KairosDB review
A Cassandra-backed metric store for teams that can manage self-hosted infrastructure.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
KairosDB is an open-source time-series database for storing and querying timestamped metrics. Written in Java, it is designed as a distributed, horizontally scalable system built on Cassandra. Teams can self-host it and use REST or Telnet interfaces for metric ingestion and queries. Graphite plaintext and pickle protocols are also supported through a plugin. Its audience is infrastructure, observability, and platform teams that want distributed metric storage under their own operational control.
The deployment model is central to the product choice. KairosDB can be configured with H2 for development or Cassandra for persistent storage, and Kubernetes tooling is available for deployment. Cassandra read clusters and a write cluster support distributed read and write arrangements. This makes KairosDB a fit for organizations already operating Cassandra or willing to build around it. Teams seeking a hosted service or a simpler managed setup should consider a different product category.
KairosDB covers the core lifecycle of metric data with aggregation, grouping, filtering, downsampling, and scheduled roll-ups into aggregated metrics. It also provides a metadata key-value API plus command-line import and export tools. REST, Telnet, and Graphite ingestion broaden its ecosystem fit, while the Graphite protocols depend on a plugin. The result is a focused option for Cassandra-backed metric storage rather than a broad, turnkey monitoring platform. Choose it when open-source control, distributed storage, and Cassandra alignment matter most; look elsewhere when managed operations or a wider platform scope are priorities.
KairosDB pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Distributed storage with Cassandra read and write clusters
- REST, Telnet, and Graphite ingestion options
- Aggregation, downsampling, roll-ups, and metadata APIs
- Where it doesn't
- Deployment is self-hosted rather than hosted
- Persistent storage is centered on Cassandra
- Graphite protocol support requires a plugin
KairosDB fact sheet, pricing and score →
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