vs

Apache Druid vs Mondrian

Apache Druid: Real-time analytics database for sub-second slice-and-dice over streaming event data. Mondrian: Java ROLAP engine that answers MDX queries by generating SQL against your relational warehouse.

key differences

  • Apache Druid is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; Mondrian is relational.
  • Licensing: Apache Druid is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); Mondrian is source-available (Business Source License 1.1 (since 10.3; older releases EPL)).
  • Apache Druid is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Mondrian (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in Apache Druid and none in Mondrian.
  • Transactions: Apache Druid offers limited ACID; Mondrian offers none.
  • Only Apache Druid has secondary indexes, geospatial, json, ttl / expiry, columnar storage.
  • Mondrian can run embedded in your application process.

choose apache-druid for

  • +User-facing analytics dashboards
  • +Clickstream and ad-tech analytics
  • +Network and application telemetry
  • +Real-time operational monitoring

best at · Real-time analytics, OLAP, Time-series

choose mondrian for

  • +Pivot-style analytics over a star schema in PostgreSQL, MySQL or a warehouse
  • +Embedding OLAP cubes in Java BI applications
  • +Pentaho Business Analytics deployments

best at · OLAP, Warehouse

overview
Primary model
Columnar / OLAP
Relational
Also supports
Time-Series, Relational
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Apache Software Foundation
Pentaho
First release
2012
2002
Latest version
38.0.0 (Oct 1, 2026)
–
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Source-availableBusiness Source License 1.1 (since 10.3; older releases EPL)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
35.0
12.4
Rank
#58
#267
GitHub stars
14.1K
1.2K
Stack Overflow questions
620
477
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
None
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Limited
None
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Flexible
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Shared storage
Embedded, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
✓
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
–
capabilities
Transactions
—
—
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
—
Full-text search
—
—
Vector search
—
—
Geospatial
✓
—
JSON
✓
—
Change data capture
—
—
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
✓
—
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
✓
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
—
Compression
✓
—
Encryption at rest
—
—
Role-based access
✓
—
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
—
Streaming ingest
✓
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
Druid SQL, Druid native JSON queries
MDX
Client languages
Java, Python, Go, JavaScript
Java
Best for
Real-time analytics, OLAP, Time-series, Observability
OLAP, Warehouse

Apache Druid vs Mondrian: FAQ

What is the difference between Apache Druid and Mondrian?

Apache Druid: Real-time analytics database for sub-second slice-and-dice over streaming event data. Mondrian: Java ROLAP engine that answers MDX queries by generating SQL against your relational warehouse. Apache Druid is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; Mondrian is relational. Licensing: Apache Druid is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); Mondrian is source-available (Business Source License 1.1 (since 10.3; older releases EPL)). Apache Druid is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Mondrian (≤ 10 TB).

When should I choose Apache Druid over Mondrian?

Choose Apache Druid for user-facing analytics dashboards; clickstream and ad-tech analytics; and network and application telemetry. Choose Mondrian for pivot-style analytics over a star schema in PostgreSQL, MySQL or a warehouse; embedding OLAP cubes in Java BI applications; and pentaho Business Analytics deployments.

Is Apache Druid or Mondrian more popular?

Apache Druid ranks #58 on the WhichDB Score (35.0/100) and Mondrian ranks #267 (12.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Apache Druid and Mondrian open source?

Yes. Apache Druid is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Not in the OSI sense. Mondrian is source-available: you can read the code, but the license restricts some uses, typically offering it as a competing managed service. License: Business Source License 1.1 (since 10.3; older releases EPL).