CrateDB vs TimescaleDB
CrateDB: Distributed SQL database built on Lucene for real-time analytics over machine, IoT and JSON data. TimescaleDB: PostgreSQL extension adding hypertables, columnar compression and continuous aggregates for time series.
key differences
- CrateDB is primarily a relational database; TimescaleDB is time-series.
- Licensing: CrateDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); TimescaleDB is source-available (Apache-2.0 core + Timescale License (TSL) for advanced features).
- CrateDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than TimescaleDB (≤ 10 TB).
- Horizontal scaling is native in CrateDB and none in TimescaleDB.
- Transactions: CrateDB offers limited ACID; TimescaleDB offers full.
- Only CrateDB has geospatial, online schema changes.
- Only TimescaleDB has transactions, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views, ttl / expiry.
choose cratedb for
- +Industrial IoT and machine data analytics
- +Fleet and vehicle telemetry
- +Log and event analytics with SQL
- +Hybrid search over JSON documents
best at · Real-time analytics, IoT, Time-series
choose timescaledb for
- +IoT and sensor data joined with relational metadata
- +Financial tick and market data analytics in SQL
- +Product and application metrics dashboards
- +Energy and utility metering
best at · Time-series, Real-time analytics, IoT
CrateDB vs TimescaleDB: FAQ
What is the difference between CrateDB and TimescaleDB?
CrateDB: Distributed SQL database built on Lucene for real-time analytics over machine, IoT and JSON data. TimescaleDB: PostgreSQL extension adding hypertables, columnar compression and continuous aggregates for time series. CrateDB is primarily a relational database; TimescaleDB is time-series. Licensing: CrateDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); TimescaleDB is source-available (Apache-2.0 core + Timescale License (TSL) for advanced features). CrateDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than TimescaleDB (≤ 10 TB).
When should I choose CrateDB over TimescaleDB?
Choose CrateDB for industrial IoT and machine data analytics; fleet and vehicle telemetry; and log and event analytics with SQL. Choose TimescaleDB for IoT and sensor data joined with relational metadata; financial tick and market data analytics in SQL; and product and application metrics dashboards.
Is CrateDB or TimescaleDB more popular?
TimescaleDB ranks #34 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and CrateDB ranks #104 (27.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.
Are CrateDB and TimescaleDB open source?
Yes. CrateDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Not in the OSI sense. TimescaleDB is source-available: you can read the code, but the license restricts some uses, typically offering it as a competing managed service. License: Apache-2.0 core + Timescale License (TSL) for advanced features.