whichdb
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ArcticDB vs kdb+

ArcticDB: Serverless DataFrame database from Man Group: Pandas in, versioned columnar data on S3 out. kdb+: Column-store time-series engine with the q language, a fixture of capital-markets tick data.

key differences

  • Licensing: ArcticDB is source-available (Business Source License 1.1 (converts to Apache-2.0 after 2 years)); kdb+ is proprietary (Commercial; KDB-X Community Edition free with resource limits).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in ArcticDB and manual in kdb+.
  • Only ArcticDB has time travel.
  • Only kdb+ has joins, secondary indexes, json, stored procedures, pub/sub.
  • ArcticDB has a serverless option; kdb+ does not.
  • ArcticDB can run embedded in your application process.

choose arcticdb for

  • +Quant research data stores
  • +Versioned financial time series
  • +Feature and factor libraries for backtesting
  • +Scientific DataFrame storage on object storage

best at · Tick data, Time-series, Scientific

choose kdb-plus for

  • +Equities, FX and futures tick capture
  • +Trade surveillance and best-execution analysis
  • +Quant research on historical market data
  • +Real-time risk and P&L

best at · Tick data, Time-series, Real-time analytics

ArcticDBServerless DataFrame database from Man Group: Pandas in, versioned columnar data on S3 out.
kdb+Column-store time-series engine with the q language, a fixture of capital-markets tick data.
overview
Primary model
Time-Series
Time-Series
Also supports
Columnar / OLAP
Columnar / OLAP, Relational
Type
Embedded library
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Man Group
KX
First release
2023
2003
Latest version
6.28.2 (Oct 26, 2026)
KDB-X 5.0.20261015 (Oct 15, 2026)
License
Source-availableBusiness Source License 1.1 (converts to Apache-2.0 after 2 years)
ProprietaryCommercial; KDB-X Community Edition free with resource limits
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
14.4
31.8
Rank
#232
#75
GitHub stars
2.6K
–
Stack Overflow questions
–
2.3K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Manual
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Eventual
Strong
Schema
Flexible
Strict
Architecture
Embedded, Serverless, Shared storage
In memory, Single node, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
✓
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
AWS
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
Python API, QueryBuilder
q, qSQL, Python (PyKX)
Client languages
Python
Python, Java, C, C#
Best for
Tick data, Time-series, Scientific, OLAP
Tick data, Time-series, Real-time analytics, Streaming
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

ArcticDB vs kdb+: FAQ

What is the difference between ArcticDB and kdb+?

ArcticDB: Serverless DataFrame database from Man Group: Pandas in, versioned columnar data on S3 out. kdb+: Column-store time-series engine with the q language, a fixture of capital-markets tick data. Licensing: ArcticDB is source-available (Business Source License 1.1 (converts to Apache-2.0 after 2 years)); kdb+ is proprietary (Commercial; KDB-X Community Edition free with resource limits). Horizontal scaling is native in ArcticDB and manual in kdb+. Only ArcticDB has time travel.

When should I choose ArcticDB over kdb+?

Choose ArcticDB for quant research data stores; versioned financial time series; and feature and factor libraries for backtesting. Choose kdb+ for equities, FX and futures tick capture; trade surveillance and best-execution analysis; and quant research on historical market data.

Is ArcticDB or kdb+ more popular?

kdb+ ranks #75 on the WhichDB Score (31.8/100) and ArcticDB ranks #232 (14.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are ArcticDB and kdb+ open source?

Not in the OSI sense. ArcticDB 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 (converts to Apache-2.0 after 2 years). No. kdb+ is proprietary, closed-source software. License: Commercial; KDB-X Community Edition free with resource limits.