Comparison

M3DB vs QuestDB

On the evidence we track, QuestDB leads this comparison with a composite score of 50/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
M3DB36
QuestDB50
Score
Vioscale score
M3DB36 / 100medium · 51%updating
QuestDB50 / 100medium · 65%updating
Pricing
Free tier
M3DB
QuestDB
Model
Price level
M3DBfree
QuestDBlow
Transparent
M3DB
QuestDB
Integrations
Count
M3DB4
QuestDB10
Reliability
Sla pct
M3DB
QuestDB99.9
Adoption
Dependent repos
M3DB10
QuestDB106
Github stars
M3DB4,895
QuestDB17,279
Activity
Commits last 30d
M3DB0
QuestDB64
Release
Cadence days
M3DB11
QuestDB16
History
QuestDB20 items
License
Spdx
Language
Primary
M3DBGo
QuestDBJava

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for time-series databases. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Query
Query language (SQL / PromQL / InfluxQL-Flux / Graphite)
M3DBPromQL, Graphite
QuestDBSQL with time-series extensions (SAMPLE BY, ASOF, HORIZON JOIN, N-dimensional ar
SQL compatibility
M3DBNon-SQL
QuestDBFull SQL
Ingest
Ingest model
M3DBPush
QuestDBPush
Model
Data model
M3DBMetrics (labels/tags)
QuestDBWide events
Lifecycle
Downsampling / rollups
M3DBRetention policies
QuestDBContinuous aggregates
Retention / TTL
M3DBAutomatic
QuestDB-
Storage
Compression (columnar / delta / Gorilla)
M3DBcolumnar
QuestDBcolumnar with frame compression
Performance
High-cardinality handling
M3DBStrong
QuestDBStrong
Scale
Clustering / horizontal scale
M3DBDistributed / sharded
QuestDBDistributed / sharded
Replication / HA
M3DB
QuestDB
Deployment
Deployment
M3DBSelf-hosted
QuestDBSelf-hosted
Interop
Prometheus remote-write compatible
M3DB
QuestDB-
Licensing
Licence class
M3DBPermissive OSS
QuestDBPermissive OSS

What each one is

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

M3DB

M3 is a metrics platform consisting of a distributed time-series database, query engine, and ingestion system designed to handle massive metric volumes efficiently. It provides Prometheus and Graphite compatibility while optimizing for performance and cost efficiency through purpose-built storage and querying components.

Independently observed

QuestDB

Leader

QuestDB is an open-source time-series database engineered for low latency, delivering ultra-low latency ingestion, high throughput, and multi-tier storage for demanding time-series workloads.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

M3DB

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

QuestDB

Leader
HybridFree tier

Open-source Apache 2.0 free tier; QuestDB Cloud and Enterprise plans available via contact/quote

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
M3DB
QuestDB
CLI
M3DB
QuestDB
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
M3DB
QuestDB
Self-hosted
M3DB
QuestDB

Integrations

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

M3DB

4 total
  • Prometheus
  • Graphite
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
Independently observed

QuestDB

Leader
10 total
  • PostgreSQL
  • Parquet
  • Arrow
  • Polars
  • Pandas
  • Debezium
  • Iceberg
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • Cassandra
Independently observed

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