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APIs · head to head

KeystoneJS vs Timeplus

KeystoneJS logo

KeystoneJS

APIs

Powerful Node.js headless CMS framework and API platform

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: KeystoneJS database support is limited to PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite; 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: KeystoneJS covers REST API, Timeplus covers Streaming SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which KeystoneJS and Timeplus actually diverge.

Attributes where KeystoneJS and Timeplus differ
AttributeKeystoneJSTimeplus
Pricing modelopen-sourcePer month for cloud, quoted for self-hosted
PlatformsNode.js, Self-hostedLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryAPIsDatabases
Founded2016Unknown

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 KeystoneJS

  • REST API
  • GraphQL API
  • Admin interface
  • Node.js
  • Next.js
  • React
  • Databases
  • Node.js 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.

KeystoneJS

  • Headless CMS implementationnot Timeplus
  • Content management systemsnot Timeplus
  • Customizable API-driven applicationsnot Timeplus

Timeplus

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

Where each one falls short

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

KeystoneJS

  • Database support is limited to PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite
  • Keystone 5 is a separate legacy product documented on a different site and is not covered by the Keystone 6 docs
  • Upgrading requires following a dedicated Migrate to 8.0.0 guide, so major versions are not drop-in
  • Free support is a community Slack; enterprise-grade consulting and support is a separate paid engagement with Thinkmill and no published price

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

KeystoneJS

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full KeystoneJS
    • Community support

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 KeystoneJS if

  • You need rest api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Node.js, Self-hosted.
  • You also want graphql api.
KeystoneJS 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 KeystoneJS or Timeplus better?
Neither clearly leads. KeystoneJS 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, KeystoneJS or Timeplus?
KeystoneJS starts at Free and Timeplus at Free.
Does KeystoneJS or Timeplus run on more platforms?
KeystoneJS runs on Node.js, Self-hosted. Timeplus runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use KeystoneJS for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is KeystoneJS best used for?
KeystoneJS is most often used for headless cms implementation, content management systems, customizable api-driven applications. Of those, headless cms implementation and content management systems are not what Timeplus is typically brought in for.
What can KeystoneJS do that Timeplus cannot?
KeystoneJS covers REST API, GraphQL API, Admin interface, Node.js. Timeplus covers Streaming SQL, Unified streaming and historical, ClickHouse-based engine, Single binary deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

KeystoneJS: Is KeystoneJS free?

Yes, KeystoneJS is free and open source with no licensing fees. Core platform has no lock-in and is contributed to by 250+ developers.

Source
Timeplus: Is Timeplus open source?

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

KeystoneJS: What are hosting costs for KeystoneJS?

KeystoneJS is self-hosted and deployment-agnostic. Hosting costs depend on your chosen deployment platform (Vercel, AWS, Heroku, etc.) and infrastructure, not KeystoneJS itself.

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.

KeystoneJS: Does KeystoneJS offer paid support?

Enterprise support with tailored options is available from Thinkmill, the company behind KeystoneJS. Pricing details available upon request.

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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