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InfluxDB vs RavenDB

InfluxDB logo

InfluxDB

Logging

Purpose-built time series database for metrics and events

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RavenDB logo

RavenDB

Databases

The fully transactional NoSQL document database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: InfluxDB high-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation; RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
  • They diverge on capability: InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, RavenDB covers ACID Transactions.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which InfluxDB and RavenDB actually diverge.

Attributes where InfluxDB and RavenDB differ
AttributeInfluxDBRavenDB
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsCloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, AzureLinux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web
CategoryLoggingDatabases
Founded20122010

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 InfluxDB

  • Time-series Storage
  • Flux Query Language
  • High Write Throughput
  • Data Compression
  • Retention Policies
  • Continuous Queries
  • Built-in Dashboards
  • Telegraf

Only in RavenDB

  • ACID Transactions
  • Auto-indexing
  • Full-text Search
  • Graph Queries
  • Distributed Counters
  • Time Series
  • Document Compression
  • .NET

Both cover

  • Linux support
  • Windows support
  • Mac support
  • Docker support
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

InfluxDB

  • Monitoringnot RavenDB
  • IoT datanot RavenDB
  • Financial datanot RavenDB
  • Log analyticsnot RavenDB
  • Observabilitynot RavenDB

RavenDB

  • Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot InfluxDB
  • Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot InfluxDB
  • Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot InfluxDB

Where each one falls short

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

InfluxDB

  • High-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation
  • No support for joins or transactions like relational databases
  • Queries limited to 72-hour window in InfluxDB 3 OSS Core
  • Clustering and authentication features absent from community version

RavenDB

  • The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
  • The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
  • The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
  • Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate

Pricing, plan by plan

InfluxDB

Free
  • Cloud Serverless FreeFree
    • 5 MB writes per 5 minutes
    • 300 MB queries per 5 minutes
    • 30 day retention
  • Cloud Serverless Usage-Based$undefined/mo
    • 0.0025 USD per MB ingested
    • 0.012 USD per 100 queries
    • 0.002 USD per GB-hour storage

RavenDB

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • 3 cores
    • 6GB RAM
    • Community support
  • Professional$499/year
    • Production use
    • Professional support
    • Advanced features

Which should you pick?

Choose InfluxDB if

  • You need time-series storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure.
  • You also want flux query language.
InfluxDB review

Choose RavenDB if

  • You need acid transactions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
  • You also want auto-indexing.
RavenDB review

Questions people ask

Is InfluxDB or RavenDB better?
Neither clearly leads. InfluxDB starts at Free and RavenDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, InfluxDB or RavenDB?
InfluxDB starts at Free and RavenDB at Free.
Does InfluxDB or RavenDB run on more platforms?
InfluxDB runs on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure. RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
Can I use InfluxDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is InfluxDB best used for?
InfluxDB is most often used for monitoring, iot data, financial data, log analytics. Of those, monitoring and iot data are not what RavenDB is typically brought in for.
What can InfluxDB do that RavenDB cannot?
InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, Flux Query Language, High Write Throughput, Data Compression. RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. Both handle Linux support, Windows support, Mac support, Docker support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

InfluxDB: Is there a free tier and what are the limits?

InfluxDB 3 Core OSS is free forever for local development and prototyping. Cloud Serverless free tier includes 5 MB writes per 5 minutes, 300 MB queries per 5 minutes, 30 day retention, and 2 databases.

Source
RavenDB: Is RavenDB free or open source?

RavenDB is open source under the AGPLv3 license and available on GitHub. It also offers a free developer license with enterprise-level features limited to 9 cores, 36GB max RAM, 3 nodes, and non-commercial use.

Source
InfluxDB: Can I self-host InfluxDB?

Yes, InfluxDB 3 Core is fully open source and can be self-hosted with no license required. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise is self-managed and includes a 30-day free trial.

Source
RavenDB: Can I use RavenDB commercially for free?

RavenDB offers a free Community License that permits commercial deployment with unlimited databases and sizes, subject to a 60-core maximum per customer and requirement to run the latest major version.

Source
InfluxDB: What are the series cardinality limitations?

InfluxDB is sensitive to high-cardinality data. High cardinality increases RAM usage and can trigger out-of-memory errors, making it unsuitable for some workloads with many unique tag combinations.

Source
RavenDB: What commercial licensing options does RavenDB offer?

RavenDB offers Professional, Enterprise, and AI tiers for commercial use. Pricing for these tiers requires contacting their sales team at [email protected].

Source
InfluxDB: Does InfluxDB support SQL queries?

InfluxDB has limited SQL support. Full SQL is available in InfluxDB 3, but earlier versions support only specific SQL commands and use InfluxQL as the primary query language.

Source
RavenDB: Does RavenDB offer a cloud hosting option?

RavenDB Cloud provides a fully managed cloud database with maintenance, failover, and backups included. Pricing is available at cloud.ravendb.net/pricing.

Source
InfluxDB: Can I export my data from InfluxDB?

Yes, data can be exported from InfluxDB using query results. However, the process and supported formats depend on the version and deployment type you are using.

Source
RavenDB: Is there a refund window if I purchase RavenDB?

RavenDB offers a 30-day refund window for purchased licenses.

Source
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