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ArcticDB vs QuestDB

ArcticDB: Serverless DataFrame database from Man Group: Pandas in, versioned columnar data on S3 out. QuestDB: Columnar time-series SQL database built for market data and very high ingest rates.

key differences

  • Licensing: ArcticDB is source-available (Business Source License 1.1 (converts to Apache-2.0 after 2 years)); QuestDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial).
  • ArcticDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than QuestDB (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in ArcticDB and none in QuestDB.
  • Only ArcticDB has time travel.
  • Only QuestDB has joins, secondary indexes, materialized views, ttl / expiry, role-based access.
  • ArcticDB has a serverless option; QuestDB 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 questdb for

  • +Market data and order book analytics
  • +Trading and risk dashboards
  • +Industrial and aerospace telemetry
  • +Crypto exchange tick storage

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

ArcticDBServerless DataFrame database from Man Group: Pandas in, versioned columnar data on S3 out.
QuestDBColumnar time-series SQL database built for market data and very high ingest rates.
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
QuestDB
First release
2023
2019
Latest version
6.28.2 (Oct 26, 2026)
10.1.0 (Oct 22, 2026)
License
Source-availableBusiness Source License 1.1 (converts to Apache-2.0 after 2 years)
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
14.4
34.1
Rank
#232
#60
GitHub stars
2.6K
17.5K
Stack Overflow questions
–
282
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
None
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Eventual
Strong
Schema
Flexible
Flexible
Architecture
Embedded, Serverless, Shared storage
Single node, Primary replica, 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
Python API, QueryBuilder
SQL
Client languages
Python
Java, Python, Go, Rust, C, C++, C#, JavaScript
Best for
Tick data, Time-series, Scientific, OLAP
Time-series, Tick data, Real-time analytics, IoT
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

ArcticDB vs QuestDB: FAQ

What is the difference between ArcticDB and QuestDB?

ArcticDB: Serverless DataFrame database from Man Group: Pandas in, versioned columnar data on S3 out. QuestDB: Columnar time-series SQL database built for market data and very high ingest rates. Licensing: ArcticDB is source-available (Business Source License 1.1 (converts to Apache-2.0 after 2 years)); QuestDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial). ArcticDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than QuestDB (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is native in ArcticDB and none in QuestDB.

When should I choose ArcticDB over QuestDB?

Choose ArcticDB for quant research data stores; versioned financial time series; and feature and factor libraries for backtesting. Choose QuestDB for market data and order book analytics; trading and risk dashboards; and industrial and aerospace telemetry.

Is ArcticDB or QuestDB more popular?

QuestDB ranks #60 on the WhichDB Score (34.1/100) and ArcticDB ranks #232 (14.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are ArcticDB and QuestDB 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). Yes. QuestDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0 (open source); Enterprise is commercial.