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Hyrise vs MonetDB

Hyrise: HPI's open-source in-memory columnar research database, rewritten in 2017 for teaching and experiments. MonetDB: Pioneering open-source column-store from CWI, still a lean research-grade analytical SQL database.

key differences

  • Hyrise is primarily a relational database; MonetDB is columnar / OLAP.
  • Licensing: Hyrise is open source (permissive) (MIT License); MonetDB is open source (copyleft) (Mozilla Public License 2.0).
  • MonetDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than Hyrise (≤ 100 GB).
  • Horizontal scaling is none in Hyrise and manual in MonetDB.
  • Transactions: Hyrise offers limited ACID; MonetDB offers full.
  • Only Hyrise has in-memory, compression.
  • Only MonetDB has geospatial, json, triggers, stored procedures, durable persistence.

choose hyrise for

  • +Teaching database internals
  • +Prototyping optimizer, encoding or index research
  • +Reproducing in-memory database papers

best at · OLAP, HTAP

choose monetdb for

  • +Single-server analytical database
  • +Scientific and research data analysis
  • +Teaching and database research

best at · OLAP, Warehouse, Scientific

HyriseHPI's open-source in-memory columnar research database, rewritten in 2017 for teaching and experiments.
MonetDBPioneering open-source column-store from CWI, still a lean research-grade analytical SQL database.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Columnar / OLAP
Also supports
Columnar / OLAP
Relational, Spatial
Type
Research prototype
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Hasso Plattner Institute
MonetDB Foundation (CWI spin-off)
First release
2010
2004
Latest version
–
11.55.3 (2026)
License
Open source (permissive)MIT License
Open source (copyleft)Mozilla Public License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
2.6
24.2
Rank
#469
#125
GitHub stars
871
485
Stack Overflow questions
–
447
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Manual
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Limited
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, In memory, Client server
Single node, 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
SQL
SQL, Python UDFs, R UDFs
Client languages
C++
Python, Java, C, R, JavaScript
Best for
OLAP, HTAP
OLAP, Warehouse, Scientific
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Hyrise vs MonetDB: FAQ

What is the difference between Hyrise and MonetDB?

Hyrise: HPI's open-source in-memory columnar research database, rewritten in 2017 for teaching and experiments. MonetDB: Pioneering open-source column-store from CWI, still a lean research-grade analytical SQL database. Hyrise is primarily a relational database; MonetDB is columnar / OLAP. Licensing: Hyrise is open source (permissive) (MIT License); MonetDB is open source (copyleft) (Mozilla Public License 2.0). MonetDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than Hyrise (≤ 100 GB).

When should I choose Hyrise over MonetDB?

Choose Hyrise for teaching database internals; prototyping optimizer, encoding or index research; and reproducing in-memory database papers. Choose MonetDB for single-server analytical database; scientific and research data analysis; and teaching and database research.

Is Hyrise or MonetDB more popular?

MonetDB ranks #125 on the WhichDB Score (24.2/100) and Hyrise ranks #469 (2.6/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Hyrise and MonetDB open source?

Yes. Hyrise is open source. License: MIT License. Yes. MonetDB is open source. License: Mozilla Public License 2.0.