InfluxDB vs QuestDB
InfluxDB
influxdata.com
QuestDB
questdb.comSide by side
| Figure | InfluxDB | QuestDB |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.01/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 10 | 2 |
| Spec score · Time-Series Databases | 8.5 (#7) | 8.1 (#14) |
| Spec score · Analytics Data | 8.4 (#8) | 8.0 (#16) |
| Spec score · Columnar Databases | 8.3 (#9) | 7.9 (#14) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 8.5 (#27) | 8.0 (#50) |
| Spec score · OLAP Software | 8.2 (#12) | 7.9 (#19) |
| Enterprise security | InfluxDB 3 Enterprise offers SAML/SSO and OAuth; Cloud Dedicated offers SAML/SSO as an add-on and private networking as an add-on. | QuestDB Enterprise offers TLS encryption, role-based access control, audit logs, and single sign-on through OAuth 2.0/OIDC. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | InfluxDB connects to data sources through 400+ pre-built Telegraf plugins and has official client libraries including Python, JavaScript, Go, Java, and C#. | QuestDB lists Grafana, Power BI, Apache Kafka, Telegraf, Redpanda, Apache Flink, Pandas, and Apache Spark among its integrations. |
| Querying | InfluxDB 3 supports native SQL alongside InfluxQL and includes a built-in Python processing engine. | QuestDB provides a vectorized execution engine, standard SQL, and time-series extensions including SAMPLE BY, ASOF, and HORIZON JOIN. |
| SQL support | Yes | Yes |
| Storage | InfluxDB 3 stores data as compressed Parquet files in object storage with S3 API compatibility. | Enterprise supports hot storage plus Parquet and Iceberg tables on object storage, including Amazon S3, Azure Blob, and GCS. |
| Support | InfluxDB 3 Core is community supported, while Enterprise and Cloud Dedicated include a technical support SLA. | Enterprise includes dedicated access to QuestDB engineers and guaranteed response-time SLAs; Open Source has community support. |
| Trial | The self-managed Enterprise trial is 30 days by default, and InfluxData says it can help extend the trial. | QuestDB offers a free Enterprise trial, but the page does not state its duration. |
Plans
InfluxDB
- Cloud Serverless - Data InFree
- Cloud Serverless - Query Count$0.01 a month
- Cloud Serverless - StorageFree
- Cloud Serverless - Data Out$0.09 a month
- Cloud ServerlessFree
- InfluxDB 3 CoreFree
- Amazon Timestream for InfluxDBPrice not published
- Cloud DedicatedPriced on request
- Cloud Serverless usage-basedPrice not published
- InfluxDB 3 EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
InfluxDB
InfluxDB 3 is a time series database and platform for high-frequency data recorded with timestamps. It supports native SQL and InfluxQL queries, plus a built-in Python processing engine. Data can enter through line protocol, an HTTP API, client libraries, Telegraf or the influxdb3 CLI. More than 400 pre-built Telegraf plugins and official libraries for Python, JavaScript, Go, Java and C# connect it to data sources. InfluxDB stores data as compressed Parquet files in object storage with S3 API compatibility. Deployment choices include open-source single-node Core, self-managed Enterprise, managed Cloud Serverless and Cloud Dedicated, and Amazon Timestream for InfluxDB. InfluxData describes uses in industrial operations, observability and AI applications needing real-time data. Core is intended for development, prototyping and edge deployments, but lacks high availability and enterprise security. Cloud Serverless has a free option with service quotas and no high availability, plus $250 free credit. Core has community support; Enterprise and Cloud Dedicated include a technical support SLA.
QuestDB
QuestDB is a time-series database for environments where low latency matters, including mission-critical workloads. It supports standard SQL through a vectorized execution engine, along with time-series extensions such as SAMPLE BY, ASOF, and HORIZON JOIN. QuestDB advertises ingestion speeds of 8M+ rows per second. The Open Source edition is self-managed and available as binaries, containers, or source code; it is single-instance and supports Parquet storage and PostgreSQL Wire Protocol compatibility. Ingestion options include QuestDB Wire Protocol, InfluxDB Line Protocol, REST API, native client libraries, SQL INSERT, Kafka connector, and CSV import. Listed integrations include Grafana, Power BI, Apache Kafka, Telegraf, Redpanda, Apache Flink, Pandas, and Apache Spark. Open Source costs nothing and includes community support. Enterprise adds security controls, replication, automatic failover, object-storage tables, and dedicated support with response-time SLAs.