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APIs · head to head

Hasura vs Timeplus

Hasura logo

Hasura

APIs

GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases

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: Hasura active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly; 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: Hasura covers GraphQL API, Timeplus covers Streaming SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hasura and Timeplus actually diverge.

Attributes where Hasura and Timeplus differ
AttributeHasuraTimeplus
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month for cloud, quoted for self-hosted
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryAPIsDatabases
Founded2017Unknown

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 Hasura

  • GraphQL API
  • Real-time subscriptions
  • Access control
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • Webhooks
  • REST APIs
  • Cloud support

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.

Hasura

  • Automatic GraphQL API generation from existing databasesnot Timeplus
  • Real-time data subscriptions for modern applicationsnot Timeplus
  • Backend infrastructure for web and mobile applicationsnot Timeplus
  • Event-triggered webhooks for database changesnot Timeplus

Timeplus

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

Where each one falls short

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

Hasura

  • Active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly
  • Private DDN requires Base or Advanced plan

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

Hasura

Free
  • DDN FreeFree
    • Unlimited models
    • 1 supergraph developer
    • 15-minute observability retention
  • DDN Base$5/month
    • Per active model billing
    • Unlimited developers
    • 30-day observability retention
  • DDN Advanced$30/month
    • Per active model billing
    • Federated collaboration
    • Multi-repo CI/CD

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 Hasura if

  • You need graphql api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want real-time subscriptions.
Hasura 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 Hasura or Timeplus better?
Neither clearly leads. Hasura 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, Hasura or Timeplus?
Hasura starts at Free and Timeplus at Free.
Does Hasura or Timeplus run on more platforms?
Hasura runs on Web. Timeplus runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use Hasura for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hasura best used for?
Hasura is most often used for automatic graphql api generation from existing databases, real-time data subscriptions for modern applications, backend infrastructure for web and mobile applications, event-triggered webhooks for database changes. Of those, automatic graphql api generation from existing databases and real-time data subscriptions for modern applications are not what Timeplus is typically brought in for.
What can Hasura do that Timeplus cannot?
Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL. Timeplus covers Streaming SQL, Unified streaming and historical, ClickHouse-based engine, Single binary deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hasura: How much does Hasura cost?

Hasura DDN Free is free. DDN Base starts at $5/active model/month, and DDN Advanced starts at $30/active model/month.

Source
Timeplus: Is Timeplus open source?

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

Hasura: What is an active model in Hasura pricing?

An active model is defined as any model or command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly.

Source
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.

Hasura: Is there a free version of Hasura?

Yes, Hasura DDN Free is always free and includes unlimited models, 1 supergraph developer, and 15-minute observability retention.

Source
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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