Side by side

Apache IoTDB vs TDengine

Both stand on time-series databases. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Apache IoTDB

Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3

Apache IoTDB provides a range of ingestion paths, query features and deployment options for IoT time-series data. For Java applications where write performance matters, its documentation recommends the Java Native API rather than JDBC inserts.

Visit Apache IoTDB

TDengine

Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3

TDengine combines time-series data management with ingestion, processing, and visualization tools for industrial use. The free self-hosted tier and cloud deployment options give teams distinct ways to get started.

Visit TDengine

The facts

	Apache IoTDB	TDengine
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Yes	Yes
Runs on	API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows	API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	See the plans
Plans published	2	12
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	iotdb.apache.org	tdengine.com
On time-series databases	#1 of 36	#2 of 36

Apache IoTDB: what it does well

Open-source database with downloadable binaries and source.
Supports SQL and multiple ingestion methods.
Offers time alignment and time-series computation.
Documents data and cluster access permissions.

What to know first

REST service is disabled by default.
JDBC inserts may not provide high-performance writing.
Version 1.0 changed SQL syntax conventions.
UDFs need changes for the separated API module.

TDengine: what it does well

Free self-hosted tier covers up to 5,000 tags
Connects to OPC, MQTT, Kafka, and other sources
Includes caching, stream processing, and data subscription
Supports SQL and horizontal scaling

What to know first

Starter costs $970 a month
Premium Support costs extra
TSDB-OSS is released under the AGPL license

Alternatives to Apache IoTDB Alternatives to TDengine The whole list