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Databases · head to head

StarRocks vs Windmill

StarRocks logo

StarRocks

Databases

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Windmill logo

Windmill

Automation Integration

Open-source developer platform for building scripts, workflows, and internal apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Windmill free self-hosted tier caps SSO users at 10 and workspaces at 3, requiring Enterprise for larger teams.
  • They diverge on capability: StarRocks covers Cost-based optimiser, Windmill covers Script-to-workflow engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which StarRocks and Windmill actually diverge.

Attributes where StarRocks and Windmill differ
AttributeStarRocksWindmill
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetesweb, api, linux, windows, mac
CategoryDatabasesAutomation Integration

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 StarRocks

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

Only in Windmill

  • Script-to-workflow engine
  • Auto-generated UIs
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Git sync
  • SSO support
  • Audit logs

What people use each for

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

StarRocks

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

Windmill

  • Turning ad-hoc scripts into scheduled jobs and APIsnot StarRocks
  • Building internal tools from existing Python/TypeScript codenot StarRocks
  • Self-hosted automation for engineering teamsnot StarRocks
  • Orchestrating multi-language workflowsnot StarRocks

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Windmill

  • Free self-hosted tier caps SSO users at 10 and workspaces at 3, requiring Enterprise for larger teams.
  • Compute unit and seat-based pricing (developer vs. operator seats, worker compute units) adds pricing complexity beyond a flat monthly fee.
  • Email triggers are capped at 100/day on the free tier, limiting event-driven use cases without upgrading.
  • Smaller ecosystem of pre-built integrations compared to more established automation tools like n8n.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Windmill

Free
  • Free / Open-sourceFree
    • Unlimited executions
    • Self-hosted deployment
    • Max 10 users with SSO
  • Enterprise$120/month
    • Unlimited executions and workspaces
    • Uncapped SSO seats
    • 24/7 priority support (3-hour response)

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Windmill if

  • You need script-to-workflow engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
  • You also want auto-generated uis.
Windmill review

Questions people ask

Is StarRocks or Windmill better?
Neither clearly leads. StarRocks starts at Free and Windmill at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, StarRocks or Windmill?
StarRocks starts at Free and Windmill at Free.
Does StarRocks or Windmill run on more platforms?
StarRocks runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Windmill runs on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
Can I use StarRocks for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is StarRocks best used for?
StarRocks is most often used for customer-facing analytics where queries join a fact table to several dimensions and must return in well under a second, querying an iceberg lakehouse directly without copying data into a proprietary warehouse format, replacing a clickhouse deployment that has become unmanageable because every new question needs another denormalised table, real-time analytics fed by change data capture where rows must be updated in place rather than appended. Of those, customer-facing analytics where queries join a fact table to several dimensions and must return in well under a second and querying an iceberg lakehouse directly without copying data into a proprietary warehouse format are not what Windmill is typically brought in for.
What can StarRocks do that Windmill cannot?
StarRocks covers Cost-based optimiser, Lakehouse query engine, Primary key tables, Materialised views. Windmill covers Script-to-workflow engine, Auto-generated UIs, Self-hosted deployment, Git sync.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

StarRocks: Is StarRocks open source?

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

Windmill: What does Windmill cost?

Windmill's Free and Open-source edition is $0/month for self-hosted use with unlimited executions, while Enterprise starts at $120/month with unlimited workspaces and uncapped SSO seats, priced further by developer/operator seats and compute units.

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.

Windmill: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?

The free self-hosted plan supports unlimited executions but caps SSO at 10 users, workspaces at 3, groups/permissions at 4, and email triggers at 100 per day.

Source
StarRocks: Who maintains it?

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

Windmill: How is usage metered on Windmill Enterprise?

Enterprise usage is metered through seats (developer seats at $20/month, operator seats at $10/month) and compute units, e.g. $100/month for 2 standard-worker compute units.

Source
StarRocks: Can it query Iceberg tables directly?

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

Windmill: What happens to a self-hosted Windmill deployment if the company shuts down?

The pricing page addresses this directly as an FAQ topic, noting that self-hosted applications built on the open-source edition can continue running independently of Windmill the company.

Source
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