Best Columnar Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: Exasol is ranked #1 of 25 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of InfluxDB and CrateDB. The best-ranked option with a free plan is InfluxDB. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Couchbase Capella at $0.15/mo.
How data is stored, delivered, and managed can shape your choice of a columnar database. Compare deployment models, managed-service availability, object storage support, and streaming ingestion, then check supported data formats and included storage. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing provide additional cost context. Exasol and InfluxDB lead the ranking, followed by CrateDB and GreptimeDB; Apache Druid is also among the first entries. Weigh these capabilities against the formats you handle, how data reaches the database, and whether you want a managed service.
25 columnar databases ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Columnar Databases in tiers by the score this site gives them, S at the top. 2 of the 25 on this page have an Android app.
- 8 MonetDBFree 6.9
- 9 FireboltFree 6.7
- 10 MotherDuck$250/mo 6.7
- 11 Apache PinotFree 6.6
- 12 GreptimeDBAndroid$290/mo 6.6
- 13 StarRocksFree 6.6
- 14 Couchbase Capella$0.15/mo 6.4
- 15 Couchbase LiteAndroid 6.4
- 16 Snowflake CoCo 6.4
- 17 Apache Doris 6.2
- 18 BigQuery Data Clean Rooms 6.2
- 19 Amazon Redshift$0.54/mo 5.9
- 20 ClickHouse Cloud$53/mo 5.9
- 21 MariaDB Enterprise Analytics 5.9
- 22 SAP Customer Data Platform 5.8
- 23 Apache Kudu 5.7
- 24 Amazon Timestream 5.5
- 25 Yellowbrick Data Warehouse 5.3
Is your app 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 Everything Xiaomi?
Exasol is ranked #1 of 25 with a score of 7.3. InfluxDB is second and CrateDB third.
How many of these have a free plan?
13 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Couchbase Capella has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.15/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.