Choosing the right database is a critical choice when building any software application. All databases have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to performance, so deciding which database has the most benefits and the most minor downsides for your specific use case and data model is an important decision. Below you will find an overview of the key concepts, architecture, features, use cases, and pricing models of ClickHouse and Apache Druid so you can quickly see how they compare against each other.

The primary purpose of this article is to compare how ClickHouse and Apache Druid perform for workloads involving time series data, not for all possible use cases. Time series data typically presents a unique challenge in terms of database performance. This is due to the high volume of data being written and the query patterns to access that data. This article doesn’t intend to make the case for which database is better; it simply provides an overview of each database so you can make an informed decision.

ClickHouse vs Apache Druid Breakdown


 
Database Model

Columnar database

Columnar database

Architecture

ClickHouse can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or as a managed service.

Druid can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or using a managed service

License

Apache 2.0

Apache 2.0

Use Cases

Real-time analytics, big data processing, event logging, monitoring, IoT, data warehousing

Real-time analytics, OLAP, time series data, event-driven data, log analytics, ad tech, user behavior analytics

Scalability

Horizontally scalable, supports distributed query processing and parallel execution

Horizontally scalable, supports distributed architectures for high availability and performance

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ClickHouse Overview

ClickHouse is an open source columnar database management system designed for high-performance online analytical processing (OLAP) tasks. It was developed by Yandex, a leading Russian technology company. ClickHouse is known for its ability to process large volumes of data in real-time, providing fast query performance and real-time analytics. Its columnar storage architecture enables efficient data compression and faster query execution, making it suitable for large-scale data analytics and business intelligence applications.

Apache Druid Overview

Apache Druid is an open-source, real-time analytics database designed for high-performance querying and data ingestion. Originally developed by Metamarkets in 2011 and later donated to the Apache Software Foundation in 2018, Druid has gained popularity for its ability to handle large volumes of data with low latency. With a unique architecture that combines elements of time series databases, search systems, and columnar storage, Druid is particularly well-suited for use cases involving event-driven data and interactive analytics.


ClickHouse for Time Series Data

ClickHouse can be used for storing and analyzing time series data effectively, although it is not explicitly optimized for working with time series data. While ClickHouse can query time series data very quickly once ingested, it tends to struggle with very high write scenarios where data needs to be ingested in smaller batches so it can be analyzed in real time.

Apache Druid for Time Series Data

Apache Druid is designed for real time analytics and can be a good fit for working with time series data that needs to be analyzed quickly after being written. Druid also offers integrations for storing historical data in cheaper object storage so historical time series data can also be analyzed using Druid.


ClickHouse Key Concepts

  • Columnar storage: ClickHouse stores data in a columnar format, which means that data for each column is stored separately. This enables efficient compression and faster query execution, as only the required columns are read during query execution.
  • Distributed processing: ClickHouse supports distributed processing, allowing queries to be executed across multiple nodes in a cluster, improving query performance and scalability.
  • Data replication: ClickHouse provides data replication, ensuring data availability and fault tolerance in case of hardware failures or node outages.
  • Materialized Views: ClickHouse supports materialized views, which are precomputed query results stored as tables. Materialized views can significantly improve query performance, as they allow for faster data retrieval by avoiding the need to recompute the results for each query.

Apache Druid Key Concepts

  • Data Ingestion: The process of importing data into Druid from various sources, such as streaming or batch data sources.
  • Segments: The smallest unit of data storage in Druid, segments are immutable, partitioned, and compressed.
  • Data Rollup: The process of aggregating raw data during ingestion to reduce storage requirements and improve query performance.
  • Nodes: Druid’s architecture consists of different types of nodes, including Historical, Broker, Coordinator, and MiddleManager/Overlord, each with specific responsibilities.
  • Indexing Service: Druid’s indexing service manages the process of ingesting data, creating segments, and publishing them to deep storage.


ClickHouse Architecture

ClickHouse’s architecture is designed to support high-performance analytics on large datasets. ClickHouse stores data in a columnar format. This enables efficient data compression and faster query execution, as only the required columns are read during query execution. ClickHouse also supports distributed processing, which allows for queries to be executed across multiple nodes in a cluster. ClickHouse uses the MergeTree storage engine as its primary table engine. MergeTree is designed for high-performance OLAP tasks and supports data replication, data partitioning, and indexing.

Apache Druid Architecture

Apache Druid is a powerful distributed data store designed for real-time analytics on large datasets. Within its architecture, several core components play pivotal roles in ensuring its efficiency and scalability. Here is an overview of the core components that power Apache Druid.

