Firebolt vs Starburst Enterprise Context Layer
Firebolt
firebolt.io
Starburst Enterprise Context Layer
starburst.ioSide by side
| Figure | Firebolt | Starburst Enterprise Context Layer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.50/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 7 |
| Spec score · Query Engine Software | 7.9 (#12) | 8.5 (#5) |
| Spec score · Big Data Analytics Software | 7.8 (#19) | 8.5 (#9) |
| Deployment | It runs as a single binary on a laptop or as a cluster of hundreds of nodes in your own cloud. | Starburst Enterprise is self-hosted and can run on premises, in private or hybrid clouds, Kubernetes and major cloud marketplaces. |
| Founded | 2019 | 2017 |
| Integrations | It integrates with Looker, Tableau, Power BI, Postgres-compatible tools, Go, JDBC, .NET, Node.js, Python, Rust, SQLAlchemy, and REST API clients. | The platform connects to more than 50 sources, including Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake, Hive, Amazon S3, Snowflake, and PostgreSQL. |
| Security | Firebolt lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, HIPAA support, GDPR alignment, MFA, RBAC, and encryption in transit and at rest. | Enterprise security includes column- and row-level RBAC and ABAC, Apache Ranger, HashiCorp Vault, Okta, LDAP, dynamic masking, column-level encryption, and unified audit logging. |
| Support | The pricing page lists audit logs, metrics, and support as managed-service capabilities. | Enterprise support tiers range from five portal tickets monthly to unlimited tickets and dedicated experts; Sev-1 response targets range from one hour to 30 minutes. |
Plans
Starburst Enterprise Context Layer
- FreeFree
- ProPriced on request
- Pro$0.50 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- Enterprise$0.75 a month
- Mission-CriticalPriced on request
- Mission-Critical$1 a month
In their own words
Firebolt
Firebolt is an open-source analytical database for engineers, with Postgres-compatible SQL and options for self-managed or managed deployment. It can run as a single binary on a laptop or scale to a cluster of hundreds of nodes in a customer’s cloud. Firebolt is designed for sub-second query latency and high-concurrency analytics, and supports Apache Iceberg and DuckLake using open storage standards. Deployment choices include a single binary, Helm chart, Kubernetes Operator, and managed service. Firebolt Core is free forever for self-hosted use, with no usage limits; it cannot be used to build a hosted SaaS that competes with Firebolt’s managed service. Managed compute is billed per second, with scale-to-zero, automatic start and stop, and autoscaling. Object storage is pass-through at $0.0264 / GB·mo, and the managed service includes $200 free credits. AI capabilities include query and embedding functions, vector search, an MCP Server, and a preview agent. Self-managed availability includes AWS and GCP, with Azure in preview; the managed service is currently AWS-only.
Starburst Enterprise Context Layer
Starburst Enterprise Context Layer turns scattered data into governed, versioned Data Products. Each product combines a dataset with business definitions, ownership, access policies, and lineage, and appears in a shared catalog. Controls include role-based access, column masking, and row-level security. Teams can define products in YAML, commit them to git, test changes before merging, and roll back; breaking changes are reviewed before rollout. Automated CI/CD lineage checks verify upstream freshness before a new version is published. A semantic layer turns raw data into business-ready metrics, dimensions, and relationships for BI tools and AI agents. Products can be consumed through JDBC or REST, and the platform connects to more than 50 sources, including Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake, Hive, Amazon S3, Snowflake, and PostgreSQL. It runs in private cloud, hybrid, or on-premises environments and is air-gap ready. The free plan is free. Pro costs what you agree with the maker, billed /credit; Enterprise costs what you agree with the maker, billed /credit; Mission-Critical costs what you agree with the maker, billed /credit.