ClickHouse Cloud vs Firebolt

ClickHouse Cloud9.0Visit Firebolt8.4Visit

Higher score ClickHouse Cloud #3 in Columnar Databases 9.0/10 From $50/mo · 30-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 3 features Try ClickHouse Cloud

vs

Firebolt #8 in Columnar Databases 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Firebolt

• ClickHouse Cloud fits best

  Managed high-performance columnar analytics

• Firebolt fits best

  Lakehouse analytics with streaming and AI

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Side by side

Feature	ClickHouse Cloud 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Firebolt 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.4
Ranking	#3 in Columnar Databases	#8 in Columnar Databases
Best for	Managed high-performance columnar analytics	Lakehouse analytics with streaming and AI
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$50/mo	$0.92/unit usage-based
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	30 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux
Integrations	12 integrations	11 integrations
Features ClickHouse Cloud 0/3 · Firebolt 0/3
Managed service	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Object storage support	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Streaming ingestion	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment model	Not checked yet	Hybrid
Supported data formats	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Included storage	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Separated compute and storage with vertical and horizontal scaling Replication, backups, and guided restore workflows are managed Integrates with Kafka, S3, PostgreSQL, Grafana, dbt, and BI tools	Queries Apache Iceberg and other data-lake files directly Exactly-once Kafka ingestion supports streaming workloads Vector search and SQL-based AI functions support AI applications
Cons	Starts at $50 per month and uses usage-based pricing No perpetual free plan Point-in-time recovery details are limited for ClickHouse Cloud	Managed pricing is usage-based rather than a flat monthly tier The displayed $0.92/hour compute rate excludes storage Self-hosted deployment requires managing the deployment environment
Our verdict	ClickHouse Cloud is a fully managed, cloud-hosted version of ClickHouse, a SQL-based column-oriented database for real-time analytics, observability, data warehousing, and AI-related workloads. It is aimed at teams that need analytical… Read the review →	Firebolt is an open-source analytical database for engineers building real-time analytics, AI applications, and ELT workflows. It supports PostgreSQL-compatible SQL and can run as a single binary on a laptop or as a distributed cloud… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• ClickHouse Cloud — where it wins

  • Separated compute and storage with vertical and horizontal scaling
  • Replication, backups, and guided restore workflows are managed
  • Integrates with Kafka, S3, PostgreSQL, Grafana, dbt, and BI tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Starts at $50 per month and uses usage-based pricing
  • No perpetual free plan
  • Point-in-time recovery details are limited for ClickHouse Cloud

• Firebolt — where it wins

  • Queries Apache Iceberg and other data-lake files directly
  • Exactly-once Kafka ingestion supports streaming workloads
  • Vector search and SQL-based AI functions support AI applications

  Where it doesn't

  • Managed pricing is usage-based rather than a flat monthly tier
  • The displayed $0.92/hour compute rate excludes storage
  • Self-hosted deployment requires managing the deployment environment

• ClickHouse Cloud9.0/10 · From $50/mo · 30-day trial

  A managed ClickHouse service for elastic, high-performance analytical workloads.

  Try ClickHouse CloudFull verdict →
• Firebolt8.4/10 · Free plan

  A flexible columnar database for teams combining lakehouse analytics, streaming, and AI.

  Visit FireboltFull verdict →