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Databases · head to head

Presto vs Turso

Presto logo

Presto

Databases

The Meta-lineage distributed SQL query engine, distinct from the Trino fork

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Turso logo

Turso

Databases

SQLite-lineage database platform for running very large numbers of small per-tenant databases, with an MIT-licensed engine.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Presto the original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.; Turso sQLite allows one writer per database, so a single tenant's write throughput cannot be scaled horizontally and a busy tenant serialises against itself with no sharding option.
  • They diverge on capability: Presto covers Federated querying, Turso covers Per-tenant databases.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Presto and Turso actually diverge.

Attributes where Presto and Turso differ
AttributePrestoTurso
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Docker, KubernetesWeb

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 Presto

  • Federated querying
  • In-memory execution
  • Open table format support
  • Presto C++ workers
  • ANSI SQL
  • Pluggable connectors

Only in Turso

  • Per-tenant databases
  • MIT licence
  • Embedded replicas
  • SQLite compatibility
  • HTTP access
  • Branching
  • Point-in-time restore
  • In-process engine

What people use each for

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

Presto

  • An existing PrestoDB estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to Trinonot Turso
  • A team buying IBM watsonx.data, where Presto is the underlying query enginenot Turso
  • Joining a Hive or Iceberg lake to an operational PostgreSQL database in one query without an ETL stepnot Turso
  • Very large scale interactive SQL where the Meta-tested branch is a specific requirementnot Turso

Turso

  • Multi-tenant SaaS where each customer gets their own database for real isolation, per-tenant restore and clean deletionnot Presto
  • Agent or session infrastructure that creates a throwaway database per task and destroys it afterwardsnot Presto
  • Local-first and offline-capable applications where an embedded replica serves reads at file speed and syncs when connectivity returnsnot Presto
  • Embedding a SQLite-compatible engine in a product where the public domain original's closed contribution model is a problemnot Presto

Where each one falls short

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

Presto

  • The original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.
  • Documentation, tutorials and Stack Overflow answers for the two projects are frequently mixed up, and a solution written for Trino often does not apply, which costs real debugging time.
  • It is a query engine with no storage of its own, so query performance is dictated by your file layout, partitioning and statistics, and a badly organised lake makes Presto look slow.
  • Memory-bound execution means a single large join can fail the whole query rather than spilling gracefully, and tuning cluster memory settings is a persistent operational chore.
  • Commercial support has consolidated into IBM since the Ahana acquisition, so the independent vendor market that once existed around Presto is largely gone.

Turso

  • SQLite allows one writer per database, so a single tenant's write throughput cannot be scaled horizontally and a busy tenant serialises against itself with no sharding option.
  • Per-tenant databases mean per-tenant migrations, so every schema change becomes a fan-out job that must be idempotent and resumable, and multi-database schemas, the feature meant to solve this, is deprecated.
  • There are no cross-database queries; ATTACH is deprecated on the cloud, so any report or analytic spanning tenants must be assembled in your application or in a separate warehouse you also operate.
  • Data Edge, the multi-region edge replication that was Turso's original positioning, is deprecated, so a large share of the tutorials and articles describing Turso as an edge database describe behaviour you can no longer rely on.
  • Three engine lineages share the name, SQLite, the libSQL fork and the Rust rewrite, and the Rust engine is still maturing, so SQLite compatibility needs verifying against your specific pragmas, extensions and query patterns; the cloud already restricts journal_mode and busy_timeout and makes user_version read-only.

Pricing, plan by plan

Presto

Free
  • PrestoFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Presto Foundation governance under the Linux Foundation
    • No node or query limits

Turso

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100 databases
    • 5 GB storage
    • 500M monthly rows read
  • Developer$4.99/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 9 GB storage
    • 2.5B monthly rows read
  • Scaler$24.92/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 24 GB storage
    • 100B monthly rows read
  • Pro$416.58/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 50 GB storage
    • 250B monthly rows read

Which should you pick?

Choose Presto if

  • You need federated querying.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want in-memory execution.
Presto review

Choose Turso if

  • You need per-tenant databases.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want mit licence.
Turso review

Questions people ask

Is Presto or Turso better?
Neither clearly leads. Presto starts at Free and Turso at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Presto or Turso?
Presto starts at Free and Turso at Free.
Does Presto or Turso run on more platforms?
Presto runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Turso runs on Web.
Can I use Presto for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Presto best used for?
Presto is most often used for an existing prestodb estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to trino, a team buying ibm watsonx.data, where presto is the underlying query engine, joining a hive or iceberg lake to an operational postgresql database in one query without an etl step, very large scale interactive sql where the meta-tested branch is a specific requirement. Of those, an existing prestodb estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to trino and a team buying ibm watsonx.data, where presto is the underlying query engine are not what Turso is typically brought in for.
What can Presto do that Turso cannot?
Presto covers Federated querying, In-memory execution, Open table format support, Presto C++ workers. Turso covers Per-tenant databases, MIT licence, Embedded replicas, SQLite compatibility.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Presto: Is this Presto or Trino?

This is PrestoDB, the branch that stayed at Facebook and moved to the Linux Foundation. Trino is the 2020 fork by the original creators.

Turso: Is Turso just hosted SQLite?

Not exactly. It hosts databases built on the SQLite lineage: libSQL, an MIT fork of SQLite, and Turso Database, a newer Rust rewrite. The platform adds branching, backups, an HTTP API and programmatic database creation.

Presto: Which should I choose for a new project?

Trino, in most cases. It has the larger community, more connectors and more commercial options.

Turso: Can I really run a million databases?

That is the design goal and the platform API exists to make provisioning and deletion programmatic. The practical constraints are the ones that come with it: migrations fan out, and nothing can query across databases.

Presto: Who maintains Presto now?

Principally Meta, Uber and IBM, which acquired the Presto vendor Ahana in 2023.

Turso: How do embedded replicas handle read-after-write?

Reads come from the local replica and writes go to the primary, so a read immediately after a write can return stale data unless you wait for a sync. Application code has to account for that rather than assume it.

Presto: Is it still actively released?

Yes, releases continue on a regular cadence under the Presto Foundation.

Turso: What licence is it under?

libSQL and Turso Database are both MIT. Turso Cloud is a commercial managed service built on them, so the engine is genuinely open even though the platform is not.

Turso: Is Turso still an edge database?

No. Data Edge, the multi-region edge replication feature, is deprecated. The current positioning is per-tenant and embedded databases, and older material describing edge replication is out of date.

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