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Developer Tools · head to head

RAD Studio vs StarRocks

RAD Studio logo

RAD Studio

Developer Tools

Cross-platform native app development with Delphi and C++Builder

From
$2000/perpetual
Free plan
No
Visit RAD StudioFull review
StarRocks logo

StarRocks

Databases

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit StarRocksFull review

The short version

  • RAD Studio is a cross-platform IDE.
  • StarRocks is free; RAD Studio starts at $2000/mo.
  • Where RAD Studio falls short: professional edition costs $2,000 for the perpetual license plus $599 for year one maintenance, totaling $2,599 before tax.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RAD Studio and StarRocks actually diverge.

Attributes where RAD Studio and StarRocks differ
AttributeRAD StudioStarRocks
Starting price$2000/perpetualFree
Pricing modelOne-timeOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, Self-hosted
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

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 RAD Studio

Nothing recorded that StarRocks does not also cover.

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.

RAD Studio

  • Building Windows desktop applications with VCL componentsnot StarRocks
  • Creating iOS and Android apps from shared Delphi codebasenot StarRocks
  • Connecting to Oracle databases through FireDAC connectivitynot StarRocks
  • Building REST web services that run on Linux serversnot StarRocks

StarRocks

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

Where each one falls short

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

RAD Studio

  • Professional edition costs $2,000 for the perpetual license plus $599 for year one maintenance, totaling $2,599 before tax
  • Enterprise edition steps up to $3,400 license plus $1,199 maintenance, and Architect edition to $4,416 license plus $2,183 maintenance
  • The perpetual license only entitles the buyer to updates for one year; continued access to new updates and upgrades requires an annually renewable Update Subscription

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

RAD Studio

$2000/perpetual
  • Professional Edition$2,000 one-off
    • Perpetual License
    • First year maintenance $599
    • Total $2,599 + Tax
  • Enterprise Edition$3,400 one-off
    • Perpetual License
    • First year maintenance $1,199
    • Total $4,599 + Tax
  • Architect Edition$4,416 one-off
    • Perpetual License
    • First year maintenance $2,183
    • Total $6,599 + Tax

StarRocks

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

Which should you pick?

Choose RAD Studio if

Nothing in the data separates RAD Studio from StarRocks on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

RAD Studio review

Choose StarRocks if

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

Questions people ask

Is RAD Studio or StarRocks better?
Neither clearly leads. RAD Studio starts at $2000/perpetual and StarRocks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RAD Studio or StarRocks?
StarRocks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2000/perpetual for RAD Studio and Free for StarRocks.
Does RAD Studio or StarRocks run on more platforms?
RAD Studio runs on Web. StarRocks runs on Linux, Self-hosted.
Can I use StarRocks for free?
Yes. StarRocks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. RAD Studio starts at $2000/perpetual.
What is RAD Studio best used for?
RAD Studio is most often used for building windows desktop applications with vcl components, creating ios and android apps from shared delphi codebase, connecting to oracle databases through firedac connectivity, building rest web services that run on linux servers. Of those, building windows desktop applications with vcl components and creating ios and android apps from shared delphi codebase are not what StarRocks is typically brought in for.
What can RAD Studio do that StarRocks cannot?
StarRocks covers Cost-based optimiser, Lakehouse query engine, Primary key tables, Materialised views.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

RAD Studio: How much does RAD Studio cost?

RAD Studio uses perpetual licensing: Professional Edition $2,000 perpetual license + $599 first year maintenance ($2,599 total + tax). Enterprise Edition $3,400 license + $1,199 maintenance ($4,599 total + tax). Architect Edition $4,416 license + $2,183 maintenance ($6,599 total + tax).

Source
StarRocks: Is StarRocks open source?

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

RAD Studio: What is the difference between RAD Studio editions?

Professional Edition ($2,599 total + tax) targets individual developers. Enterprise Edition ($4,599 total + tax) adds multi-tier app capabilities. Architect Edition ($6,599 total + tax) includes advanced database and cloud features. All three include perpetual licenses.

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.

RAD Studio: Does RAD Studio offer Kai AI integration and discounts?

Yes, adding Kai AI to any edition provides discounts: 25% off Professional ($2,136 + tax), 30% off Enterprise ($3,394 + tax), and 40% off Architect ($4,109 + tax). This promotion is active through August 31, 2026.

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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