Amazon Timestream
Amazon Timestream is a managed time-series database service for workloads from low-latency queries to large-scale data ingestion.
What Amazon Timestream is
Amazon Timestream is a managed time-series database service for workloads from low-latency queries to large-scale data ingestion. It offers Timestream for LiveAnalytics and Timestream for InfluxDB, with SQL support and cloud deployment. LiveAnalytics scales automatically, with ingestion, storage, and query capacity scaling independently, and includes memory and magnetic storage tiers with retention policies to move or delete aged data. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise supports clusters of up to 15 nodes for ingestion, query, and compaction work. InfluxDB backups can be scheduled hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or by custom cron schedule; scheduled retention ranges from 1 to 365 days, while on-demand backups can be kept up to 3,650 days. AWS says data is encrypted by default and describes customer-managed KMS keys for specified InfluxDB deployments. LiveAnalytics integrates with IAM, KMS, and AWS Backup. Ingestion options include AWS SDKs, CLI, WriteRecords API, Lambda, IoT Core, Kinesis, MSK, and Telegraf. AWS directs customers seeking similar capabilities to LiveAnalytics to consider Timestream for InfluxDB.
Good
- LiveAnalytics scales ingestion, storage, and queries independently
- Retention policies manage memory and magnetic storage
- InfluxDB 3 Enterprise supports clusters up to 15 nodes
- Backups support schedules and custom cron
- Supports SQL, Flux, and InfluxQL
Watch out
- No free plan
- LiveAnalytics magnetic-store pricing has a 100 GB regional minimum
- On-demand TCUs have a 30-second minimum
Who it suits
Amazon Timestream suits teams working with time-series workloads such as IoT telemetry, real-time monitoring, analytics, predictive maintenance, or long-term telemetry retention. Its supported ingestion routes and query languages may fit teams using AWS services and related tools.
Verdict
Amazon Timestream provides managed time-series database options with separate scaling, retention, and backup capabilities. Buyers should account for the service’s usage-based charges and the listed minimums for some capacity and storage options.
Plans and prices
From Amazon Timestream's own pricing page, checked 22 Sep 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| On-demand | — | Pay for writes, storage, queries, or database instance usage depending on the en · No minimum fees or upfront commitments for on-demand pricing |
| Amazon Timestream on-demand | Free | No minimum fees or upfront commitment; LiveAnalytics charges separately for writes, memory store, magnetic store, and queries. · Pay only for usage; charges depend on database engine and usage. |
| Timestream for InfluxDB single-AZ example | $737.88 a month | db.influx.2xlarge · $697.88 compute · $40 storage · 3,000 IOPS · 730 hours plus 400-GiB storage |
| Database Savings Plans | — | Eligible usage; savings in exchange for a usage commitment. · Commit to a specific amount of usage measured in $/hour over a 1-year term. |
| Timestream for LiveAnalytics on-demand | — | writes $0.50 per million 1-KiB writes · memory store $0.036/GB-hour · magnetic store $0.03/GB-month · queries by TCU-hour at $0.518 in the example · 100-GB magnetic-store minimum per account/Region · usage-based |
The facts
Each one read from Amazon Timestream's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Adaptive queries
- Its query engine can combine memory and magnetic data with one SQL statement without the user selecting a tier.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API
- LiveAnalytics exposes separate Write and Query APIs and also supports REST endpoint discovery for VPC endpoints or languages without an SDK.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Availability limit
- AWS stopped accepting new LiveAnalytics customers on June 20, 2025; existing customers may continue using it.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Backups
- AWS Backup integration supports immutable backups, lifecycle policies, cross-account or cross-Region copies and incremental follow-up backups.checked 15 Oct 2026
- CLI support
- The AWS CLI provides timestream-write and timestream-query commands and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Data lifecycle
- LiveAnalytics has memory and magnetic storage tiers, with retention policies to move data between tiers and delete aged data.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Developer tools
- AWS provides a command line interface, SDK code samples, a Grafana plugin, a JDBC driver, and a Telegraf connector for Timestream.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- AWS provides getting-started tutorials, sample applications, API references, SDK examples, CLI references, quotas and security guidance.checked 15 Oct 2026
- End of support
- AWS directs customers seeking similar capabilities to Timestream for LiveAnalytics to consider Timestream for InfluxDB.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Grafana plugin
- Grafana Labs provides a Timestream data-source plugin installable by CLI or ZIP on local Grafana, with Grafana 10.4 or newer required.checked 15 Oct 2026
- InfluxDB clusters
- InfluxDB 3 Enterprise supports clusters of up to 15 nodes, which can be assigned ingestion, query, and compaction work.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Infrastructure as code
- AWS says databases can be created through the console, CLI, SDKs, CloudFormation or Terraform.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Official integrations include AWS IoT Core, Kinesis, MSK, Telegraf, QuickSight, Grafana, JDBC business-intelligence tools and SageMaker.checked 15 Oct 2026
- IoT ingestion
- AWS IoT Core rules can parse incoming MQTT messages and write their measures directly into Timestream tables.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Lambda extensibility
- Lambda functions can query Timestream on a schedule and send SNS notifications; examples are provided for Python, JavaScript, Go and C#.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: Gartner complaint
- The Gartner review page records a dislike that there are no public industrial-operations use cases.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: learning curve
- G2 reviewers mention a learning curve for time-series modeling and built-in analytical functions, with some reporting slow initial loading or bulk setup.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: SQL scope
- G2 reviewers say advanced relational features found in PostgreSQL or MySQL are missing because the product is specialized for time-series workloads.checked 15 Oct 2026
The company
- Company founded
- AWS says it launched in 2006.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Company headquarters and size
- Gartner lists AWS headquarters in Seattle, United States, and more than 10,001 employees.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Company legal name
- The product announcement identifies the maker as Amazon Web Services, Inc., an Amazon.com company.checked 15 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Nochecked 22 Sep 2026
- Free tier
- AWS's product comparison lists no free tier for either Amazon Timestream or Timestream for InfluxDB.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: cost predictability
- G2 reviewers complain that ingestion, tiered storage and query charges can become expensive or difficult to monitor at high telemetry volumes.checked 15 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Amazon Timestream
- 1
TDengine
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InfluxDB
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VictoriaMetrics
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LinDB
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QuestDB
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