# KairosDB vs M3DB

**Leader by Vioscale score:** M3DB

| Attribute | KairosDB | M3DB |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 25.3 (56% (medium)) | 36.3 (51% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 0 | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 32 | 10 |
| adoption.github_stars | 1,762 | 4,895 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 9 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Open-source time series database that leverages Cassandra for storage, providing REST and Graphite protocol support for data ingestion and retrieval, with built-in aggregation functions and extensible architecture via plugins. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"clustering":"distributed","data_model":"metrics","deployment":"self_hosted","downsampling":"continuous_aggregates","ingest_model":"push","licence_class":"source_available","retention_ttl":"manual","query_language":"REST API, Graphite protocol","replication_ha":true,"high_cardinality":"strong","sql_compatibility":"non_sql"}` | `{"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}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | 4 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Cassandra"},{"name":"Graphite"},{"name":"Telnet"}]` | `[{"name":"Prometheus"},{"name":"Graphite"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker"}]` |
| language.primary | Java | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://kairosdb.github.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:03:34.808Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://m3db.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:30:20.373Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 92 | 11 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.3.0","date":"2021-08-09T04:31:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.2.2","date":"2018-11-10T04:04:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.3.0-beta1","date":"2018-04-14T04:43:02Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.3.0-beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.2.1","date":"2018-03-31T19:07:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.2.0","date":"2018-02-01T14:54:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.1.3","date":"2017-01-04T00:24:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.1.2","date":"2016-09-08T04:29:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.1.1","date":"2015-12-08T03:09:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.1.0","date":"2015-11-05T23:22:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v1.0.0","date":"2015-06-05T05:08:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v0.9.5beta2","date":"2015-04-03T13:25:15Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.9.5beta2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v0.9.5beta1","date":"2015-01-26T20:29:20Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.9.5beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v0.9.4","date":"2014-07-07T21:30:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.9.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v0.9.3","date":"2014-06-18T16:10:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.9.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/kairosdb/kairosdb/releases/tag/v0.9.2","date":"2014-06-18T16:51:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.9.2"}]` | `[{"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/m3db/m3/releases/tag/v0.15.15","date":"2020-09-21T02:01:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.15"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":1,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.kairosdb%3Akairosdb&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"MODERATE"}` | `{"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}` |

## Capabilities (Time-Series Databases)

| Capability | KairosDB | M3DB |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Query** |  |  |
| Query language (SQL / PromQL / InfluxQL-Flux / Graphite) | REST API, Graphite protocol | PromQL, Graphite |
| SQL compatibility | Non-SQL | Non-SQL |
| **Ingest** |  |  |
| Ingest model | Push | Push |
| **Model** |  |  |
| Data model | Metrics (labels/tags) | Metrics (labels/tags) |
| **Lifecycle** |  |  |
| Downsampling / rollups | Continuous aggregates | Retention policies |
| Retention / TTL | Manual | Automatic |
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Compression (columnar / delta / Gorilla) | - | columnar |
| **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 | Source-available | Permissive OSS |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:17:29.697Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*