Best Embedded Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: SQLite is ranked #1 of 25 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of H2 Database Engine and libSQL. The best-ranked option with a free plan is H2 Database Engine. The lowest first paid tier on this page is HSQLDB at $8.33/mo.
25 embedded 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 | Supported platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SQLite | 9.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $12.50/mo | Yes | — | — | View |
| 2 |  H2 Database Engine | 8.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 3 |  libSQL | 8.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | macOS, Linux, Rust, JavaScript, Python, Go, C, WebAssembly | View |
| 4 | ObjectBox | 8.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, macOS, Raspberry Pi, and POSIX systems | View |
| 5 | RxDB | 8.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $99/mo | Yes | 99 /mo | — | View |
| 6 |  LadybugDB | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 7 | Qdrant | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 8 | Chroma | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $250/mo | Yes | 250 /mo | — | View |
| 9 | HSQLDB | 7.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $8.33/mo | Yes | — | — | View |
| 10 |  Firebird | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 11 |  LMDB | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Windows and POSIX-compatible systems, including Linux and macOS | View |
| 12 |  UnQLite | 6.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 13 |  LiteDB | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 14 |  PouchDB | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 15 |  EJDB2 | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | macOS, iOS, Linux, Windows | View |
| 16 |  bbolt | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | View |
| 17 |  redb | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Rust crate; no_std targets with atomic compare-and-swap, including Cortex-M3 and above but excluding Cortex-M0 | View |
| 18 |  RocksDB | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, AIX, Solaris | View |
| 19 |  WiredTiger | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Linux, *BSD, macOS, Windows, and other 64-bit POSIX systems | View |
| 20 |  Tkrzw | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | C++ library with Python, Ruby, Java, and Go bindings | View |
| 21 |  sql.js | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Web browsers; Node.js | View |
| 22 | DuckDB UI | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 23 |  Pebble | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Go applications | View |
| 24 |  PGlite | 5.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Browser; Node.js; Bun; Deno | View |
| 25 | LanceDB | 4.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | 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 embedded database is ranked first on Inferse?
SQLite is ranked #1 of 25 with a score of 9.0. H2 Database Engine is second and libSQL third.
How many of these have a free plan?
8 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, HSQLDB has the lowest first paid tier we found: $8.33/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.