Software · head to head
RavenDB vs ClickHouse
ClickHouse
Software
Fast open-source column-oriented database for real-time analytics
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal; ClickHouse limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
- They diverge on capability: RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which RavenDB and ClickHouse actually diverge.
| Attribute | RavenDB | ClickHouse |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | Unknown |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web | Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker) |
| Founded | 2010 | 2021 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 RavenDB
- ACID Transactions
- Auto-indexing
- Full-text Search
- Graph Queries
- Distributed Counters
- Time Series
- Document Compression
- .NET
Only in ClickHouse
- Column-oriented Storage
- Real-time Analytics
- SQL Support
- Linear Scalability
- Data Compression
- Vectorized Query Execution
- Approximate Calculations
- Kafka
Both cover
- Linux support
- Mac support
- Docker support
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
RavenDB
- Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot ClickHouse
- Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot ClickHouse
- Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot ClickHouse
ClickHouse
- Business intelligencenot RavenDB
- Data warehousingnot RavenDB
- Real-time analyticsnot RavenDB
- Reportingnot RavenDB
- Machine learningnot RavenDB
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
RavenDB
- The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
- The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
- The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
- Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
- Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate
ClickHouse
- Limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
- Requires upfront schema design discipline with MergeTree engine choices and sort/partition keys
- Experimental vector search support, not production-ready for vector operations
- Different query syntax from standard SQL requiring migration planning
- Limited JOIN capabilities compared to traditional relational databases
- Migration complexity with 2-4 weeks estimated for data type mapping and query translation
Pricing, plan by plan
RavenDB
Free- CommunityFree
- 3 cores
- 6GB RAM
- Community support
- Professional$499/year
- Production use
- Professional support
- Advanced features
ClickHouse
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the ClickHouse review.
Which should you pick?
Choose RavenDB if
- You need acid transactions.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
- You also want auto-indexing.
Choose ClickHouse if
- You need column-oriented storage.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
- You also want real-time analytics.
Questions people ask
- Is RavenDB or ClickHouse better?
- Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and ClickHouse at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, RavenDB or ClickHouse?
- RavenDB starts at Free and ClickHouse at Free.
- Does RavenDB or ClickHouse run on more platforms?
- RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. ClickHouse runs on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
- Can I use RavenDB for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is RavenDB best used for?
- RavenDB is most often used for running a distributed document database with acid transactions, self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware, replicating operational data out to analytics systems through etl. Of those, running a distributed document database with acid transactions and self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware are not what ClickHouse is typically brought in for.
- What can RavenDB do that ClickHouse cannot?
- RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage, Real-time Analytics, SQL Support, Linear Scalability. Both handle Linux support, Mac support, Docker support, Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
ClickHouse: What is ClickHouse best used for?
ClickHouse is optimized for analytical workloads on large datasets. It excels at fast aggregations and queries, being 10-100x faster than PostgreSQL on large aggregations.
SourceClickHouse: Does ClickHouse support transactions?
ClickHouse has limited transaction support and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations. It is not suitable for transactional workloads requiring strict ACID guarantees.
SourceClickHouse: How does ClickHouse compare to PostgreSQL?
ClickHouse is 10-100x faster for analytics but PostgreSQL is better for transactional workloads. Many teams use both: PostgreSQL for writes via MaterializedPostgreSQL replication to ClickHouse for analytics.
Source