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 QuestDB and StarRocks so you can quickly see how they compare against each other.

The primary purpose of this article is to compare how QuestDB and StarRocks 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.

QuestDB vs StarRocks Breakdown


 
Database Model

Time series database

Data warehouse

Architecture

QuestDB is designed for horizontal scaling, enabling you to distribute data and queries across multiple nodes for increased performance and availability. It can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid solution, depending on your infrastructure needs and preferences.

StarRocks can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment, depending on your infrastructure preferences and requirements.

License

Apache 2.0

Apache 2.0

Use Cases

Monitoring, observability, IoT, Real-time analytics, Financial services, High-frequency trading

Business intelligence, analytics, real-time data processing, large-scale data storage

Scalability

High-performance with support for horizontal scaling and multi-threading

Horizontally scalable, with support for distributed storage and query processing

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QuestDB Overview

QuestDB is an open-source relational column-oriented database designed specifically for time series and event data. It combines high-performance ingestion capabilities with SQL analytics, making it a powerful tool for managing and analyzing large volumes of time-based data. QuestDB addresses the challenges of handling high throughput and provides a simple way to analyze ingested data through SQL queries. It is well-suited for use cases such as financial market data and application metrics.

StarRocks Overview

StarRocks is an open source high-performance analytical data warehouse that enables real-time, multi-dimensional, and highly concurrent data analysis. It features an MPP (Massively Parallel Processing) architecture and is equipped with a fully vectorized execution engine and a columnar storage engine that supports real-time updates.


QuestDB for Time Series Data

QuestDB excels in managing and analyzing time series data. With its high-performance ingestion capabilities, it can handle high data throughput, making it suitable for real-time data ingestion scenarios. QuestDB’s SQL extensions for time series enable users to perform real-time analytics and gain valuable insights from their time-stamped data. Whether it’s financial market data or application metrics, QuestDB simplifies the process of ingesting and analyzing time series data through its fast SQL queries and operational simplicity.

StarRocks for Time Series Data

StarRocks is primarily focused on data warehousing workloads but can be used for time series data. StarRocks can be used for real time analytics and historical data analysis.


QuestDB Key Concepts

  • Time Series: QuestDB focuses on time series data, which represents data points indexed by time. It is optimized for storing and processing time-stamped data efficiently.
  • Column-Oriented: QuestDB employs a column-oriented storage format, where data is organized and stored column by column rather than row by row. This format enables efficient compression and faster query performance.
  • SQL Extensions: QuestDB extends the SQL language with functionalities specifically tailored for time series data. These extensions facilitate real-time analytics and allow users to leverage familiar SQL constructs for querying time-based data.

StarRocks Key Concepts

  • MPP Architecture: StarRocks utilizes an MPP architecture, which enables parallel processing and distributed execution of queries, allowing for high-performance and scalability.
  • Vectorized Execution Engine: StarRocks employs a fully vectorized execution engine that leverages SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) instructions to process data in batches, resulting in optimized query performance.
  • Columnar Storage Engine: The columnar storage engine in StarRocks organizes data by column, which improves query performance by only accessing the necessary columns during query execution.
  • Cost-Based Optimizer (CBO): StarRocks includes a fully-customized cost-based optimizer that evaluates different query execution plans and selects the most efficient plan based on estimated costs.
  • Materialized View: StarRocks supports intelligent materialized views, which are precomputed summaries of data that accelerate query performance by providing faster access to aggregated data.


QuestDB Architecture

QuestDB follows a hybrid architecture that combines features of columnar and row-based databases. It leverages a column-oriented storage format for efficient compression and query performance while retaining the ability to handle relational data with SQL capabilities. QuestDB supports both SQL and NoSQL-like functionalities, providing users with flexibility in their data modeling and querying approaches. The database consists of multiple components, including the ingestion engine, storage engine, and query engine, working together to ensure high-performance data ingestion and retrieval.

StarRocks Architecture

StarRock’s architecture includes a fully vectorized execution engine and a columnar storage engine for efficient data processing and storage. It also incorporates features like a cost-based optimizer and materialized views for optimized query performance. StarRocks supports real-time and batch data ingestion from a variety of sources and enables direct analysis of data stored in data lakes without data migration

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QuestDB Features

High-Performance Ingestion

QuestDB is optimized for high throughput ingestion, allowing users to efficiently ingest large volumes of time series data at high speeds.

Fast SQL Queries

QuestDB provides fast SQL queries for analyzing time series data. It extends the SQL language with time series-specific functionalities to assist with real-time analytics.

Operational Simplicity

QuestDB aims to provide a user-friendly experience with operational simplicity. It supports schema-agnostic ingestion using popular protocols such as InfluxDB line protocol and PostgreSQL wire protocol. Additionally, a REST API is available for bulk imports and exports, simplifying data management tasks.

StarRocks Features

Multi-Dimensional Analysis

StarRocks supports multi-dimensional analysis, enabling users to explore data from different dimensions and perspectives.

High Concurrency

StarRocks is designed to handle high levels of concurrency, allowing multiple users to execute queries simultaneously.

Materialized View

StarRocks supports materialized views, which provide precomputed summaries of data for faster query performance.


QuestDB Use Cases

Financial Market Data

QuestDB is well-suited for managing and analyzing financial market data. Its high-performance ingestion and fast SQL queries enable efficient processing and analysis of large volumes of market data in real time.

Application Metrics

QuestDB can be used for collecting and analyzing application metrics. Its ability to handle high data throughput and provide real-time analytics capabilities makes it suitable for monitoring and analyzing performance metrics, logs, and other application-related data.

IoT Data Analysis

QuestDB’s high-performance ingestion and time series analytics capabilities make it a valuable tool for analyzing IoT sensor data.

StarRocks Use Cases

Real-Time Analytics

StarRocks is well-suited for real-time analytics scenarios, where users need to analyze data as it arrives, enabling them to make timely and data-driven decisions.

Ad-Hoc Queries

With its high-performance and highly concurrent data analysis capabilities, StarRocks is ideal for ad-hoc querying, allowing users to explore and analyze data interactively.

Data Lake Analytics

StarRocks supports analyzing data directly from data lakes without the need for data migration. This makes it a valuable tool for organizations leveraging data lakes for storage and analysis.


QuestDB Pricing Model

QuestDB is an open-source project released under the Apache 2 License. It is freely available for usage and does not require any licensing fees. Users can access the source code on GitHub and deploy QuestDB on their own infrastructure without incurring direct costs. QuestDB also offers a managed cloud service.

StarRocks Pricing Model

StarRocks can be deployed on your own hardware using the open source project. There are also a number of commercial vendors offering managed services to run StarRocks in the cloud.