Kinetica
by Kinetica
What Kinetica is
Kinetica is a distributed database for real-time analytics. It combines SQL, vector, graph, time-series, and spatial workloads in one engine. Its columnar, memory-first, vectorized design distributes processing across GPUs and CPUs. Kafka and change-data-capture records can be queried as they arrive, while streaming materialized views update with incoming records. Embeddings can become searchable as they land, and vector search can use structured filters, joins, and time windows in one SQL statement. Supported embedding providers include OpenAI, NVIDIA NIM, and locally hosted models with compatible inference endpoints. Security controls include role-based permissions, table and schema access, and row or column masking and obfuscation. Enterprise Edition adds LDAP, Microsoft Active Directory, and Kerberos authentication, with self-managed deployment on selected hardware, on premises, AWS Marketplace, or Azure Marketplace. Developer Edition runs in Docker with at least 8GB RAM allocated. Kinetica Cloud's free account includes 10GB storage, shared compute, full database functionality, unlimited SQL and API access, and basic support.
Who it suits
Kinetica suits organizations handling real-time analytics, vector search, and mixed data workloads. The maker presents it for defense, finance, energy, telecommunications, logistics, and insurance.
What it does well
- Combines SQL, vector, graph, time-series, and spatial workloads
- Queries Kafka and CDC records as they arrive
- Supports GPU and CPU processing
- Offers row and column security controls
- Free cloud account includes up to 10GB storage
What to know first
- Developer Edition requires Docker and 8GB allocated RAM
- No free trial is listed
- Dedicated Cloud costs $1.80 a month
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated Cloud | Pay-as-you-go hourly pricing · Unlimited storage | $1.80 a month |
| Developer Edition | Free forever · single node · unlimited storage · basic support · no multi-user · no GPU acceleration options · no multi-node clusters · no external authentication or authorization · no full HA replication | Free |
| Enterprise Edition | Contact Us · on-premise or AWS and Azure Marketplace · custom sizes and configurations · standard or premium support · external authentication and authorization · full HA replication | On request |
As kinetica.com lists them, read 22 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Kinetica brings several analytical data types and real-time ingestion into one distributed engine. Its free cloud tier and broad deployment options provide a starting point, while enterprise controls target managed organizational use.
Facts from Kinetica's own pages
- Architecture
- Its database is distributed, columnar, memory-first, and vectorized, and it orchestrates work across GPUs and CPUs. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Cloud free limits
- The free Kinetica Cloud account includes up to 10GB storage, shared compute, full database functionality, unlimited SQL and API access, and basic support. · cloud.kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Company
- Kinetica's contact page lists its address as 8219 Leesburg Pike, Suite 650, Vienna, Virginia 22182. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Developer setup
- The local Developer Edition runs as a Docker container and requires Docker with at least 8GB of RAM allocated. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Enterprise authentication
- Enterprise Edition supports external authentication through LDAP, Microsoft Active Directory, or Kerberos. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Enterprise deployment
- Enterprise Edition is self-managed and can run on customer-selected hardware, on-premise, or through AWS and Azure Marketplace. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · kinetica.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- Vienna, Virginia, United States · kinetica.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Integrations
- Kinetica's vector search page says embedding providers include OpenAI, NVIDIA NIM, and locally hosted models with a compatible inference endpoint. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker presents Kinetica for defense and intelligence, financial services, energy and utilities, telecommunications, logistics and supply chain, and insurance use cases. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Product
- Kinetica describes itself as a distributed, hardware-accelerated database for real-time analytics, combining SQL, vector, graph, time-series, and spatial workloads in one engine. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Real-time data
- The maker says Kafka and CDC records can be queried as they arrive, while streaming materialized views update as records arrive. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Security
- Kinetica documents role-based permissions, granular access to tables and schemas, and row and column controls including masking and obfuscation. · docs.kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- Kinetica offers Basic, Standard, and Premium support tiers; Premium includes off-hours and weekend coverage, follow-the-sun case management, and monthly incident reporting. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Vector search
- Kinetica says new embeddings are searchable as they land and that vector search can run with structured filters, joins, and time windows in one SQL statement. · kinetica.com, 4 Oct 2026
Where Kinetica stands on Freedom251
- Ai Databases#5 of 40
- Database Software#53 of 74