# M3DB vs QuestDB

| Attribute | M3DB | QuestDB |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 50.5 (51% (medium)) | 49.9 (70% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 50 | 38 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 10 | 106 |
| adoption.github_stars | 4,905 | 17,444 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"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. It is indexed under Time-Series Databases.","source":"https://m3db.io","question":"What is M3DB?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"M3DB is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://m3db.io","question":"Is M3DB free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"M3DB supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://m3db.io","question":"What platforms does M3DB support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. M3DB can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://m3db.io","question":"Can M3DB be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 4 integrations for M3DB, including Prometheus, Graphite, Kubernetes and Docker. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://m3db.io","question":"What does M3DB integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. M3DB is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/m3db/m3","question":"Is M3DB open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"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. It is indexed under Time-Series Databases.","source":"https://questdb.io","question":"What is QuestDB?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"QuestDB offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://questdb.com/glossary/black-scholes-model-for-option-pricing/","question":"Is QuestDB free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"QuestDB supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://questdb.com/glossary/black-scholes-model-for-option-pricing/","question":"What platforms does QuestDB support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. QuestDB can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://questdb.com/glossary/black-scholes-model-for-option-pricing/","question":"Can QuestDB be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 10 integrations for QuestDB, including PostgreSQL, Parquet, Arrow, Polars, Pandas, Debezium, Iceberg and MySQL, plus 2 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://questdb.com/glossary/black-scholes-model-for-option-pricing/","question":"What does QuestDB integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for QuestDB. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as QuestDB not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://questdb.io","question":"What security certifications does QuestDB have?","confidence":0.48},{"answer":"Yes. QuestDB is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb","question":"Is QuestDB open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"QuestDB is available worldwide. Its primary markets are the United Kingdom and the United States. The vendor is headquartered in the United Kingdom.","source":"https://questdb.com/glossary/black-scholes-model-for-option-pricing/","question":"Where is QuestDB available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | M3 is a distributed time series database built for storing and querying high-volume metrics with multiple query languages. It can be deployed as a single node or multi-node cluster using Docker, Kubernetes, or binaries. | A specialized database engineered to ingest high-volume time-series data at speed, execute queries with minimal latency, and maintain queryable history across tiered storage layers—combining standard SQL with open file formats for portability. |
| features.capabilities | `{"clustering":"distributed","data_model":"metrics","deployment":"self_hosted","compression":"columnar","downsampling":"retention_policies","ingest_model":"push","licence_class":"permissive_oss","retention_ttl":"automatic","query_language":"PromQL, Graphite","replication_ha":true,"high_cardinality":"strong","sql_compatibility":"non_sql","prometheus_remote_write":true}` | `{"clustering":"distributed","data_model":"events","deployment":"self_hosted","compression":"columnar with frame compression","downsampling":"continuous_aggregates","ingest_model":"push","licence_class":"permissive_oss","retention_ttl":"automatic","query_language":"SQL with time-series extensions (SAMPLE BY, ASOF, HORIZON JOIN, N-dimensional ar","replication_ha":true,"high_cardinality":"strong","sql_compatibility":"full_sql"}` |
| integrations.count | 4 | 7 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Prometheus"},{"name":"Graphite"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"InfluxDB","native":true,"category":"metrics","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"etcd","native":true,"direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"PostgreSQL"},{"name":"Parquet"},{"name":"Arrow"},{"name":"Polars"},{"name":"Pandas"},{"name":"Debezium"},{"name":"Iceberg"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"MongoDB"},{"name":"Cassandra"},{"name":"Kafka","native":true,"direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Apache Parquet","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Apache Arrow","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Claude Code","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"REST API","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Apache Iceberg","native":true},{"name":"Databricks","category":"data_platform"},{"name":"AWS","category":"cloud"},{"name":"Azure","category":"cloud"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Java |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"GB","primaryMarkets":["GB","US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://m3db.