whichdb
vs

SingleStore vs TiDB

SingleStore: Distributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors. TiDB: MySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics.

key differences

  • Licensing: SingleStore is proprietary (Proprietary (free developer/standard licenses with limits)); TiDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • TiDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than SingleStore (≤ 1 PB).
  • Only SingleStore has full-text search, geospatial, stored procedures, in-memory, streaming ingest.
  • Only TiDB has ttl / expiry, time travel, branching.
  • TiDB has a serverless option; SingleStore does not.

choose singlestore for

  • +Real-time customer-facing analytics
  • +Fraud detection and risk scoring on streaming data
  • +Ad-tech and IoT ingestion with immediate querying
  • +Hybrid vector plus keyword search for RAG

best at · HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search

choose tidb for

  • +Replacing hand-sharded MySQL
  • +HTAP dashboards on live transactional data
  • +SaaS platforms with very large tenant counts
  • +Payment and order systems at internet scale

best at · OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics

SingleStoreDistributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors.
TiDBMySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Columnar / OLAP, Document, Vector, Search Engine, Spatial
Document, Columnar / OLAP, Vector
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
SingleStore, Inc.
PingCAP
First release
2013
2017
Latest version
9.0.44 (Sep 24, 2026)
8.5.8 (Aug 27, 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary (free developer/standard licenses with limits)
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
29.0
35.9
Rank
#92
#56
GitHub stars
–
40.7K
Stack Overflow questions
403
102
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, In memory, Client server
Distributed, Client server, Serverless
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
✓
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Alibaba Cloud
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, MPSQL (stored procedures)
SQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, PHP, Rust
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, PHP, Rust
Best for
HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search, Search
OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

SingleStore vs TiDB: FAQ

What is the difference between SingleStore and TiDB?

SingleStore: Distributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors. TiDB: MySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics. Licensing: SingleStore is proprietary (Proprietary (free developer/standard licenses with limits)); TiDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). TiDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than SingleStore (≤ 1 PB). Only SingleStore has full-text search, geospatial, stored procedures, in-memory, streaming ingest.

When should I choose SingleStore over TiDB?

Choose SingleStore for real-time customer-facing analytics; fraud detection and risk scoring on streaming data; and ad-tech and IoT ingestion with immediate querying. Choose TiDB for replacing hand-sharded MySQL, HTAP dashboards on live transactional data and SaaS platforms with very large tenant counts.

Is SingleStore or TiDB more popular?

TiDB ranks #56 on the WhichDB Score (35.9/100) and SingleStore ranks #92 (29.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are SingleStore and TiDB open source?

No. SingleStore is proprietary, closed-source software. Yes. TiDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.