HeliosProxy vs TurbineProxy
HeliosProxy
heliosdb.comTurbineProxy
turbineproxy.comSide by side
| Figure | HeliosProxy | TurbineProxy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Database Proxy Software | 7.8 (#8) | 7.6 (#16) |
| Deployment | The maker documents Docker, Kubernetes, and standalone deployment options. | The site lists binary, Docker, Homebrew, AUR, .deb, and .rpm installation options. |
| License | HeliosProxy is open source under the Apache 2.0 license. | The site describes TurbineProxy as open source under the Apache-2.0 license, with no per-query fees. |
| Pooling | It offers session, transaction, and statement pooling modes, with up to 100:1 connection multiplexing. | It provides per-backend connection pooling with multiplexing and configurable pool sizes. |
| Routing | It supports lag-aware replica routing, workload-based routing, and circuit breaking for failing backends. | It routes reads and writes automatically based on query intent, with no application code changes required. |
| Security | The proxy supports JWT, OAuth 2.0, LDAP, and API-key authentication, with identity claim-to-database-role mapping. | Listed security features include SQL injection detection, per-user read-only enforcement, query allowlists, and AES-256-GCM at-rest encryption. |
Plans
In their own words
HeliosProxy
HeliosProxy is a self-hosted, programmable PostgreSQL data-plane for routing connections, handling failover, replaying traffic, and supporting database upgrades. It provides session, transaction, and statement pooling, with multiplexing up to 100:1. Routing can account for replica lag, workload type, and failing backends through circuit breaking. Cache options include local memory, Redis-backed storage, and semantic tiers, with invalidation when writes occur. Transaction Replay can move sessions to a new primary and optionally replay reads or transactions when conditions permit, although prepared statements, temporary tables, open cursors, advisory locks, and extended-protocol SET statements are not restored. A WebAssembly plugin runtime offers five hook points, Ed25519 verification, and OCI distribution. The admin console includes topology, plugin, chaos, shadow-execution, and traffic-replay panels. Authentication supports JWT, OAuth 2.0, LDAP, and API keys. HeliosProxy works with PostgreSQL 12+ and compatible databases, and deployment documentation covers Docker, Kubernetes, and standalone setups. It is open source under Apache 2.0 and costs nothing.
TurbineProxy
TurbineProxy is a self-hosted Rust proxy for MySQL and PostgreSQL that directs reads and writes according to query intent, without requiring application code changes. It can route across replicas or run as a standalone proxy in front of one database server. Replica routing supports round-robin or least-connections balancing and excludes replicas when lag exceeds a configured threshold. Per-backend connection pools use multiplexing and configurable sizes. Security controls include SQL injection detection, per-user read-only rules, query allowlists, and AES-256-GCM encryption at rest. For MySQL 8.0 and later, it specifies GTID-aware read-your-own-writes support. A web dashboard, Prometheus metrics, query analytics, a heatmap, and Grafana dashboard JSON cover observability. Its embedded MCP server offers seven tools over JSON-RPC 2.0 with Basic Auth, including slow-query analysis, N+1 detection, index advice, replica lag, and backend health. It is open source under Apache-2.0, with a free plan at free and no per-query fees. Install options include binary, Docker, Homebrew, AUR,.deb, and.rpm.