  • Historical Nodes are fundamental to Druid’s data-serving capabilities. Their primary responsibility is to serve stored data to queries. To achieve this, they load segments from deep storage, retain them in memory, and then cater to the queries on these segments. When considering deployment and management, these nodes are typically stationed on machines endowed with significant memory and CPU resources. Their scalability is evident as they can be expanded horizontally simply by incorporating more nodes.
  • Broker Nodes act as the gatekeepers for incoming queries. Their main function is to channel these queries to the appropriate historical nodes or real-time nodes. Intriguingly, they are stateless, which means they can be scaled out to accommodate an increase in query concurrency.
  • Coordinator Nodes have a managerial role, overseeing the data distribution across historical nodes. Their decisions on which segments to load or drop are based on specific configurable rules. In terms of deployment, a Druid setup usually requires just one active coordinator node, with a backup node on standby for failover scenarios.
  • Overlord Nodes dictate the assignment of ingestion tasks, directing them to either middle manager or indexer nodes. Their deployment mirrors that of the coordinator nodes, with typically one active overlord and a backup for redundancy.
  • MiddleManager and Indexer Nodes are the workhorses of data ingestion in Druid. While MiddleManagers initiate short-lived tasks for data ingestion, indexers are designed for long-lived tasks. Given their intensive operations, these nodes demand high CPU and memory resources. Their scalability is flexible, allowing horizontal expansion based on the volume of data ingestion.
  • Deep Storage is a component that serves as Druid’s persistent storage unit. Druid integrates with various blob storage solutions like HDFS, S3, and Google Cloud Storage.
  • Metadata Storage is the repository for crucial metadata about segments, tasks, and configurations. Druid is compatible with popular databases for this purpose, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Derby.

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ClickHouse Features

Real-time analytics

ClickHouse is designed for real-time analytics and can process large volumes of data with low latency, providing fast query performance and real-time insights.

Data compression

ClickHouse’s columnar storage format enables efficient data compression, reducing storage requirements and improving query performance.

Materialized views

ClickHouse supports materialized views, which can significantly improve query performance by precomputing and storing query results as tables.

Apache Druid Features

Data Ingestion

Apache Druid supports both real-time and batch data ingestion, allowing it to process data from various sources like Kafka, Hadoop, or local files. With built-in support for data partitioning, replication, and roll-up, Druid ensures high availability and efficient storage.

Scalability and Performance

Druid is designed to scale horizontally, providing support for large-scale deployments with minimal performance degradation. Its unique architecture allows for fast and efficient querying, making it suitable for use cases requiring low-latency analytics.

Columnar Storage

Druid stores data in a columnar format, enabling better compression and faster query performance compared to row-based storage systems. Columnar storage also allows Druid to optimize queries by only accessing relevant columns.

Time-optimized Indexing

Druid’s indexing service creates segments with time-based partitioning, optimizing data storage and retrieval for time-series data. This feature significantly improves query performance for time-based queries. Data Rollups

Druid’s data rollup feature aggregates raw data during ingestion, reducing storage requirements and improving query performance. This feature is particularly beneficial for use cases involving high-cardinality data or large volumes of similar data points.


ClickHouse Use Cases

Large-scale data analytics

ClickHouse’s high-performance query engine and columnar storage format make it suitable for large-scale data analytics and business intelligence applications.

Real-time reporting

ClickHouse’s real-time analytics capabilities enable organizations to generate real-time reports and dashboards, providing up-to-date insights for decision-making.

Log and event data analysis

ClickHouse’s ability to process large volumes of data in real-time makes it a suitable choice for log and event data analysis, such as analyzing web server logs or application events.

Apache Druid Use Cases

Geospatial Analysis

Apache Druid provides support for geospatial data and queries, making it suitable for use cases that involve location-based data, such as tracking the movement of assets, analyzing user locations, or monitoring the distribution of events. Its ability to efficiently process large volumes of geospatial data enables users to gain insights and make data-driven decisions based on location information.

Machine Learning and AI

Druid’s high-performance data processing capabilities can be leveraged for preprocessing and feature extraction in machine learning and AI workflows. Its support for real-time data ingestion and low-latency querying make it suitable for use cases that require real-time predictions or insights, such as recommendation systems or predictive maintenance.

Real-Time Analytics

Apache Druid’s low-latency querying and real-time data ingestion capabilities make it an ideal solution for real-time analytics use cases, such as monitoring application performance, user behavior, or business metrics.


ClickHouse Pricing Model

ClickHouse is an open source database and can be deployed on your own hardware. The developers of ClickHouse have also recently created ClickHouse Cloud which is a managed service for deploying ClickHouse.

Apache Druid Pricing Model

Apache Druid is an open source project, and as such, it can be self-hosted at no licensing cost. However, organizations that choose to self-host Druid will incur expenses related to infrastructure, management, and support when deploying and operating Druid in their environment. These costs will depend on the organization’s specific requirements and the chosen infrastructure, whether it’s on-premises or cloud-based.

For those who prefer a managed solution, there are cloud services available that offer Apache Druid as a managed service, such as Imply Cloud. With managed services, the provider handles infrastructure, management, and support, simplifying the deployment and operation of Druid. Pricing for these managed services will vary depending on the provider and the selected service tier, which may include factors such as data storage, query capacity, and data ingestion rates.