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Machine Learning · head to head

ClearML vs Timeplus

ClearML logo

ClearML

Machine Learning

Open-source MLOps platform for experiment tracking and orchestration

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Timeplus logo

Timeplus

Databases

Streaming SQL engine built on ClickHouse internals, shipping as one small binary

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ClearML broad scope means more to learn and more to run than a focused tracking tool; Timeplus proton, the free version, is single-node by design, so any requirement for high availability or horizontal scale forces the commercial licence; the open source edition is a trial in practical terms.
  • They diverge on capability: ClearML covers Experiment tracking, Timeplus covers Streaming SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ClearML and Timeplus actually diverge.

Attributes where ClearML and Timeplus differ
AttributeClearMLTimeplus
Pricing modelOpen-source self-hosted, with paid hosted and enterprise tiersPer month for cloud, quoted for self-hosted
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, KubernetesLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryMachine LearningDatabases

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ClearML

  • Experiment tracking
  • Remote execution
  • Data versioning
  • Pipelines

Only in Timeplus

  • Streaming SQL
  • Unified streaming and historical
  • ClickHouse-based engine
  • Single binary deployment
  • External streams
  • Materialised views

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ClearML

  • Tracking experiments across a team so results are reproduciblenot Timeplus
  • Moving training from laptops to shared GPU hardware without repackagingnot Timeplus
  • Versioning datasets alongside the experiments that consumed themnot Timeplus

Timeplus

  • Real-time alerting on Kafka topics where standing up a Flink cluster is more work than the use case justifiesnot ClearML
  • Fraud or anomaly detection that must join a live event stream against recent history in one querynot ClearML
  • Streaming ETL from Kafka or MySQL change data capture into ClickHouse without writing Javanot ClearML
  • A small data team that needs continuous aggregation but has no platform engineers to operate JVM infrastructurenot ClearML

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ClearML

  • Broad scope means more to learn and more to run than a focused tracking tool
  • Self-hosting the server is real infrastructure — database, file storage and web server
  • Documentation quality is uneven across the newer parts of the platform
  • Smaller community than the most popular tracking tools, so fewer worked examples exist

Timeplus

  • Proton, the free version, is single-node by design, so any requirement for high availability or horizontal scale forces the commercial licence; the open source edition is a trial in practical terms.
  • It is a young project against Apache Flink’s decade of production history, so the hiring pool, the connector library and the body of known failure modes are all much smaller.
  • Inheriting ClickHouse internals also inherits ClickHouse constraints: memory-hungry queries, awkward updates and a SQL dialect that is not portable to other engines.
  • Exactly-once semantics and state recovery guarantees are less battle-tested than Flink checkpointing, which matters if the pipeline moves money.
  • Cloud pricing is by provisioned instance size rather than usage, so a bursty workload pays for peak capacity around the clock or has to be resized by hand.

Pricing, plan by plan

ClearML

Free
  • Open sourceFree
    • Experiment tracking
    • Pipelines
    • Self-hosted server

Timeplus

Free
  • Timeplus ProtonFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Single node only
    • Full streaming SQL engine
  • Timeplus Cloud$199/month
    • One to thirty-two CPUs
    • 4 GB to 128 GB memory
    • From 250 GB SSD storage
  • Self-hosted or BYOC$undefined/year
    • Multi-node clustering
    • Kubernetes or bare metal
    • Customisable compute and storage

Which should you pick?

Choose ClearML if

  • You need experiment tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want remote execution.
ClearML review

Choose Timeplus if

  • You need streaming sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want unified streaming and historical.
Timeplus review

Questions people ask

Is ClearML or Timeplus better?
Neither clearly leads. ClearML starts at Free and Timeplus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ClearML or Timeplus?
ClearML starts at Free and Timeplus at Free.
Does ClearML or Timeplus run on more platforms?
ClearML runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Timeplus runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use ClearML for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is ClearML best used for?
ClearML is most often used for tracking experiments across a team so results are reproducible, moving training from laptops to shared gpu hardware without repackaging, versioning datasets alongside the experiments that consumed them. Of those, tracking experiments across a team so results are reproducible and moving training from laptops to shared gpu hardware without repackaging are not what Timeplus is typically brought in for.
What can ClearML do that Timeplus cannot?
ClearML covers Experiment tracking, Remote execution, Data versioning, Pipelines. Timeplus covers Streaming SQL, Unified streaming and historical, ClickHouse-based engine, Single binary deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ClearML: Is ClearML free?

The open-source version is free and self-hostable. Hosted and enterprise tiers are paid.

Timeplus: Is Timeplus open source?

The core engine, Timeplus Proton, is Apache 2.0. Timeplus Enterprise and Cloud are commercial.

ClearML: How much code does tracking require?

Very little — adding a couple of lines to an existing training script captures parameters, metrics and environment automatically.

Timeplus: What is the difference from Flink?

Timeplus is one binary with SQL as the only interface; Flink is a JVM cluster with a Java and SQL API and far more operational surface.

ClearML: Does ClearML replace MLflow?

It covers MLflow’s tracking and adds orchestration, remote execution and data versioning. Whether that breadth is an advantage or extra weight depends on whether you need the rest.

Timeplus: Can Proton run in production?

It can, but it is single-node only, so there is no high availability without the commercial edition.

Timeplus: How much is the cloud?

From 199 US dollars a month, sized by CPU and memory, with a fourteen day trial.

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