AppBreakup
Submit an app

Free QuestDB alternatives: 4 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

4 of the 5 QuestDB alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). InfluxDB, ClickHouse and Prometheus rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingVerified priceOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1InfluxDB logoInfluxDBOpen source—YesLinux, macOS, Self-hosted +15 of 568.8
2ClickHouse logoClickHouseOpen source30 days with $300 creditsNoWeb, Linux, macOS +15 of 567.6
3Prometheus logoPrometheusOpen source—YesSelf-hosted, Linux, macOS +14 of 451.2
4VictoriaMetrics logoVictoriaMetricsOpen sourceFrom $200/monthYesSelf-hosted, Linux, macOS +14 of 450.0
  1. InfluxDB logo

    1. InfluxDBTop pick

    Best for: Teams storing high-volume metrics, IoT or telemetry data that they query by time

    Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web

    68.8

    score / 100

    Why switch from QuestDB

    The best-known time-series database, with a managed cloud and a large Telegraf plugin ecosystem.

    Pros

    • Purpose-built for high write rates of time-stamped data
    • SQL support in version 3 lowers the learning curve
    • Telegraf agent makes collecting data from common systems easy
    • Self-hosted, managed cloud and AWS-native options

    Cons

    • Free Core edition lacks high availability and enterprise security
    • Repeated rewrites between versions 1, 2 and 3 have made upgrades disruptive
    • Enterprise and dedicated cloud pricing is quote-only
    Visit InfluxDB Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.3100
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is InfluxDB a good QuestDB alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    License
    Apache-2.0
    Checked Nov 2, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Open source edition
    InfluxDB 3 Core, free
    Checked Nov 8, 2026influxdata.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Enterprise trial
    30 days
    Checked Nov 8, 2026influxdata.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud Serverless credit
    $250 free credit
    Checked Nov 8, 2026influxdata.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Core runs on
    Linux, Mac, Docker
    Checked Nov 8, 2026influxdata.com(opens source in a new tab)
  2. ClickHouse logo

    2. ClickHouse

    Best for: Engineering teams building real-time dashboards, observability or analytics over billions of rows

    Open sourceWeb, Linux, macOS, Self-hosted

    67.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from QuestDB

    Open-source columnar database that handles time-series plus general analytics at very large scale.

    Pros

    • Very fast aggregations over large tables, suited to live dashboards
    • Apache 2.0 open source, so it can be self-hosted at no licence cost
    • Strong compression keeps storage costs down
    • Managed cloud option on AWS, Google Cloud and Azure

    Cons

    • Schema and table-engine choices need care to get good performance
    • Updates, deletes and large joins are weaker than in general-purpose warehouses
    • Self-hosting a cluster takes real operational work
    Visit ClickHouse Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.346
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.15100
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is ClickHouse a good QuestDB alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    License
    Apache-2.0
    Checked Oct 29, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Open source
    Yes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026clickhouse.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free trial
    30 days with $300 credits
    Checked Nov 8, 2026clickhouse.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Pricing model
    Compute and storage metered separately
    Checked Nov 8, 2026clickhouse.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud providers
    AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
    Checked Nov 8, 2026clickhouse.com(opens source in a new tab)
  3. Prometheus logo

    3. Prometheus

    Best for: Engineers running Kubernetes or microservices who want the de facto standard for metrics

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Linux, macOS, Windows

    51.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from QuestDB

    Better fit when the data is infrastructure metrics scraped from services and paired with alerting.

    Pros

    • Industry-standard metrics format supported almost everywhere
    • PromQL is expressive for alerts and analysis
    • Simple single-binary deployment

    Cons

    • No built-in long-term or clustered storage
    • Metrics only, so logs and traces need other tools
    • Basic UI, so you will want Grafana too
    Visit Prometheus Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.341
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Prometheus a good QuestDB alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    Apache-2.0
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Origin
    Built at SoundCloud, started 2012
    Checked Nov 8, 2026prometheus.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Governance
    CNCF, joined 2016
    Checked Nov 8, 2026prometheus.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Query language
    PromQL
    Checked Nov 8, 2026prometheus.io(opens source in a new tab)
  4. VictoriaMetrics logo

    4. VictoriaMetrics

    Best for: Teams outgrowing Prometheus who want cheaper long-term metrics storage

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Linux, macOS, Windows

    50.0

    score / 100

    Why switch from QuestDB

    Lightweight, Prometheus-compatible metrics store with free clustering in its open-source version.

    Pros

    • Uses far less memory and disk than many alternatives
    • Drop-in compatible with Prometheus and Grafana
    • Simple single-binary option, cluster when needed

    Cons

    • Some features are enterprise-only
    • MetricsQL extensions can reduce portability
    • Logs and traces products are newer
    Visit VictoriaMetrics Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.338
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is VictoriaMetrics a good QuestDB alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    Apache-2.0
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud price
    From $200/month
    Checked Nov 8, 2026victoriametrics.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud free trial
    30 days
    Checked Nov 8, 2026victoriametrics.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Editions
    Open source and enterprise
    Checked Nov 8, 2026victoriametrics.com(opens source in a new tab)