OpenQM vs Rocket D3

OpenQM: Compact MultiValue (Pick) database from Ladybridge, once GPL-licensed, now Rocket's entry-level MV product. Rocket D3: The direct descendant of the original Pick system: a MultiValue database and environment on Linux and Windows.

key differences

These two are very similar on paper. Compare ecosystems, pricing and team familiarity.

choose openqm for

+Hosting small Pick-based business applications
+Migrating off ageing Pick systems to commodity servers
+Learning the MultiValue model

best at · OLTP

choose rocket-d3 for

+Running legacy Pick business applications
+Distribution and accounting packages built on D3
+Staging migrations from D3 to jBASE or SQL databases

best at · OLTP

OpenQMCompact MultiValue (Pick) database from Ladybridge, once GPL-licensed, now Rocket's entry-level MV product.

Rocket D3The direct descendant of the original Pick system: a MultiValue database and environment on Linux and Windows.

overview

Primary model

Multivalue (Pick)

Also supports

–

Type

Database engine

Status

Active

Developer

Rocket Software (originally Ladybridge Systems)

Rocket Software (originally Pick Systems)

First release

1993

Latest version

–

10.4.0.3 (Windows) (Sep 2026)

License

ProprietaryProprietary (historic GPLv2 community edition)

ProprietaryProprietary commercial license

Free tier

✓

—

popularity

WhichDB Score

0.2

0.0

Rank

#670

#803

GitHub stars

–

Stack Overflow questions

–

scale & guarantees

Comfortable data size

Small (≤ 100 GB)

Horizontal scaling

None

Multi-region

None

ACID

Limited

Consistency

Strong

Schema

Flexible

Architecture

Client server, Single node

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

QMBasic, QM query language

Pick BASIC (FlashBASIC), ACCESS query language

Client languages

C, Python, C#, Java

C, Python, C#, Visual Basic

Best for

OLTP

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OpenQM vs Rocket D3: FAQ

What is the difference between OpenQM and Rocket D3?

OpenQM: Compact MultiValue (Pick) database from Ladybridge, once GPL-licensed, now Rocket's entry-level MV product. Rocket D3: The direct descendant of the original Pick system: a MultiValue database and environment on Linux and Windows.

When should I choose OpenQM over Rocket D3?

Choose OpenQM for hosting small Pick-based business applications, migrating off ageing Pick systems to commodity servers and learning the MultiValue model. Choose Rocket D3 for running legacy Pick business applications; distribution and accounting packages built on D3; and staging migrations from D3 to jBASE or SQL databases.

Is OpenQM or Rocket D3 more popular?

OpenQM ranks #670 on the WhichDB Score (0.2/100) and Rocket D3 ranks #803 (0.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are OpenQM and Rocket D3 open source?

No. OpenQM is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Rocket D3 is proprietary, closed-source software.