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Business Intelligence · head to head

Holistics vs TiDB

Holistics logo

Holistics

Business Intelligence

Self-service BI for data teams

From
$800/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TiDB logo

TiDB

Databases

Apache 2.0 distributed SQL database with MySQL wire compatibility and a separate columnar replica for analytical queries.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only TiDB has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Holistics the entry plan is $960 per month billed monthly, which is a high floor for a BI tool; TiDB a production cluster needs several placement driver, storage and SQL nodes before it is fault tolerant, so the minimum viable footprint is far larger than a MySQL server and TiDB is never the economical choice for a small database.
  • They diverge on capability: Holistics covers Data Modeling, TiDB covers MySQL wire compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Holistics and TiDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Holistics and TiDB differ
AttributeHolisticsTiDB
Starting price$800/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CloudCloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDatabases

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2015).

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 Holistics

  • Data Modeling
  • Version Control
  • Scheduling
  • Caching
  • Embedding
  • BigQuery
  • Snowflake
  • Redshift

Only in TiDB

  • MySQL wire compatibility
  • Horizontal write scaling
  • Distributed ACID transactions
  • TiFlash columnar replica
  • Automatic rebalancing
  • Raft replication
  • Apache 2.0 licence
  • Online schema change

What people use each for

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

Holistics

  • Modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with Git version controlnot TiDB
  • Self-service exploration and dashboards for non-SQL usersnot TiDB
  • Embedding analytics into a customer-facing productnot TiDB

TiDB

  • A MySQL workload that has hit the write ceiling of a single primary and would otherwise need an application-level sharding layernot Holistics
  • Reporting that must run against current transactional data, where the columnar replica removes the delay and the cost of an ETL pipelinenot Holistics
  • Multi-region deployments needing a single logical database with automatic failover rather than manual primary promotionnot Holistics
  • Migrating off a sharded MySQL estate where the sharding logic in the application has become the main source of bugs and operational toilnot Holistics

Where each one falls short

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

Holistics

  • The entry plan is $960 per month billed monthly, which is a high floor for a BI tool
  • Every plan includes only the first 10 users, with additional users charged at $15 per month each on Entry and Standard and $18 on the Security Compliance Suite
  • The Entry plan caps reports at 100, and each additional 100 reports costs $120 per month
  • Google SSO requires the Standard plan at $1,200 per month; enterprise SSO with SAML and SCIM provisioning requires the Security Compliance Suite at $2,400 per month
  • Row-based access control, IP whitelisting, pass-through authentication and user activity monitoring are all Security Compliance Suite features
  • Connecting Git version control to your own repository requires Standard; Entry only gets Holistics-hosted Git
  • White labelling, dynamic row-level permissions and unlimited dashboard viewers for embedded analytics are Custom Plan only, with no published price
  • Bank payments and custom payment terms are Custom Plan only, and custom infosec or legal paperwork is Enterprise plan only
  • The two months off discount requires yearly billing

TiDB

  • A production cluster needs several placement driver, storage and SQL nodes before it is fault tolerant, so the minimum viable footprint is far larger than a MySQL server and TiDB is never the economical choice for a small database.
  • Every transaction takes a timestamp from the placement driver and crosses the network to storage nodes, so simple point queries are slower than on single-node MySQL and latency-sensitive paths need to be measured, not assumed.
  • MySQL compatibility is at the wire and dialect level but not complete; stored procedures, triggers and events are not supported, so an application that pushed logic into the database cannot simply be repointed.
  • The columnar replica is an extra full copy of the data on its own nodes, so hybrid analytics roughly doubles storage and adds hardware that must be sized and paid for separately.
  • Operating it well requires cluster-specific expertise in TiUP or the Kubernetes operator, region hot spots, and rebalancing behaviour, so the licence is free but the running cost includes an engineer who understands distributed storage.

Pricing, plan by plan

Holistics

$800/month
  • Entry$800/month
    • 100 reports
    • First 10 users included
    • Core self-service analytics
  • Standard$1000/month
    • Unlimited reports
    • First 10 users included
    • Custom charts
  • Security Compliance Suite$2000/month
    • Unlimited reports
    • First 10 users included
    • Granular access controls

TiDB

Free
  • ServerlessFree
    • 5GB storage
    • 50M request units
    • Free forever tier
  • Dedicated$250/month
    • Dedicated resources
    • SLA guarantees
    • Enterprise support

Which should you pick?

Choose Holistics if

  • You need data modeling.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want version control.
Holistics review

Choose TiDB if

  • You need mysql wire compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed.
  • You also want horizontal write scaling.
TiDB review

Questions people ask

Is Holistics or TiDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Holistics starts at $800/month and TiDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Holistics or TiDB?
TiDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $800/month for Holistics and Free for TiDB.
Does Holistics or TiDB run on more platforms?
Holistics runs on Web, Cloud. TiDB runs on Cloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed.
Can I use TiDB for free?
Yes. TiDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Holistics starts at $800/month.
What is Holistics best used for?
Holistics is most often used for modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with git version control, self-service exploration and dashboards for non-sql users, embedding analytics into a customer-facing product. Of those, modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with git version control and self-service exploration and dashboards for non-sql users are not what TiDB is typically brought in for.
What can Holistics do that TiDB cannot?
Holistics covers Data Modeling, Version Control, Scheduling, Caching. TiDB covers MySQL wire compatibility, Horizontal write scaling, Distributed ACID transactions, TiFlash columnar replica.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Holistics: How much do additional Holistics users cost?

Additional users cost $12.50 per month (yearly billing) or $15 per month (monthly billing) for Entry/Standard plans, and $15-18 per month for Security Suite.

Source
TiDB: Is TiDB a drop-in replacement for MySQL?

At the protocol and dialect level it is close, and most applications connect unchanged. Stored procedures, triggers and events are not supported, and latency characteristics differ, so it needs testing rather than assumption.

Holistics: Can I purchase additional reports on Holistics?

Yes, additional 100-report blocks cost $100 per month (yearly) or $120 per month (monthly billing).

Source
TiDB: What licence is it under?

Apache 2.0, for both TiDB and the underlying TiKV storage engine. TiKV is a graduated CNCF project, which is a meaningful governance signal in a market where several competitors moved to source-available licences.

Holistics: Does Holistics support multiple data centers?

Yes, Holistics supports multiple data centers in US, EU, and APAC regions with pricing available for embedded analytics with unlimited dashboard viewers.

Source
TiDB: Do I need TiFlash?

Only for analytical queries. It is an optional columnar replica; without it TiDB is a distributed transactional database. With it you get analytics on live data at the cost of an additional full copy.

TiDB: Is the managed cloud the same software?

TiDB Cloud runs the same engine, with the control plane, scaling and operational tooling provided as a service. The entry tier is metered differently from a dedicated cluster, so the cost model rather than the engine is what changes.

TiDB: When is TiDB the wrong choice?

When the database is small enough for one server, when latency on single-row lookups is the primary constraint, or when the application depends on MySQL stored procedures and triggers.

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