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Cloud · head to head

Nomad vs QuestDB

Nomad logo

Nomad

Cloud

Flexible workload orchestration

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuestDB logo

QuestDB

Databases

Fast open source time-series database for high throughput ingestion

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nomad nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence; QuestDB open-source edition lacks high-availability, distributed architecture, and enterprise security features
  • They diverge on capability: Nomad covers Container orchestration, QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nomad and QuestDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Nomad and QuestDB differ
AttributeNomadQuestDB
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, CloudDocker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
CategoryCloudDatabases
Founded20152014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), 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 Nomad

  • Container orchestration
  • Job scheduling
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Auto-scaling
  • Service discovery
  • Rolling deployments
  • Monitoring integration
  • High availability

Only in QuestDB

  • High Throughput Ingestion
  • SQL Support
  • Time-series Optimization
  • SIMD Vectorization
  • Column-oriented Storage
  • Built-in Web Console
  • InfluxDB Line Protocol
  • PostgreSQL

Both cover

  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

Nomad

  • Container and workload orchestration across infrastructurenot QuestDB
  • Multi-region application deploymentnot QuestDB
  • Flexible scheduling for batch jobs and servicesnot QuestDB

QuestDB

  • Time-series analytics ingesting up to 20M rows/second from IoT sensors or financial data feedsnot Nomad
  • Real-time dashboarding with 32ms time-to-first-row latency for minute-level analyticsnot Nomad
  • Applications requiring multi-tier storage (hot ingest, real-time SQL, cold Parquet archive)not Nomad

Where each one falls short

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

Nomad

  • Nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Nomad to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions
  • Each version converts to MPL 2.0 only four years after that version is published
  • Resource quotas, Sentinel policies and audit logging sit in a Governance and Policy add-on module that is separate from the Enterprise base platform package
  • Multi-region deployments, multiple Vault namespaces and Nomad Autopilot advanced server management require Nomad Enterprise

QuestDB

  • Open-source edition lacks high-availability, distributed architecture, and enterprise security features
  • Enterprise edition pricing not published; requires contacting sales for custom quote
  • Ingestion limit of 20M rows/sec platform-dependent; may not scale to extreme throughput requirements

Pricing, plan by plan

Nomad

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Workload orchestration
    • Multi-cloud
    • Flexible scheduling

QuestDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the QuestDB review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Nomad if

  • You need container orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want job scheduling.
Nomad review

Choose QuestDB if

  • You need high throughput ingestion.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP).
  • You also want sql support.
QuestDB review

Questions people ask

Is Nomad or QuestDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Nomad starts at Free and QuestDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nomad or QuestDB?
Nomad starts at Free and QuestDB at Free.
Does Nomad or QuestDB run on more platforms?
Nomad runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud. QuestDB runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Can I use Nomad for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Nomad best used for?
Nomad is most often used for container and workload orchestration across infrastructure, multi-region application deployment, flexible scheduling for batch jobs and services. Of those, container and workload orchestration across infrastructure and multi-region application deployment are not what QuestDB is typically brought in for.
What can Nomad do that QuestDB cannot?
Nomad covers Container orchestration, Job scheduling, Multi-cloud support, Auto-scaling. QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion, SQL Support, Time-series Optimization, SIMD Vectorization. Both handle Linux support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nomad: Is HashiCorp Nomad free?

HashiCorp Nomad is open source and free to use. Commercial enterprise support and hosting options may be available through HashiCorp, but the core product is free.

Source
QuestDB: How much does QuestDB Enterprise cost?

QuestDB does not publish specific pricing for the Enterprise tier. Customers must contact QuestDB via their enterprise contact form to receive a custom quote.

Source
Nomad: Does HashiCorp Nomad have a pricing model?

Nomad is open source software with no published pricing tiers. HashiCorp offers commercial hosting and support for their products on a usage-based or custom pricing model, but Nomad itself is free to download and deploy.

Source
QuestDB: Does QuestDB offer a free version?

Yes, QuestDB Open Source is completely free and recommended for evaluation, prototyping, and pilot projects. Enterprise features, high availability, security, and dedicated support require the paid Enterprise tier.

Source
Nomad: What is HashiCorp's pricing model for enterprise Nomad?

HashiCorp offers flexible pricing for enterprise Nomad support including pay-as-you-go (PAYG) billing with no long-term commitment, flex plans with preferred pricing, and enterprise self-managed plans. Contact HashiCorp sales for custom quotes.

Source
QuestDB: What deployment options does QuestDB offer?

QuestDB offers open source deployment, Enterprise deployment, and Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) deployment. Pricing details for BYOC and Enterprise tiers are not published and require direct contact with sales.

Source
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