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Apache Pinot vs SingleStore

Apache Pinot: Real-time OLAP store from LinkedIn for user-facing analytics at very high query rates. SingleStore: Distributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors.

key differences

  • Apache Pinot is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; SingleStore is relational.
  • Licensing: Apache Pinot is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); SingleStore is proprietary (Proprietary (free developer/standard licenses with limits)).
  • Apache Pinot is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than SingleStore (≤ 1 PB).
  • Transactions: Apache Pinot offers none ACID; SingleStore offers full.
  • Only Apache Pinot has ttl / expiry.
  • Only SingleStore has transactions, change data capture, stored procedures, in-memory, encryption at rest.

choose apache-pinot for

  • +User-facing analytics in products
  • +Real-time business metrics and anomaly detection
  • +Ad and marketplace analytics
  • +Operational dashboards on streaming data

best at · Real-time analytics, OLAP, Observability

choose singlestore for

  • +Real-time customer-facing analytics
  • +Fraud detection and risk scoring on streaming data
  • +Ad-tech and IoT ingestion with immediate querying
  • +Hybrid vector plus keyword search for RAG

best at · HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search

Apache PinotReal-time OLAP store from LinkedIn for user-facing analytics at very high query rates.
SingleStoreDistributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors.
overview
Primary model
Columnar / OLAP
Relational
Also supports
Relational, Time-Series
Columnar / OLAP, Document, Vector, Search Engine, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Apache Software Foundation
SingleStore, Inc.
First release
2015
2013
Latest version
1.5.1 (Jun 5, 2026)
9.0.44 (Sep 24, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
ProprietaryProprietary (free developer/standard licenses with limits)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
29.9
29.0
Rank
#88
#92
GitHub stars
6.2K
–
Stack Overflow questions
23
403
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
None
Full
Consistency
Eventual
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Shared storage
Distributed, In memory, 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
SQL (Calcite-based)
SQL, MPSQL (stored procedures)
Client languages
Java, Python, Go, JavaScript, C#
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, PHP, Rust
Best for
Real-time analytics, OLAP, Observability
HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search, Search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Apache Pinot vs SingleStore: FAQ

What is the difference between Apache Pinot and SingleStore?

Apache Pinot: Real-time OLAP store from LinkedIn for user-facing analytics at very high query rates. SingleStore: Distributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors. Apache Pinot is primarily a columnar / OLAP database; SingleStore is relational. Licensing: Apache Pinot is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); SingleStore is proprietary (Proprietary (free developer/standard licenses with limits)). Apache Pinot is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than SingleStore (≤ 1 PB).

When should I choose Apache Pinot over SingleStore?

Choose Apache Pinot for user-facing analytics in products; real-time business metrics and anomaly detection; and ad and marketplace analytics. Choose SingleStore for real-time customer-facing analytics; fraud detection and risk scoring on streaming data; and ad-tech and IoT ingestion with immediate querying.

Is Apache Pinot or SingleStore more popular?

Apache Pinot ranks #88 on the WhichDB Score (29.9/100) and SingleStore ranks #92 (29.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Apache Pinot and SingleStore open source?

Yes. Apache Pinot is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. No. SingleStore is proprietary, closed-source software.