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Databases · head to head

QuestDB vs StarRocks

QuestDB logo

QuestDB

Databases

Fast open source time-series database for high throughput ingestion

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
StarRocks logo

StarRocks

Databases

Apache 2.0 MPP analytical database built for joins on open table formats

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: QuestDB open-source edition lacks high-availability, distributed architecture, and enterprise security features; StarRocks self-hosting is a genuine operations job: frontend and backend node roles, tablet distribution, compaction and materialised view refresh all need an owner, and there is no small-team-friendly single-binary mode.
  • They diverge on capability: QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion, StarRocks covers Cost-based optimiser.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which QuestDB and StarRocks actually diverge.

Attributes where QuestDB and StarRocks differ
AttributeQuestDBStarRocks
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)Linux, Docker, Kubernetes
Founded2014Unknown

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 QuestDB

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

Only in StarRocks

  • Cost-based optimiser
  • Lakehouse query engine
  • Primary key tables
  • Materialised views
  • Shared-data mode
  • MySQL wire protocol

What people use each for

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

QuestDB

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

StarRocks

  • Customer-facing analytics where queries join a fact table to several dimensions and must return in well under a secondnot QuestDB
  • Querying an Iceberg lakehouse directly without copying data into a proprietary warehouse formatnot QuestDB
  • Replacing a ClickHouse deployment that has become unmanageable because every new question needs another denormalised tablenot QuestDB
  • Real-time analytics fed by change data capture where rows must be updated in place rather than appendednot QuestDB

Where each one falls short

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

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

StarRocks

  • Self-hosting is a genuine operations job: frontend and backend node roles, tablet distribution, compaction and materialised view refresh all need an owner, and there is no small-team-friendly single-binary mode.
  • CelerData is by far the dominant contributor despite Linux Foundation stewardship, so the practical roadmap risk is the same as any single-vendor open source project.
  • It inherits a MySQL-flavoured SQL dialect from its Doris ancestry, so queries written for PostgreSQL, Snowflake or Trino need rewriting rather than porting.
  • Ecosystem support is thinner than ClickHouse or Trino: fewer client libraries, fewer managed hosting options and a much smaller pool of engineers who have run it in production.
  • Memory pressure under concurrent large joins is a common production failure, and the tuning knobs for query memory limits are unforgiving compared with a cloud warehouse that just scales.

Pricing, plan by plan

QuestDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the QuestDB review.

StarRocks

Free
  • StarRocksFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Linux Foundation governance
    • No usage or node limits
  • CelerData Cloud$undefined/year
    • Managed StarRocks from the primary contributor
    • BYOC and serverless deployment options
    • Enterprise support and SLAs

Which should you pick?

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

Choose StarRocks if

  • You need cost-based optimiser.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want lakehouse query engine.
StarRocks review

Questions people ask

Is QuestDB or StarRocks better?
Neither clearly leads. QuestDB starts at Free and StarRocks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, QuestDB or StarRocks?
QuestDB starts at Free and StarRocks at Free.
Does QuestDB or StarRocks run on more platforms?
QuestDB runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP). StarRocks runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use QuestDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is QuestDB best used for?
QuestDB is most often used for time-series analytics ingesting up to 20m rows/second from iot sensors or financial data feeds, real-time dashboarding with 32ms time-to-first-row latency for minute-level analytics, applications requiring multi-tier storage (hot ingest, real-time sql, cold parquet archive). Of those, time-series analytics ingesting up to 20m rows/second from iot sensors or financial data feeds and real-time dashboarding with 32ms time-to-first-row latency for minute-level analytics are not what StarRocks is typically brought in for.
What can QuestDB do that StarRocks cannot?
QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion, SQL Support, Time-series Optimization, SIMD Vectorization. StarRocks covers Cost-based optimiser, Lakehouse query engine, Primary key tables, Materialised views.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
StarRocks: Is StarRocks open source?

Yes, Apache 2.0, governed under the Linux Foundation since 2023.

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
StarRocks: How does it differ from ClickHouse?

StarRocks is built for joins across a star schema with a cost-based optimiser; ClickHouse is fastest on denormalised single tables.

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
StarRocks: Who maintains it?

CelerData, formerly StarRocks Inc, is the dominant contributor and sells the managed service.

StarRocks: Can it query Iceberg tables directly?

Yes, along with Hudi, Delta Lake, Hive and Paimon, with a local cache for repeat queries.

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