# M3DB vs TimescaleDB

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** TimescaleDB

| Attribute | M3DB | TimescaleDB |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 50.5 (51% (medium)) | 56.8 (62% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 50 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 10 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 4,905 | 23,634 |
| 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":"Built on PostgreSQL, this time-series database is optimized for ingesting high-volume sensor and operational data quickly, storing years of historical data cost-effectively, and querying both current and historical data together using standard SQL. It is indexed under Time-Series Databases.","source":"https://www.tigerdata.com/learn/understanding-rds-pricing-and-costs","question":"What is TimescaleDB?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"TimescaleDB does not publish its prices. Pricing is quoted on request, across 2 plans (Cloud Basic Support and Cloud Production Support), so the figure depends on your seat count and requirements. We record this as a pricing-transparency signal rather than guessing a number. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.tigerdata.com/learn/understanding-rds-pricing-and-costs","question":"How much does TimescaleDB cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"TimescaleDB supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.tigerdata.com/learn/understanding-rds-pricing-and-costs","question":"What platforms does TimescaleDB support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for TimescaleDB, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.tigerdata.com/learn/understanding-rds-pricing-and-costs","question":"Can TimescaleDB be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 9 integrations for TimescaleDB, including Kafka, S3, Iceberg, AWS, Azure, Observability tools, Postgres ecosystem and Tableau, plus 1 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.tigerdata.com/learn/understanding-rds-pricing-and-costs","question":"What does TimescaleDB integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for TimescaleDB. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as TimescaleDB not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.tigerdata.com/security","question":"What security certifications does TimescaleDB have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"TimescaleDB is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.tigerdata.com/learn/understanding-rds-pricing-and-costs","question":"Where is TimescaleDB available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":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 PostgreSQL-based time-series database optimized to efficiently ingest and store massive volumes of continuously-generated sensor and machine data, with automatic data partitioning, columnar storage compression, and tiered storage for cost-effective long-term retention. |
| 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":"metrics","deployment":"embedded","compression":"Row-columnar with compression","downsampling":"continuous_aggregates","ingest_model":"both","licence_class":"permissive_oss","retention_ttl":"automatic","query_language":"SQL","replication_ha":true,"high_cardinality":"strong","sql_compatibility":"full_sql"}` |
| integrations.count | 4 | 3 |
| 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":"Kafka"},{"name":"S3"},{"name":"Iceberg"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Observability tools"},{"name":"Postgres ecosystem"},{"name":"Tableau","native":false,"category":"analytics"},{"name":"Power BI","native":false,"category":"analytics"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | C |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://m3db.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:30:20.373Z"}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Performance","summary":"$30/month minimum compute; $0.177/GB-month storage","features":["4 database services","Up to 16 TB disk storage per service","Single-node high-availability replicas","Performance Insights","Basic support (business hours)"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":30,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gb"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.177,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Scale","summary":"$36/month minimum compute; $0.212/GB-month storage","features":["Unlimited tiered storage","Multi-node high-availability replicas","Integrations with observability tools","SAML single-sign-on","HIPAA compliance"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":36,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gb"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.212,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false}],"summary":"From $30/month minimum compute. Storage from $0.177–$0.212/GB-month. 30-day free trial.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.tigerdata.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-02T16:22:02.553Z","freeTrialDays":30,"startingPrice":{"amount":30,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":30,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 12 | 12 |
| 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/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.30.2","date":"2026-09-29T15:20:31Z","type":"stable","version":"2.30.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.30.1","date":"2026-09-17T09:21:45Z","type":"stable","version":"2.30.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.30.0","date":"2026-09-08T10:54:46Z","type":"stable","version":"2.30.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.29.2","date":"2026-08-18T08:48:11Z","type":"stable","version":"2.29.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.29.1","date":"2026-08-04T08:54:38Z","type":"stable","version":"2.29.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.29.0","date":"2026-07-28T11:49:24Z","type":"stable","version":"2.29.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.28.3","date":"2026-07-16T12:54:32Z","type":"stable","version":"2.28.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.28.2","date":"2026-06-30T11:35:40Z","type":"stable","version":"2.28.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.28.1","date":"2026-06-23T08:29:24Z","type":"stable","version":"2.28.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.28.0","date":"2026-06-16T10:20:10Z","type":"stable","version":"2.28.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.27.2","date":"2026-06-02T10:28:34Z","type":"stable","version":"2.27.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.27.1","date":"2026-05-19T10:37:36Z","type":"stable","version":"2.27.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.27.0","date":"2026-05-12T08:35:57Z","type":"stable","version":"2.27.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.26.4","date":"2026-04-28T20:37:35Z","type":"stable","version":"2.26.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.26.3","date":"2026-04-14T09:24:02Z","type":"stable","version":"2.26.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.26.2","date":"2026-04-08T10:37:56Z","type":"stable","version":"2.26.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.26.1","date":"2026-03-30T08:23:08Z","type":"stable","version":"2.26.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.26.0","date":"2026-03-24T12:44:25Z","type":"stable","version":"2.26.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.25.2","date":"2026-03-03T09:28:51Z","type":"stable","version":"2.25.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/releases/tag/2.25.1","date":"2026-02-17T11:43:20Z","type":"stable","version":"2.25.1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 3.4 | 4.6 |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | - | https://www.tigerdata.com/security |
| 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=alpine&package_name=postgresql-timescaledb&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Time-Series Databases)

| Capability | M3DB | TimescaleDB |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Query** |  |  |
| Query language (SQL / PromQL / InfluxQL-Flux / Graphite) | PromQL, Graphite | SQL |
| SQL compatibility | Non-SQL | Full SQL |
| **Ingest** |  |  |
| Ingest model | Push | Both |
| **Model** |  |  |
| Data model | Metrics (labels/tags) | Metrics (labels/tags) |
| **Lifecycle** |  |  |
| Downsampling / rollups | Retention policies | Continuous aggregates |
| Retention / TTL | Automatic | Automatic |
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Compression (columnar / delta / Gorilla) | columnar | Row-columnar with compression |
| **Performance** |  |  |
| High-cardinality handling | Strong | Strong |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Clustering / horizontal scale | Distributed / sharded | Distributed / sharded |
| Replication / HA | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Self-hosted | Embedded |
| **Interop** |  |  |
| Prometheus remote-write compatible | ✓ | - |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Permissive OSS | Permissive OSS |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:29:03.247Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*