Alternatives to ClickHouse
Columnar OLAP database widely used as a backend for logs, traces and metrics. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
ClickHouse
Columnar OLAP database widely used as a backend for logs, traces and metrics.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as ClickHouse.
GreptimeDB
Store observability data in a database queried through SQL and PromQL.
GreptimeDB stores observability data queried through both SQL and PromQL and supports object-storage-oriented deployments, under Apache-2.0 with a freemium model.
QuestDB
Query time-series data with a database focused on SQL and high-rate ingestion.
QuestDB focuses on time-series data with time-oriented SQL and high-rate ingestion, while managed and enterprise capabilities come under separate terms.
TimescaleDB
PostgreSQL extension that turns Postgres into a scalable time-series database.
TimescaleDB is a PostgreSQL extension, so teams keep Postgres tooling, though its gains apply mainly to time-series workloads and clustering sits behind the paid offering.
DuckDB
In-process analytical database that queries CSV, JSON and Parquet directly.
DuckDB is an in-process analytical database that queries CSV and Parquet files directly, but it is single-process and not a shared multi-user server.
Also worth comparing
These listings name ClickHouse as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Quickwit
Search logs and other large datasets using an engine built around object storage.
ClickHouse stores logs in a columnar OLAP database widely used for observability, but it needs extra tooling or schema design for that use.
VictoriaMetrics
Store and query monitoring metrics in a time-series database.
ClickHouse is a columnar OLAP database used as an observability backend, but it needs extra tooling or schema design to serve metrics well.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
OpenSearch
Index and search data with an open-source search and analytics engine.
Elastic Stack
Elasticsearch, Logstash, Beats and Kibana combined for collecting, searching and visualizing logs and other data.
InfluxDB
Store time-stamped measurements for monitoring and real-time applications.
Grafana Mimir
Store Prometheus-compatible metrics over long periods at distributed scale.
