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Apache Fluss vs RisingWave

Apache Fluss: Columnar streaming storage for Flink with primary-key tables and tiering into the lakehouse. RisingWave: An Apache-licensed, Postgres-compatible streaming database that stores state on S3 and writes Iceberg.

key differences

  • Apache Fluss is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; RisingWave is relational.
  • Only Apache Fluss has columnar storage.
  • Only RisingWave has joins, vector search, json, materialized views, role-based access.

choose apache-fluss for

  • +Real-time analytics pipelines on Flink
  • +Streaming lakehouse ingestion with fresh reads
  • +Lookup joins against changing dimension tables

best at · Streaming, Real-time analytics, Lakehouse

choose risingwave for

  • +Streaming ETL from Kafka or CDC into Iceberg
  • +Real-time monitoring and alerting dashboards
  • +Fresh ML feature computation
  • +IoT telemetry aggregation

best at · Streaming, Real-time analytics, Lakehouse

Apache FlussColumnar streaming storage for Flink with primary-key tables and tiering into the lakehouse.
RisingWaveAn Apache-licensed, Postgres-compatible streaming database that stores state on S3 and writes Iceberg.
overview
Primary model
Columnar / OLAP
Relational
Also supports
Key-Value
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Apache Software Foundation
RisingWave Labs
First release
2024
2022
Latest version
1.0.0 (Sep 22, 2026)
3.1.0 (Sep 21, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
8.4
17.4
Rank
#323
#191
GitHub stars
2.2K
9.4K
Stack Overflow questions
–
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Client server
Distributed, Shared storage, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
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
Flink SQL, Spark SQL
SQL
Client languages
Java
Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
Streaming, Real-time analytics, Lakehouse
Streaming, Real-time analytics, Lakehouse, IoT
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Apache Fluss vs RisingWave: FAQ

What is the difference between Apache Fluss and RisingWave?

Apache Fluss: Columnar streaming storage for Flink with primary-key tables and tiering into the lakehouse. RisingWave: An Apache-licensed, Postgres-compatible streaming database that stores state on S3 and writes Iceberg. Apache Fluss is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; RisingWave is relational. Only Apache Fluss has columnar storage. Only RisingWave has joins, vector search, json, materialized views, role-based access.

When should I choose Apache Fluss over RisingWave?

Choose Apache Fluss for real-time analytics pipelines on Flink, streaming lakehouse ingestion with fresh reads and lookup joins against changing dimension tables. Choose RisingWave for streaming ETL from Kafka or CDC into Iceberg; real-time monitoring and alerting dashboards; and fresh ML feature computation.

Is Apache Fluss or RisingWave more popular?

RisingWave ranks #191 on the WhichDB Score (17.4/100) and Apache Fluss ranks #323 (8.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Apache Fluss and RisingWave open source?

Yes. Apache Fluss is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. RisingWave is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.