vs

ConceptBase.cc vs Datomic

ConceptBase.cc: Deductive object base for metamodeling, built on O-Telos with Datalog rules and unlimited meta-levels. Datomic: Immutable Datalog database from Nubank where every fact is timestamped and queries run in the app process.

key differences

  • ConceptBase.cc is primarily an object database; Datomic is relational.
  • Datomic is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than ConceptBase.cc (≤ 100 GB).
  • Transactions: ConceptBase.cc offers limited ACID; Datomic offers full.
  • Only ConceptBase.cc has triggers.
  • Only Datomic has transactions, joins, secondary indexes, full-text search, change data capture.
  • Datomic can run embedded in your application process.

choose conceptbase for

  • +Designing and validating domain-specific modeling languages
  • +Method engineering and multi-level modeling research
  • +Teaching conceptual modeling and deductive databases

best at · Knowledge graph, Metadata

choose datomic for

  • +Financial and banking domain models needing auditability
  • +Systems that must answer what was known at a given time
  • +Complex domain graphs in Clojure services

best at · OLTP, Event sourcing, Ledger

overview
Primary model
Object
Relational
Also supports
Graph
Graph
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
The ConceptBase Team (University of Skövde)
Nubank (Cognitect)
First release
1987
2012
Latest version
8.5.16 (Jul 21, 2026)
1.0.7745 (Oct 16, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)FreeBSD-style license
Open source (permissive)Apache-2.0 (binaries only; source not published)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
1.4
14.9
Rank
#551
#225
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
–
436
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
None
None
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Limited
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Flexible
Flexible
Architecture
Client server
Distributed, Shared storage
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
O-Telos, Datalog
Datalog, Pull API
Client languages
Java
Clojure, Java
Best for
Knowledge graph, Metadata
OLTP, Event sourcing, Ledger, Knowledge graph

ConceptBase.cc vs Datomic: FAQ

What is the difference between ConceptBase.cc and Datomic?

ConceptBase.cc: Deductive object base for metamodeling, built on O-Telos with Datalog rules and unlimited meta-levels. Datomic: Immutable Datalog database from Nubank where every fact is timestamped and queries run in the app process. ConceptBase.cc is primarily an object database; Datomic is relational. Datomic is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than ConceptBase.cc (≤ 100 GB). Transactions: ConceptBase.cc offers limited ACID; Datomic offers full.

When should I choose ConceptBase.cc over Datomic?

Choose ConceptBase.cc for designing and validating domain-specific modeling languages; method engineering and multi-level modeling research; and teaching conceptual modeling and deductive databases. Choose Datomic for financial and banking domain models needing auditability; systems that must answer what was known at a given time; and complex domain graphs in Clojure services.

Is ConceptBase.cc or Datomic more popular?

Datomic ranks #225 on the WhichDB Score (14.9/100) and ConceptBase.cc ranks #551 (1.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are ConceptBase.cc and Datomic open source?

Yes. ConceptBase.cc is open source. License: FreeBSD-style license. Yes. Datomic is open source. License: Apache-2.0 (binaries only; source not published).