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Head-to-head · Columnar Databases

StarRocks vs Exasol

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 1 check side by side
Higher score StarRocks #5 in Columnar Databases 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit StarRocks
Exasol #6 in Columnar Databases 8.6/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Exasol

StarRocks leads on 0 checks, Exasol on 0, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 1 yes/no, price and count check where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreStarRocks · 8.8/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly Exasol

StarRocks scores higher on our rubric for columnar databases: 8.8 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #6.

StarRocks is the better fit for open-source lakehouse SQL analytics. Exasol is the better fit for managed and self-hosted enterprise warehousing.

  • StarRocks fits best

    Open-source lakehouse SQL analytics

  • Exasol fits best

    Managed and self-hosted enterprise warehousing

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature StarRocks 8.8/10 Visit ↗ Exasol 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.6
Ranking #5 in Columnar Databases #6 in Columnar Databases
Best for Open-source lakehouse SQL analytics Managed and self-hosted enterprise warehousing
Pricing model Free Free plan + paid
Starting price Free plan $25/GB/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — 30 days
Deployment Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms Linux Web, macOS, Linux
Support Community, Docs Email, Phone, Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7
Integrations 20 integrations 14 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features StarRocks 0/3 · Exasol 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
  • Vectorized MPP execution with cost-based query optimization
  • Real-time upserts, deletes, and streaming or batch loading
  • Queries data lakes through external catalogs without migration
  • In-memory MPP processing supports high-concurrency analytical queries
  • Separate storage and compute with S3 and Azure Data Lake querying
  • Native Python, R, and Java machine-learning model execution
Cons
  • Self-hosted deployment places infrastructure work on your team
  • Primarily designed for analytical rather than general transactional workloads
  • Managed SaaS users may prefer a hosted database alternative
  • Storage costs are billed separately at $25 per TB per month
  • Advanced capacity tiers can reach $158.40 per hour
  • The platform is proprietary rather than open source
Our verdict

StarRocks is an open-source massively parallel processing database for OLAP, real-time analytics, high-concurrency workloads, ad-hoc queries, and unified analytics. It is aimed at engineering and data teams building analytical warehouses,…

Read the review →

Exasol is an in-memory, massively parallel analytics database for data warehousing, business intelligence, lakehouse acceleration, and AI/ML workloads. It is aimed at data teams, developers, and enterprises that need high-concurrency SQL…

Read the review →
  1. StarRocksColumnar Databases 8.8Free plan
  2. ExasolColumnar Databases 8.6Free plan · 30-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • StarRocks — where it wins

    • Vectorized MPP execution with cost-based query optimization
    • Real-time upserts, deletes, and streaming or batch loading
    • Queries data lakes through external catalogs without migration

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment places infrastructure work on your team
    • Primarily designed for analytical rather than general transactional workloads
    • Managed SaaS users may prefer a hosted database alternative

  • Exasol — where it wins

    • In-memory MPP processing supports high-concurrency analytical queries
    • Separate storage and compute with S3 and Azure Data Lake querying
    • Native Python, R, and Java machine-learning model execution

    Where it doesn't

    • Storage costs are billed separately at $25 per TB per month
    • Advanced capacity tiers can reach $158.40 per hour
    • The platform is proprietary rather than open source
  • StarRocks8.8/10 · Free plan

    A strong fit for teams building self-hosted, open-source lakehouse analytics.

    Visit StarRocksFull verdict →
  • Exasol8.6/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

    A flexible columnar warehouse for demanding analytics, lakehouse, and machine-learning workloads.

    Visit ExasolFull verdict →

More comparisons

All columnar databases comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update