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Databases · head to head

QuestDB vs Zabbix

QuestDB logo

QuestDB

Databases

Fast open source time-series database for high throughput ingestion

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zabbix logo

Zabbix

Networking

Open source infrastructure and network monitoring with distributed proxies and templating

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; Zabbix the database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • They diverge on capability: QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion, Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which QuestDB and Zabbix actually diverge.

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

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 QuestDB

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

Only in Zabbix

  • Agent and agentless collection
  • Templates
  • Low-level discovery
  • Distributed proxies
  • Trigger expressions
  • Escalation actions

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 Zabbix
  • Real-time dashboarding with 32ms time-to-first-row latency for minute-level analyticsnot Zabbix
  • Applications requiring multi-tier storage (hot ingest, real-time SQL, cold Parquet archive)not Zabbix

Zabbix

  • A service provider monitoring thousands of customer devices where per-device commercial licensing is the largest line itemnot QuestDB
  • Branch or industrial sites with unreliable links that need local collection and bufferingnot QuestDB
  • Mixed estates where the same tool must poll SNMP switches, Linux hosts, Windows servers and Java applicationsnot QuestDB
  • Replacing an aging Nagios installation while keeping script-based checks that already existnot 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

Zabbix

  • The database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • Initial configuration is heavy; getting useful alerting rather than noise requires understanding trigger expressions, macros and template inheritance, which is a multi-week learning curve for a team new to it.
  • The AGPLv3 change at version 7.0 affects anyone offering Zabbix over a network as part of a commercial service, and that obligation is easy to inherit accidentally during an upgrade.
  • The web interface is functional rather than pleasant, and many sites end up running Grafana alongside it purely for presentation, which is a second system to maintain.
  • Upgrades between major versions touch the database schema and can take hours on large history tables, so the maintenance window is proportional to how much data you kept.

Pricing, plan by plan

QuestDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the QuestDB review.

Zabbix

Free
  • ZabbixFree
    • No device, node or metric limits
    • Full feature set with no paid edition of the software
    • AGPLv3 from version 7.0 onward
  • Zabbix Technical Support$undefined/year
    • Tiered subscriptions with defined response times
    • Access to Zabbix engineers for configuration and performance issues
    • Bug fix priority and backports

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 Zabbix if

  • You need agent and agentless collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want templates.
Zabbix review

Questions people ask

Is QuestDB or Zabbix better?
Neither clearly leads. QuestDB starts at Free and Zabbix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, QuestDB or Zabbix?
QuestDB starts at Free and Zabbix at Free.
Does QuestDB or Zabbix run on more platforms?
QuestDB runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP). Zabbix runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
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 Zabbix is typically brought in for.
What can QuestDB do that Zabbix cannot?
QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion, SQL Support, Time-series Optimization, SIMD Vectorization. Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection, Templates, Low-level discovery, Distributed proxies.

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
Zabbix: Is Zabbix genuinely free for commercial use?

The software has no licence fee at any scale. From version 7.0 it is AGPLv3, so offering it as a network service to third parties carries source distribution obligations.

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
Zabbix: What is the real cost of running it?

Database administration and the person who tunes it. Budget for PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB and someone who owns the retention policy.

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
Zabbix: How does it compare to a commercial per-device tool?

It removes the licence line entirely and adds an operations line. Below a few hundred devices the commercial tool is often cheaper in total; above that Zabbix wins clearly.

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