Rust, R, and open-source libraries. Data can arrive through tickerplants, feed handlers, batch mode, TCP/IP, Apache Kafka, or supported programming languages. KX describes applications in trading, fraud detection, and IoT monitoring across Capital Markets, Defense, and High-Tech Manufacturing. Deployments cover Linux, macOS, Windows, APIs, and self-hosted environments, with cloud documentation for AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure. SSL/TLS connections use OpenSSL certificates and keys.