VictoriaMetrics vs QuestDB

VictoriaMetrics8.5Visit QuestDB8.4Visit

Higher score VictoriaMetrics #8 in Time-Series Databases 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Try VictoriaMetrics

vs

QuestDB #9 in Time-Series Databases 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit QuestDB

• VictoriaMetrics fits best

  Prometheus-compatible metrics at scale

• QuestDB fits best

  Open-source SQL time-series deployments

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Side by side

Feature	VictoriaMetrics 8.5/10 Visit ↗	QuestDB 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.5	8.4
Ranking	#8 in Time-Series Databases	#9 in Time-Series Databases
Best for	Prometheus-compatible metrics at scale	Open-source SQL time-series deployments
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted, Browser extension
Platforms	Web, Windows, Linux	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Email, Community, Docs
Compliance	ISO 27001	SOC 2, SSO/SAML
Integrations	15 integrations	11 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features VictoriaMetrics 2/3 · QuestDB 3/3
SQL support	—	✓ (best)
Retention policies	✓	✓
Horizontal scaling	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment	Both	Both
Query languages	MetricsQL, PromQL	QuestDB SQL, PostgreSQL wire protocol, REST API, Apache Parquet
Ingestion methods	Prometheus scraping, Prometheus remote write, Prometheus exposition, InfluxDB line protocol, Graphite plaintext, OpenTSDB, JSON line, CSV, native binary, DataDog, NewRelic, OpenTelemetry, Zabbix Connector	QuestDB Wire Protocol, InfluxDB Line Protocol, REST API, native client libraries, SQL INSERT, Kafka connector, CSV import
Our review
Pros	Free Apache 2.0 open-source edition with single-node and cluster versions PromQL-compatible querying, MetricsQL, and long-term Prometheus storage Horizontal scaling, replication, multi-tenancy, and configurable retention	Apache 2.0 core with self-managed deployment SQL extensions, retention policies, and materialized views Integrates with Kafka, Grafana, Spark, and Parquet
Cons	Cloud pricing starts at $200 per month Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales Metrics-focused design excludes SQL support	High availability and replication are Enterprise features Enterprise pricing is contact-based Self-managed deployment requires infrastructure ownership
Our verdict	VictoriaMetrics is an open-source time-series database and monitoring solution for teams collecting, storing, and querying high-cardinality metrics. It supports self-hosted single-node deployments, horizontally scalable clusters, and a… Read the review →	QuestDB is an open-source time-series database for financial market data, telemetry, and real-time analytics. It is aimed at teams that want SQL alongside time-series capabilities, with a column-oriented, time-partitioned storage engine… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• VictoriaMetrics — where it wins

  • Free Apache 2.0 open-source edition with single-node and cluster versions
  • PromQL-compatible querying, MetricsQL, and long-term Prometheus storage
  • Horizontal scaling, replication, multi-tenancy, and configurable retention

  Where it doesn't

  • Cloud pricing starts at $200 per month
  • Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
  • Metrics-focused design excludes SQL support

• QuestDB — where it wins

  • Apache 2.0 core with self-managed deployment
  • SQL extensions, retention policies, and materialized views
  • Integrates with Kafka, Grafana, Spark, and Parquet

  Where it doesn't

  • High availability and replication are Enterprise features
  • Enterprise pricing is contact-based
  • Self-managed deployment requires infrastructure ownership

• VictoriaMetrics8.5/10 · Free plan

  A strong Prometheus-compatible metrics store, but not a SQL-oriented database.

  Try VictoriaMetricsFull verdict →
• QuestDB8.4/10 · Free plan

  A strong fit for teams wanting SQL, flexible ingestion, and self-managed time-series infrastructure.

  Visit QuestDBFull verdict →