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Developer Tools · head to head

RAD Studio vs Timeplus

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
Timeplus logo

Timeplus

Databases

Streaming SQL engine built on ClickHouse internals, shipping as one small binary

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit TimeplusFull review

The short version

  • RAD Studio is a cross-platform IDE.
  • Timeplus has a free plan, then $199/mo; 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 Timeplus actually diverge.

Attributes where RAD Studio and Timeplus differ
AttributeRAD StudioTimeplus
Starting price$2000/perpetualFree
Pricing modelOne-timePer month for cloud, quoted for self-hosted
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web
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 Timeplus does not also cover.

Only in Timeplus

  • Streaming SQL
  • Unified streaming and historical
  • ClickHouse-based engine
  • Single binary deployment
  • External streams
  • Materialised views

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 Timeplus
  • Creating iOS and Android apps from shared Delphi codebasenot Timeplus
  • Connecting to Oracle databases through FireDAC connectivitynot Timeplus
  • Building REST web services that run on Linux serversnot Timeplus

Timeplus

  • Real-time alerting on Kafka topics where standing up a Flink cluster is more work than the use case justifiesnot RAD Studio
  • Fraud or anomaly detection that must join a live event stream against recent history in one querynot RAD Studio
  • Streaming ETL from Kafka or MySQL change data capture into ClickHouse without writing Javanot RAD Studio
  • A small data team that needs continuous aggregation but has no platform engineers to operate JVM infrastructurenot 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

Timeplus

  • Proton, the free version, is single-node by design, so any requirement for high availability or horizontal scale forces the commercial licence; the open source edition is a trial in practical terms
  • It is a young project against Apache Flink’s decade of production history, so the hiring pool, the connector library and the body of known failure modes are all much smaller
  • Inheriting ClickHouse internals also inherits ClickHouse constraints: memory-hungry queries, awkward updates and a SQL dialect that is not portable to other engines
  • Exactly-once semantics and state recovery guarantees are less battle-tested than Flink checkpointing, which matters if the pipeline moves money
  • Cloud pricing is by provisioned instance size rather than usage, so a bursty workload pays for peak capacity around the clock or has to be resized by hand

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

Timeplus

Free
  • Timeplus ProtonFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Single node only
    • Full streaming SQL engine
  • Timeplus Cloud$199/mo
    • One to thirty-two CPUs
    • 4 GB to 128 GB memory
    • From 250 GB SSD storage
  • Self-hosted or BYOCOn request
    • Multi-node clustering
    • Kubernetes or bare metal
    • Customisable compute and storage

Which should you pick?

Choose RAD Studio if

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

RAD Studio review

Choose Timeplus if

  • You need streaming sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
  • You also want unified streaming and historical.
Timeplus review

Questions people ask

Is RAD Studio or Timeplus better?
Neither clearly leads. RAD Studio starts at $2000/perpetual and Timeplus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RAD Studio or Timeplus?
Timeplus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2000/perpetual for RAD Studio and Free for Timeplus.
Does RAD Studio or Timeplus run on more platforms?
RAD Studio runs on Web. Timeplus runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
Can I use Timeplus for free?
Yes. Timeplus 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 Timeplus is typically brought in for.
What can RAD Studio do that Timeplus cannot?
Timeplus covers Streaming SQL, Unified streaming and historical, ClickHouse-based engine, Single binary deployment.

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
Timeplus: Is Timeplus open source?

The core engine, Timeplus Proton, is Apache 2.0. Timeplus Enterprise and Cloud are commercial.

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
Timeplus: What is the difference from Flink?

Timeplus is one binary with SQL as the only interface; Flink is a JVM cluster with a Java and SQL API and far more operational surface.

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
Timeplus: Can Proton run in production?

It can, but it is single-node only, so there is no high availability without the commercial edition.

Timeplus: How much is the cloud?

From 199 US dollars a month, sized by CPU and memory, with a fourteen day trial.

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