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:30:20.373Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","summary":"Open-source Apache 2.0 free tier; QuestDB Cloud and Enterprise plans available via contact/quote","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://questdb.com/glossary/black-scholes-model-for-option-pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:37:07.614Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 12 | 16 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.6.0","date":"2026-09-25T21:06:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.5.0","date":"2022-04-07T21:38:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.4.2","date":"2022-01-19T19:13:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.4.1","date":"2021-11-20T18:35:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.4.0","date":"2021-11-19T23:14:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.3.0","date":"2021-10-10T12:38:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.2.0","date":"2021-09-18T16:49:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.1.0","date":"2021-02-03T16:58:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.0.0-rc.2","date":"2020-11-19T10:32:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.0.0","date":"2020-11-16T16:36:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.0.0-rc.1","date":"2020-11-19T10:29:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v1.0.0-rc.0","date":"2020-11-09T22:23:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.17-hotfix.5","date":"2020-12-11T20:04:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.17-hotfix.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.17-hotfix.4","date":"2020-12-07T08:08:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.17-hotfix.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.17-hotfix.2","date":"2020-10-28T19:59:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.17-hotfix.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.17-hotfix.1","date":"2020-10-28T19:40:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.17-hotfix.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.17-hotfix.3","date":"2020-11-17T23:03:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.17-hotfix.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.17-hotfix.0","date":"2020-10-23T19:02:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.17-hotfix.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.17","date":"2020-10-08T14:27:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.16","date":"2020-10-02T06:41:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.16"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/10.0.1","date":"2026-08-24T13:55:02Z","type":"stable","version":"10.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/10.0.0","date":"2026-08-06T15:36:51Z","type":"stable","version":"10.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.4.3","date":"2026-06-15T17:01:58Z","type":"stable","version":"9.4.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.4.2","date":"2026-06-09T13:30:03Z","type":"stable","version":"9.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.4.1","date":"2026-06-03T08:03:25Z","type":"stable","version":"9.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.4.0","date":"2026-05-18T12:56:56Z","type":"stable","version":"9.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.3.5","date":"2026-04-13T17:21:09Z","type":"stable","version":"9.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.3.4","date":"2026-03-26T16:16:42Z","type":"stable","version":"9.3.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.3.3","date":"2026-02-25T14:23:44Z","type":"stable","version":"9.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.3.2","date":"2026-01-28T15:23:29Z","type":"stable","version":"9.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.3.1","date":"2026-01-14T16:41:31Z","type":"stable","version":"9.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.3.0","date":"2026-01-09T13:08:40Z","type":"stable","version":"9.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.2.3","date":"2025-12-18T12:13:27Z","type":"stable","version":"9.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.2.2","date":"2025-12-01T12:48:30Z","type":"stable","version":"9.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.2.1","date":"2025-11-25T14:38:23Z","type":"stable","version":"9.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.2.0","date":"2025-11-13T16:13:27Z","type":"stable","version":"9.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.1.1","date":"2025-11-03T15:25:09Z","type":"stable","version":"9.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.1.0","date":"2025-10-03T13:54:02Z","type":"stable","version":"9.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.0.3","date":"2025-08-29T18:32:12Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/questdb/questdb/releases/tag/9.0.2","date":"2025-08-15T16:34:55Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.2"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.9 |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 3.4 | 4.4 |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fm3db%2Fm3&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.questdb%3Aquestdb&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Time-Series Databases)

| Capability | M3DB | QuestDB |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Query** |  |  |
| Query language (SQL / PromQL / InfluxQL-Flux / Graphite) | PromQL, Graphite | SQL with time-series extensions (SAMPLE BY, ASOF, HORIZON JOIN, N-dimensional ar |
| SQL compatibility | Non-SQL | Full SQL |
| **Ingest** |  |  |
| Ingest model | Push | Push |
| **Model** |  |  |
| Data model | Metrics (labels/tags) | Wide events |
| **Lifecycle** |  |  |
| Downsampling / rollups | Retention policies | Continuous aggregates |
| Retention / TTL | Automatic | Automatic |
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Compression (columnar / delta / Gorilla) | columnar | columnar with frame compression |
| **Performance** |  |  |
| High-cardinality handling | Strong | Strong |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Clustering / horizontal scale | Distributed / sharded | Distributed / sharded |
| Replication / HA | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Self-hosted | Self-hosted |
| **Interop** |  |  |
| Prometheus remote-write compatible | ✓ | - |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Permissive OSS | Permissive OSS |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:08:26.026Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*