Side by side

Apache Kylin vs Databend

Both stand on analytical data store software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Apache Kylin

Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1

Apache Kylin offers an OLAP engine with SQL modeling, streaming support, and connections to named BI tools. Its Linux-only support and deployment requirements are important considerations.

Visit Apache Kylin

Choose Databend if you need an analytics warehouse with search capabilities, broad storage options, and a choice of self-hosted or cloud deployment. Look elsewhere if your setup requires AWS PrivateLink outside AWS, or if you need a listed fixed price for the cloud plans.

Visit Databend

The facts

	Apache Kylin	Databend
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Yes
Runs on	API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web	API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Business: $23 a month
Plans published	1	5
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	kylin.apache.org	databend.com
On analytical data store software	#4 of 28	#1 of 28

Apache Kylin: what it does well

Designed for sub-second queries and high concurrency.
Models can be created from SQL text.
Supports Kafka and streaming-batch fusion models.
Connects to Tableau, Power BI, and Excel.
Provides query, job, or all server deployment modes.

What to know first

The environment documentation lists Linux-only support.
HTTPS is disabled by default in Kylin 5.
Requires Apache Spark for compute.

Databend: what it does well

Combines SQL analytics, full-text, JSON, and vector search.
Supports storage across S3, Azure, GCS, OSS, R2, MinIO, HDFS, and HF.
Documents continuous sync from five source types.
Community edition includes Time Travel and Hive and Iceberg catalogs.
Lists RBAC, DAC, masking, network, and password policies.

What to know first

Community edition requires self-hosting in your own environment.
Personal and Business warehouse charges are usage-based.
AWS PrivateLink is currently limited to AWS.

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