vs

c-treeACE vs Progress OpenEdge

c-treeACE: FairCom's embeddable ISAM, SQL and JSON database engine, now sold as FairCom DB; roots in 1984's c-tree. Progress OpenEdge: Integrated RDBMS plus ABL 4GL application platform behind thousands of ERP and vertical business apps.

key differences

  • Horizontal scaling is manual in c-treeACE and none in Progress OpenEdge.
  • Only c-treeACE has json.
  • Only Progress OpenEdge has change data capture, encryption at rest, online schema changes.
  • c-treeACE can run embedded in your application process.

choose c-treeace for

  • +Embedded database inside commercial or industrial software
  • +Modernising Btrieve, ISAM or COBOL applications
  • +High-speed record access with SQL reporting on the same tables
  • +Edge and IIoT data collection with FairCom Edge

best at · OLTP, Embedded, IoT

choose progress-openedge for

  • +Running ERP, distribution and manufacturing packages built on OpenEdge
  • +Modernising ABL apps behind REST APIs with PASOE
  • +ISV vertical applications sold to SMBs

best at · OLTP

overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Key-Value, Document
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
FairCom Corporation
Progress Software
First release
1984
1984
Latest version
–
13.0 (Feb 10, 2026)
License
ProprietaryCommercial license
ProprietaryProprietary commercial license
Free tier
✓
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
0.0
20.4
Rank
#699
#157
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
–
1.5K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Manual
None
Multi-region
Active active
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong
Schema
Flexible
Strict
Architecture
Embedded, Client server, Primary replica
Client server, Primary replica
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
SQL, JSON DB API
ABL (Advanced Business Language), SQL-92
Client languages
C, C++, Java, C#, Python, JavaScript
ABL, Java, C#, C
Best for
OLTP, Embedded, IoT, Edge
OLTP

c-treeACE vs Progress OpenEdge: FAQ

What is the difference between c-treeACE and Progress OpenEdge?

c-treeACE: FairCom's embeddable ISAM, SQL and JSON database engine, now sold as FairCom DB; roots in 1984's c-tree. Progress OpenEdge: Integrated RDBMS plus ABL 4GL application platform behind thousands of ERP and vertical business apps. Horizontal scaling is manual in c-treeACE and none in Progress OpenEdge. Only c-treeACE has json. Only Progress OpenEdge has change data capture, encryption at rest, online schema changes.

When should I choose c-treeACE over Progress OpenEdge?

Choose c-treeACE for embedded database inside commercial or industrial software; modernising Btrieve, ISAM or COBOL applications; and high-speed record access with SQL reporting on the same tables. Choose Progress OpenEdge for running ERP, distribution and manufacturing packages built on OpenEdge; modernising ABL apps behind REST APIs with PASOE; and ISV vertical applications sold to SMBs.

Is c-treeACE or Progress OpenEdge more popular?

Progress OpenEdge ranks #157 on the WhichDB Score (20.4/100) and c-treeACE ranks #699 (0.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are c-treeACE and Progress OpenEdge open source?

No. c-treeACE is proprietary, closed-source software. License: Commercial license. No. Progress OpenEdge is proprietary, closed-source software.