whichdb
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InfluxDB vs VictoriaMetrics

InfluxDB: Purpose-built time-series database, rebuilt in Rust on Arrow, DataFusion and Parquet for version 3. VictoriaMetrics: Resource-frugal, Prometheus-compatible metrics database, run as a single binary or a sharded cluster.

key differences

  • Only InfluxDB has joins, triggers, columnar storage, role-based access.
  • InfluxDB has a serverless option; VictoriaMetrics does not.

choose influxdb for

  • +Infrastructure and application metrics
  • +IoT sensor telemetry
  • +Industrial equipment monitoring at the edge
  • +Real-time Grafana dashboards

best at · Time-series, Observability, IoT

choose victoriametrics for

  • +Long-term storage for Prometheus metrics
  • +Kubernetes monitoring with vmagent and the operator
  • +Consolidating Graphite, Influx and Prometheus metrics in one store
  • +High-rate IoT telemetry

best at · Observability, Time-series, IoT

InfluxDBPurpose-built time-series database, rebuilt in Rust on Arrow, DataFusion and Parquet for version 3.
VictoriaMetricsResource-frugal, Prometheus-compatible metrics database, run as a single binary or a sharded cluster.
overview
Primary model
Time-Series
Time-Series
Also supports
Columnar / OLAP
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
InfluxData
VictoriaMetrics Inc.
First release
2013
2018
Latest version
3.12.1 (Oct 15, 2026)
1.155.0 (Oct 26, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)MIT or Apache-2.0 (Core); Enterprise is commercial
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
51.0
26.8
Rank
#24
#109
GitHub stars
31.8K
17.9K
Stack Overflow questions
2.9K
143
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
None
ACID
None
None
Consistency
Eventual
Eventual
Schema
Flexible
Schemaless
Architecture
Single node, Distributed, Shared storage, Client server
Single node, Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
✓
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
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
SQL, InfluxQL
MetricsQL, PromQL
Client languages
Go, Python, Java, JavaScript, C#
–
Best for
Time-series, Observability, IoT, Real-time analytics
Observability, Time-series, IoT
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

InfluxDB vs VictoriaMetrics: FAQ

What is the difference between InfluxDB and VictoriaMetrics?

InfluxDB: Purpose-built time-series database, rebuilt in Rust on Arrow, DataFusion and Parquet for version 3. VictoriaMetrics: Resource-frugal, Prometheus-compatible metrics database, run as a single binary or a sharded cluster. Only InfluxDB has joins, triggers, columnar storage, role-based access. InfluxDB has a serverless option; VictoriaMetrics does not.

When should I choose InfluxDB over VictoriaMetrics?

Choose InfluxDB for infrastructure and application metrics; IoT sensor telemetry; and industrial equipment monitoring at the edge. Choose VictoriaMetrics for long-term storage for Prometheus metrics; kubernetes monitoring with vmagent and the operator; and consolidating Graphite, Influx and Prometheus metrics in one store.

Is InfluxDB or VictoriaMetrics more popular?

InfluxDB ranks #24 on the WhichDB Score (51.0/100) and VictoriaMetrics ranks #109 (26.8/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are InfluxDB and VictoriaMetrics open source?

Yes. InfluxDB is open source. License: MIT or Apache-2.0 (Core); Enterprise is commercial. Yes. VictoriaMetrics is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.