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Databases · head to head

Firebolt vs RisingWave

Firebolt logo

Firebolt

Databases

Sub-second analytics at cloud data warehouse scale

From
$1.84/hour
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RisingWave logo

RisingWave

Databases

Streaming database that maintains incremental materialised views in SQL instead of Flink jobs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only RisingWave has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Firebolt compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop; RisingWave anything that does not fit SQL, such as custom windowing, complex event processing or heavy stateful logic, still needs Flink, so RisingWave often adds a system rather than removing one.
  • They diverge on capability: Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries, RisingWave covers SQL materialised views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Firebolt and RisingWave actually diverge.

Attributes where Firebolt and RisingWave differ
AttributeFireboltRisingWave
Starting price$1.84/hourFree
Pricing modelusage-basedPer RisingWave Unit hour
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud
Founded2019Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Firebolt

  • Sub-second Queries
  • Sparse Indexes
  • Data Pruning
  • Decoupled Storage/Compute
  • SQL Support
  • Semi-structured Data
  • Workload Isolation
  • Airflow

Only in RisingWave

  • SQL materialised views
  • Postgres wire compatibility
  • Object storage state
  • Source connectors
  • Sink connectors
  • Iceberg tables
  • Watermarks and windowing
  • User defined functions

What people use each for

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

Firebolt

  • Data analytics teams running gigabyte-to-petabyte datasets with sub-second query requirementsnot RisingWave
  • Real-time business intelligence platforms requiring ACID transactions and snapshot isolationnot RisingWave
  • Applications needing vector search on analytical data for similarity queriesnot RisingWave

RisingWave

  • A team with Kafka topics that needs continuously fresh aggregates for a dashboard without standing up a Flink clusternot Firebolt
  • A fraud or risk team maintaining rolling counters and joins across event streams expressed as SQL viewsnot Firebolt
  • A company doing Postgres CDC into a real-time denormalised view for search or servingnot Firebolt
  • An analytics group that wants streaming results landed directly into Apache Iceberg without a separate writer jobnot Firebolt

Where each one falls short

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

Firebolt

  • Compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop
  • Storage pass-through charged at $0.0264/GB monthly on compressed data; uncompressed storage could exceed this
  • Azure deployment currently in Preview status; production recommendations unclear
  • Vector indexes limited to float arrays; other data types require alternative indexing strategies
  • Free tier credits ($200) limited; no perpetual free tier for production use

RisingWave

  • Anything that does not fit SQL, such as custom windowing, complex event processing or heavy stateful logic, still needs Flink, so RisingWave often adds a system rather than removing one.
  • The Apache 2.0 community edition excludes premium features behind a licence key, and which capabilities sit on which side of that line moves between releases, so a self-hosted plan can be invalidated by an upgrade.
  • Long-running materialised views accumulate state in object storage, and cost and recovery time grow with retention in ways that are hard to forecast before you are in production.
  • The Postgres compatibility is protocol level; it is not a transactional Postgres and using it as a general purpose database, with point updates or high write concurrency, goes badly.
  • It is a comparatively young venture-funded project competing with Flink, Materialize and warehouse-native streaming, and the ecosystem of connectors, operators and third-party expertise is much thinner.

Pricing, plan by plan

Firebolt

$1.84/hour

No published plan breakdown. See the Firebolt review.

RisingWave

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence, self-hosted
    • Core streaming engine and connectors
    • Premium features excluded and require a licence key
  • Cloud Basic$0.227/hour
    • Billed per RisingWave Unit hour
    • Hosted on AWS, GCP or Azure
    • Capped at 64 cores
  • Cloud Pro$undefined/year
    • No core limit
    • Bring your own cloud option
    • Premium features included
  • Self-managed Enterprise$undefined/year
    • On premises or Kubernetes
    • Premium features unlocked by licence
    • Annual contract with SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Firebolt if

  • You need sub-second queries.
  • You work on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want sparse indexes.
Firebolt review

Choose RisingWave if

  • You need sql materialised views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want postgres wire compatibility.
RisingWave review

Questions people ask

Is Firebolt or RisingWave better?
Neither clearly leads. Firebolt starts at $1.84/hour and RisingWave at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Firebolt or RisingWave?
RisingWave has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1.84/hour for Firebolt and Free for RisingWave.
Does Firebolt or RisingWave run on more platforms?
Firebolt runs on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes. RisingWave runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use RisingWave for free?
Yes. RisingWave has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Firebolt starts at $1.84/hour.
What is Firebolt best used for?
Firebolt is most often used for data analytics teams running gigabyte-to-petabyte datasets with sub-second query requirements, real-time business intelligence platforms requiring acid transactions and snapshot isolation, applications needing vector search on analytical data for similarity queries. Of those, data analytics teams running gigabyte-to-petabyte datasets with sub-second query requirements and real-time business intelligence platforms requiring acid transactions and snapshot isolation are not what RisingWave is typically brought in for.
What can Firebolt do that RisingWave cannot?
Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries, Sparse Indexes, Data Pruning, Decoupled Storage/Compute. RisingWave covers SQL materialised views, Postgres wire compatibility, Object storage state, Source connectors.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Firebolt: How does Firebolt's compute billing model work?

Firebolt uses per-second billing with scale-to-zero capability. The smallest S tier costs $1.84 per hour with 8 vCPU and 64GB memory, while the largest 4XL tier costs $58.88 per hour with 256 vCPU. Users only pay when compute is running.

Source
RisingWave: Is RisingWave open source?

The community edition is Apache 2.0 and self-hostable, but a set of premium features requires a paid licence key.

Firebolt: What is the cost for data storage on Firebolt?

Storage costs $0.0264 per GB per month on object storage, billed as pass-through cost at cloud provider rates.

Source
RisingWave: What does the cloud cost?

It starts at 0.227 US dollars per RisingWave Unit hour on the Basic tier, which is capped at 64 cores.

Firebolt: What free credits or trial does Firebolt offer new users?

New users receive $200 free credits to get started with the platform.

Source
RisingWave: Does it replace Flink?

For SQL-expressible transformations, often yes. For custom stateful processing and complex event handling, no.

Firebolt: Does Firebolt publish pricing for commitment-based discounts?

The pricing FAQ lists a question about commitment-based discounts but does not provide published answers on the pricing page. This requires direct inquiry with sales.

Source
RisingWave: Can I query it like Postgres?

Yes over the Postgres wire protocol, but it is an analytical streaming engine, not a transactional database.

Firebolt: What deployment options does Firebolt offer besides managed service?

Firebolt offers self-hosted open source deployment (unlimited) and Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) options in addition to managed service.

Source
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