What is the top free pick among analytics and time-series databases?

ClickHouse leads the Stack Gems list for analytics and time-series databases. Verdict: The analytics database when Postgres is too slow.

How many analytics and time-series databases does Stack Gems review?

7: 7 free or open source. Each review has a verdict and an honest Catch; no tool pays for its spot.

Which analytics and time-series databases can I self-host for free?

ClickHouse, DuckDB, DuckLake, QuestDB, Trino, Databend and StarRocks.

Which analytics and time-series databases have the most GitHub stars?

ClickHouse (50.5k), DuckDB (42.3k), QuestDB (17.4k), per GitHub on 2026-10-19. Stars measure attention, not fit; read the Catch.

What is the catch with ClickHouse?

Not a general-purpose database—updates and deletes are expensive.

Best of · Databases

Best analytics and time-series databases (2026)

Stack Gems reviews 7 analytics and time-series databases: 7 free or open source. These are the top 7, each with its verdict and the Catch we would want to know before installing it.

Order: free and open source first, then hosted products with a real free tier, then paid-led; catalog order inside each group, with quiet or archived repos last. Not a score, and no tool pays for its place.

7 reviewed · 7 shown in full

1.ClickHouseColumn-oriented database for analytics
Free / OSS · Apache-2.0 · 50.5k GitHub stars
VerdictThe analytics database when Postgres is too slow.
CatchNot a general-purpose database—updates and deletes are expensive. Operational complexity for self-hosting. The learning curve for optimal schema design is steep.
2.DuckDBIn-process OLAP database
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 42.3k GitHub stars
VerdictLocal analytics that just works.
CatchNot for OLTP workloads—it is analytics-focused. Single-node limits apply. Less ecosystem than traditional databases.
3.DuckLakeMIT lakehouse table format on SQL + Parquet — a DuckDB extension
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 3.3k GitHub stars
VerdictMIT SQL-catalog lakehouse format when DuckDB is your engine and Iceberg’s catalog stack feels heavy — confirm multi-engine support first.
CatchNeeds a separate catalog database you run and back up (DuckDB file for one writer, Postgres/MySQL for multi-client). Engines outside DuckDB support it far less widely than Iceberg or Delta Lake — check your Spark/Trino/warehouse story before committing. Younger format with a shorter production track record. Vs the duckdb gem: DuckDB is the engine; DuckLake is the table format and catalog layer on top.
4.QuestDBApache-2.0 low-latency time-series database with SQL
Free / OSS · Apache-2.0 · 17.4k GitHub stars
VerdictOne of the fastest open time-series databases — great for market data and telemetry.
CatchBenchmarks are the vendor's own. Automatic tiering of cold partitions to object storage, replication and other features are in QuestDB Enterprise; in open source you convert partitions to Parquet yourself. It is built for append-heavy time-series, not general OLTP with frequent updates.
5.TrinoApache-2.0 distributed SQL query engine for data lakes
Free / OSS · Apache-2.0 · 13.3k GitHub stars
VerdictThe standard open engine for SQL over a lakehouse — bring your own storage and catalog.
CatchIt is a query engine, not storage: you still need a catalog and files or databases underneath. Running a coordinator plus workers on the JVM needs memory tuning, and building from source requires Java 25 and Docker. Starburst sells the commercial distribution; plain Trino is fully open.
6.DatabendApache-2.0 Rust cloud data warehouse on object storage
Free / OSS · Apache-2.0 · 9.5k GitHub stars
VerdictA Snowflake-style warehouse you can run yourself — compare with ClickHouse before choosing.
CatchThe README now positions it as an enterprise warehouse for AI agents, and the recommended start is Databend Cloud (free to start, commercial beyond that); self-hosting a cluster is more work. Smaller ecosystem than ClickHouse or DuckDB. Releases are frequent nightly-style builds, so pin versions.
7.StarRocksApache-2.0 MPP SQL engine for lakehouse analytics
Free / OSS · Apache-2.0 · 12.2k GitHub stars
VerdictA strong choice for customer-facing dashboards on big data — benchmark it on your own queries.
CatchPerformance claims (3x faster on average) are the project's own. A cluster is frontend and backend nodes to size and operate. It is an analytics engine, not a transactional database. CelerData sells the commercial version.

FAQ

What is the top free pick among analytics and time-series databases?: ClickHouse leads the Stack Gems list for analytics and time-series databases. Verdict: The analytics database when Postgres is too slow.
How many analytics and time-series databases does Stack Gems review?: 7: 7 free or open source. Each review has a verdict and an honest Catch; no tool pays for its spot.
Which analytics and time-series databases can I self-host for free?: ClickHouse, DuckDB, DuckLake, QuestDB, Trino, Databend and StarRocks.
Which analytics and time-series databases have the most GitHub stars?: ClickHouse (50.5k), DuckDB (42.3k), QuestDB (17.4k), per GitHub on 2026-10-19. Stars measure attention, not fit; read the Catch.
What is the catch with ClickHouse?: Not a general-purpose database—updates and deletes are expensive.

Alternatives

Tags in this list

Self-host

Related lists

JSON: /api/gems?subcategory=analytics-and-time-series · MCP: best_for on /api/mcp