Best Columnar Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: Exasol is ranked #1 of 24 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of Apache Druid and CrateDB. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Apache Druid. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Amazon Redshift at $0.54/mo.
Columnar databases organize data for column-oriented storage and access, with options that vary in deployment and data handling. Compare deployment model and managed-service availability with object storage support and streaming ingestion. Supported data formats and included storage help assess fit with your data sources, while free-plan details and paid-from pricing provide cost context. Apache Doris and Exasol appear among the first entries, with Firebolt and Amazon Redshift also near the top. Consider where your data lives, how it arrives, and which formats you work with when weighing the listed capabilities and service models.
24 columnar databases ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exasol | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $3.30/mo | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 2 |  Apache Druid | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | — | View |
| 3 |  CrateDB | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 4 | InfluxDB | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 5 | Apache Doris | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 6 | Apache Pinot | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | — | View |
| 7 | Databend | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 8 | Firebolt | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 9 |  GreptimeDB | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $290/mo | Yes | 290 /mo | — | View |
| 10 | MonetDB | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | View |
| 11 |  MotherDuck | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $250/mo | Yes | 250 /mo | — | View |
| 12 | QuestDB | 7.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 13 | BigQuery Data Clean Rooms | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 14 |  Snowflake CoCo | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | cloud | View |
| 15 | Amazon Redshift | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.54/mo | No | — | cloud | View |
| 16 | ClickHouse Cloud | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $53/mo | No | 50 /mo | — | View |
| 17 |  Couchbase Lite | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 18 | DuckDB UI | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 19 |  StarRocks | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 20 |  SAP Customer Data Platform | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 21 |  MariaDB Enterprise Analytics | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | hybrid | View |
| 22 |  Apache Kudu | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 23 | Amazon Timestream | 4.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 24 |  Yellowbrick Data Warehouse | 4.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | hybrid | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which columnar database is ranked first on Inferse?
Exasol is ranked #1 of 24 with a score of 7.4. Apache Druid is second and CrateDB third.
How many of these have a free plan?
12 of the 24 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Amazon Redshift has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.54/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.