head to head · open source
QuestDB vs Apache Druid
QuestDB has 17,326 GitHub stars, 1,647 forks, 952 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Apache Druid has 14,054 stars, 3,789 forks, 784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. QuestDB leads on adoption by 23% (17,326 vs 14,054 stars). QuestDB is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Apache Druid is written in Java under Apache-2.0. QuestDB has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Apache Druid 27%. QuestDB was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| QuestDB | Apache Druid | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 3.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick QuestDB if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Apache Druid if
- You want the Apache Druid feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Apache Druid fits your workflow better
About QuestDB
QuestDB open source time series database. Java, Apache 2.0, category Infrastructure & Operations / Databases. Lives in open source database ecosystem for massive data scale, low latency, real time analytics.
read the full QuestDB overview →
About Apache Druid
Apache Druid is a high performance, open source real time analytics database written in Java and licensed under Apache 2.0, built for teams that need sub second OLAP queries and fast ingest for UIs, operational queries, and high concurrency workloads.
read the full Apache Druid overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is QuestDB or Apache Druid more popular?
QuestDB has 17,326 GitHub stars and Apache Druid has 14,054. QuestDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are QuestDB and Apache Druid free?
Both are open source. QuestDB is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Apache Druid under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between QuestDB and Apache Druid?
QuestDB is written in Java and Apache Druid in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, QuestDB or Apache Druid?
Choose QuestDB if you want the larger community (17,326 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Apache Druid if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.