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GridDB vs TimescaleDB

GridDB: Toshiba's memory-first container database for IoT time series, with per-container ACID and SQL. TimescaleDB: PostgreSQL extension adding hypertables, columnar compression and continuous aggregates for time series.

key differences

  • Licensing: GridDB is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0 (server); Apache-2.0 clients); TimescaleDB is source-available (Apache-2.0 core + Timescale License (TSL) for advanced features).
  • GridDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than TimescaleDB (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in GridDB and none in TimescaleDB.
  • Transactions: GridDB offers limited ACID; TimescaleDB offers full.
  • Only GridDB has in-memory.
  • Only TimescaleDB has full-text search, vector search, json, triggers, stored procedures.

choose griddb for

  • +Factory and plant sensor data
  • +Smart grid and energy monitoring
  • +Infrastructure monitoring for social systems
  • +IoT apps needing per-device transactional updates

best at · IoT, Time-series, OLTP

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

overview
Primary model
Time-Series
Time-Series
Also supports
Key-Value, Relational
Relational, Columnar / OLAP
Type
Database engine
Extension
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Toshiba Digital Solutions
TigerData (formerly Timescale)
First release
2013
2017
Latest version
5.9.0 (Feb 18, 2026)
2.31.0 (Oct 20, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GNU AGPL v3.0 (server); Apache-2.0 clients
Source-availableApache-2.0 core + Timescale License (TSL) for advanced features
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
10.7
47.1
Rank
#295
#34
GitHub stars
2.5K
23.8K
Stack Overflow questions
572
775
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
None
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
Limited
Full
Consistency
Tunable
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, In memory, Client server
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
AWS, Azure
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, TQL
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
Java, C, Python, Go, JavaScript
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
IoT, Time-series, OLTP
Time-series, Real-time analytics, IoT, Observability

GridDB vs TimescaleDB: FAQ

What is the difference between GridDB and TimescaleDB?

GridDB: Toshiba's memory-first container database for IoT time series, with per-container ACID and SQL. TimescaleDB: PostgreSQL extension adding hypertables, columnar compression and continuous aggregates for time series. Licensing: GridDB is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3.0 (server); Apache-2.0 clients); TimescaleDB is source-available (Apache-2.0 core + Timescale License (TSL) for advanced features). GridDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than TimescaleDB (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is native in GridDB and none in TimescaleDB.

When should I choose GridDB over TimescaleDB?

Choose GridDB for factory and plant sensor data; smart grid and energy monitoring; and infrastructure monitoring for social systems. 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 GridDB or TimescaleDB more popular?

TimescaleDB ranks #34 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and GridDB ranks #295 (10.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are GridDB and TimescaleDB open source?

Yes. GridDB is open source. License: GNU AGPL v3.0 (server); Apache-2.0 clients. 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.