vioscaleAI
Comparison

DuckDB vs Presto

On the evidence we track, DuckDB leads this comparison with a composite score of 59/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

DuckDB full profile →Presto full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★DuckDB59
Presto53
Score
vioscaleAI score
DuckDB59 / 100medium · 51%
Presto53 / 100low · 40%
Pricing
Free tier
DuckDB✓
Presto✓
Model
Price level
DuckDBfree
Prestofree
Transparent
DuckDB✓
Presto–
Integrations
Count
DuckDB27
Presto–
Security
Scorecard
DuckDB–
Presto5.1
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Status page
DuckDB✓
Presto–
Adoption
Dependent repos
DuckDB1
Presto441
Github stars
DuckDB42,154
Presto16,760
Package downloads weekly
DuckDB15,285,415
Presto–
Activity
Commits last 30d
DuckDB100
Presto97
Release
Cadence days
DuckDB33
Presto47
History
DuckDB20 items
Presto18 items
License
Spdx
DuckDBMIT
PrestoApache-2.0
Language
Primary
DuckDBC++
PrestoJava
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
DuckDB7 items
Presto4 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for data warehouse software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Deployment
DuckDBEmbedded
PrestoSelf-hosted
Architecture
Architecture
DuckDB-
PrestoSeparated storage/compute
Compute model
DuckDB-
Presto-
Query
SQL dialect
DuckDBVendor-specific
PrestoANSI SQL
Federation / lakehouse query-in-place
DuckDB✓
Presto✓
Interoperability
Table-format support
DuckDBParquet, CSV, JSON, Iceberg, Delta Lake, Vortex, DuckLake, Lance, Arrow, Avro, E
Presto-
Scale
Concurrency scaling
DuckDB-
Presto-
Ingestion
Streaming ingest
DuckDB-
Presto-
Data model
Semi-structured (JSON/VARIANT)
DuckDBFunctional
PrestoFunctional
Analytics
ML / in-DB functions
DuckDB✓
Presto-
Sharing
Data sharing / marketplace
DuckDB-
Presto-
Licensing
Licence class
DuckDBPermissive OSS
PrestoPermissive OSS

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

DuckDB

Leader

A portable analytical database that runs locally or embedded in applications, with PostgreSQL-like SQL and APIs for major programming languages, supporting popular data formats including CSV, JSON, Parquet, and Apache Iceberg.

Independently observed

Presto

The fastest open-source SQL query engine for modern data analytics at scale. Enables querying massive datasets across multiple data sources with sub-second performance.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

DuckDB

Leader
Open sourceFree tier

Free, open source under MIT license

as of verify ↗

Presto

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
macOS
DuckDB✓
Presto–
Windows
DuckDB✓
Presto–
Linux
DuckDB✓
Presto–
CLI
DuckDB✓
Presto–
Deployment
Self-hosted
DuckDB✓
Presto✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

DuckDB

Leader
30 total
  • Postgres
  • AWS
  • S3
  • Azure
  • Google Cloud
  • Hugging Face
  • SQLite
  • MySQL
  • Iceberg
  • Delta Lake
  • Parquet
  • JSON
  • Arrow
  • Avro
  • Pandas
  • dplyr
  • Jupyter
  • Marimo
  • Claude
  • Cloudflare
  • ODBC
  • HTTP
  • Excel
  • Vortex
  • +6 more
Independently observed

Presto

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

DuckDB or Presto: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.