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Databases · head to head

OpenSearch vs RisingWave

OpenSearch logo

OpenSearch

Databases

Open-source search and analytics suite forked from Elasticsearch

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RisingWave logo

RisingWave

Databases

Streaming database that maintains incremental materialised views in SQL instead of Flink jobs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: OpenSearch diverged from Elasticsearch since 7.10, so clients, plugins and features no longer map one to one; RisingWave anything that does not fit SQL, such as custom windowing, complex event processing or heavy stateful logic, still needs Flink, so RisingWave often adds a system rather than removing one.
  • They diverge on capability: OpenSearch covers Full-text search, RisingWave covers SQL materialised views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenSearch and RisingWave actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenSearch and RisingWave differ
AttributeOpenSearchRisingWave
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; managed services billed separatelyPer RisingWave Unit hour
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 OpenSearch

  • Full-text search
  • OpenSearch Dashboards
  • Log analytics
  • Vector search

Only in RisingWave

  • SQL materialised views
  • Postgres wire compatibility
  • Object storage state
  • Source connectors
  • Sink connectors
  • Iceberg tables
  • Watermarks and windowing
  • User defined functions

What people use each for

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

OpenSearch

  • Log and observability storage where an Apache-2.0 licence is a requirementnot RisingWave
  • Replacing Elasticsearch after the licence change without changing architecturenot RisingWave
  • Search plus analytics on one cluster rather than two systemsnot RisingWave

RisingWave

  • A team with Kafka topics that needs continuously fresh aggregates for a dashboard without standing up a Flink clusternot OpenSearch
  • A fraud or risk team maintaining rolling counters and joins across event streams expressed as SQL viewsnot OpenSearch
  • A company doing Postgres CDC into a real-time denormalised view for search or servingnot OpenSearch
  • An analytics group that wants streaming results landed directly into Apache Iceberg without a separate writer jobnot OpenSearch

Where each one falls short

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

OpenSearch

  • Diverged from Elasticsearch since 7.10, so clients, plugins and features no longer map one to one
  • Operationally heavy in the way Elasticsearch is: cluster sizing, shard strategy and JVM tuning are ongoing work
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party tooling than Elasticsearch, which most integrations still target first
  • Overkill for plain application search, where a dedicated search engine is far simpler

RisingWave

  • Anything that does not fit SQL, such as custom windowing, complex event processing or heavy stateful logic, still needs Flink, so RisingWave often adds a system rather than removing one.
  • The Apache 2.0 community edition excludes premium features behind a licence key, and which capabilities sit on which side of that line moves between releases, so a self-hosted plan can be invalidated by an upgrade.
  • Long-running materialised views accumulate state in object storage, and cost and recovery time grow with retention in ways that are hard to forecast before you are in production.
  • The Postgres compatibility is protocol level; it is not a transactional Postgres and using it as a general purpose database, with point updates or high write concurrency, goes badly.
  • It is a comparatively young venture-funded project competing with Flink, Materialize and warehouse-native streaming, and the ecosystem of connectors, operators and third-party expertise is much thinner.

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenSearch

Free
  • OpenSearchFree
    • Full functionality
    • Self-hosted
    • No usage limits

RisingWave

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence, self-hosted
    • Core streaming engine and connectors
    • Premium features excluded and require a licence key
  • Cloud Basic$0.227/hour
    • Billed per RisingWave Unit hour
    • Hosted on AWS, GCP or Azure
    • Capped at 64 cores
  • Cloud Pro$undefined/year
    • No core limit
    • Bring your own cloud option
    • Premium features included
  • Self-managed Enterprise$undefined/year
    • On premises or Kubernetes
    • Premium features unlocked by licence
    • Annual contract with SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenSearch if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want opensearch dashboards.
OpenSearch review

Choose RisingWave if

  • You need sql materialised views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want postgres wire compatibility.
RisingWave review

Questions people ask

Is OpenSearch or RisingWave better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenSearch starts at Free and RisingWave at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenSearch or RisingWave?
OpenSearch starts at Free and RisingWave at Free.
Does OpenSearch or RisingWave run on more platforms?
OpenSearch runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. RisingWave runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use OpenSearch for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is OpenSearch best used for?
OpenSearch is most often used for log and observability storage where an apache-2.0 licence is a requirement, replacing elasticsearch after the licence change without changing architecture, search plus analytics on one cluster rather than two systems. Of those, log and observability storage where an apache-2.0 licence is a requirement and replacing elasticsearch after the licence change without changing architecture are not what RisingWave is typically brought in for.
What can OpenSearch do that RisingWave cannot?
OpenSearch covers Full-text search, OpenSearch Dashboards, Log analytics, Vector search. RisingWave covers SQL materialised views, Postgres wire compatibility, Object storage state, Source connectors.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenSearch: Is OpenSearch free?

Yes, Apache 2.0 licensed under the Linux Foundation. Amazon OpenSearch Service is a paid managed option.

RisingWave: Is RisingWave open source?

The community edition is Apache 2.0 and self-hostable, but a set of premium features requires a paid licence key.

OpenSearch: Why does OpenSearch exist?

Elastic moved Elasticsearch off the Apache 2.0 licence in 2021. AWS forked the last Apache-licensed version, and the project now sits under the Linux Foundation.

RisingWave: What does the cloud cost?

It starts at 0.227 US dollars per RisingWave Unit hour on the Basic tier, which is capped at 64 cores.

OpenSearch: Is OpenSearch compatible with Elasticsearch?

It was at the 7.10 fork point. Both have developed independently since, so compatibility weakens with every release and should be verified for the features you use.

RisingWave: Does it replace Flink?

For SQL-expressible transformations, often yes. For custom stateful processing and complex event handling, no.

RisingWave: Can I query it like Postgres?

Yes over the Postgres wire protocol, but it is an analytical streaming engine, not a transactional database.

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