InfluxDB al­ter­na­tives: These databases excel in com­par­i­son

InfluxDB is a database specif­i­cal­ly designed for time series, boasting high per­for­mance, hor­i­zon­tal scal­a­bil­i­ty, and a powerful query language. We introduce you to the most popular InfluxDB al­ter­na­tives, which include re­la­tion­al systems, NoSQL solutions, and embedded instances.

What is InfluxDB and what al­ter­na­tives are there?

InfluxDB is an open-source database specif­i­cal­ly developed for time series. This refers to data with a timestamp, such as tem­per­a­ture record­ings, weather data, or even server per­for­mance stats. InfluxDB enables efficient storage, querying, and pro­cess­ing of time­stamped data. These often come from mon­i­tor­ing systems, IoT sensors – IoT stands for the Internet of Things – or from the field of mea­sure­ment and control tech­nol­o­gy and may include millions of incoming data records.

Compared to re­la­tion­al databases, InfluxDB shows sig­nif­i­cant­ly better per­for­mance for time­stamped mea­sure­ment data. This is made possible by using a specially developed TSM format (Time Struc­tured Merge Tree), which bundles write op­er­a­tions and minimizes read paths for con­tigu­ous data. The database man­age­ment system was developed by the American company In­flux­Da­ta and is available as a free open-source version. However, In­flux­Cloud and In­flux­En­ter­prise also offer a cloud service and a com­mer­cial en­ter­prise version.

Among the central features of InfluxDB is its own scripting and query language called Flux, which optimizes the ETL process (Extract, Transform, Load) and can even be used in com­bi­na­tion with other databases. The database system also supports InfluxQL, a SQL-like language that makes it easier for users of re­la­tion­al databases to get started. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, InfluxDB scores with easy in­stal­la­tion and hor­i­zon­tal scaling.

MySQL, the powerful SQL database for struc­tured data

MySQL is among the most widely used re­la­tion­al database systems worldwide. The open-source database was acquired by the American company Oracle in 2010, which has con­tin­u­al­ly developed the system since then. MySQL is available both as an open-source version and as an en­ter­prise version for various operating systems. The InfluxDB al­ter­na­tive is par­tic­u­lar­ly suitable for the man­age­ment of struc­tured data in tables, shines with stability and per­for­mance, and offers a wealth of in­ter­faces – such as Java or Python. You also benefit from mature security features and high avail­abil­i­ty, which proves ad­van­ta­geous es­pe­cial­ly in mission-critical ap­pli­ca­tions.

MySQL uses the InnoDB-storage engine by default, offering full ACID com­pli­ance, trans­ac­tion safety, and foreign key support. Ad­di­tion­al storage engines like MyISAM, CSV, or Merge are also provided. With in­te­grat­ed features such as master-slave repli­ca­tion, multi-master clus­ter­ing, hor­i­zon­tal scaling, and sharding, the database handles demanding scenarios—par­tic­u­lar­ly regarding high avail­abil­i­ty. Thanks to clear doc­u­men­ta­tion, numerous tutorials, and an engaged community, it’s also very ac­ces­si­ble for newcomers.

Ad­van­tages of MySQL at a glance

• Open source with optional en­ter­prise upgrade
• User-friendly system with clear structure
• High re­li­a­bil­i­ty and speed
• Various scaling options
• Repli­ca­tion and clus­ter­ing for high avail­abil­i­ty
• Flexibly de­ploy­able storage engines
• Extensive doc­u­men­ta­tion and dedicated community
• LAMP stack standard (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP)
• Seamless in­te­gra­tion into various en­vi­ron­ments and frame­works

Post­greSQL, the flexibly ex­ten­si­ble database thanks to its object-re­la­tion­al ar­chi­tec­ture

Post­greSQL is an object-re­la­tion­al database system that has been con­tin­u­ous­ly developed since its first release in 1996. This open-source solution is im­pres­sive for its high re­li­a­bil­i­ty and data integrity, offering excellent per­for­mance even under heavy loads thanks to its powerful trans­ac­tion pro­cess­ing (MVCC).

A par­tic­u­lar highlight is its modular ex­pand­abil­i­ty: With provided ex­ten­sions like PostGIS for geodata, the database man­age­ment system can be flexibly tailored to meet in­di­vid­ual re­quire­ments. Users have the option to create custom data types, operators, and pro­ce­dures. For those looking to reliably manage extensive table-based data, Post­greSQL is a strong InfluxDB al­ter­na­tive.

Ad­van­tages of Post­greSQL at a glance

• Open source without licensing fees
• High ro­bust­ness and security
• Highly versatile
• Powerful per­for­mance
• Numerous options for scaling
• Many ex­ten­sions and in­ter­faces available
• Large and active community
• Versatile data types from JSONB (binary rep­re­sen­ta­tion of JSON) to geodata

MariaDB, the scalable re­la­tion­al database with an enhanced engine ecosystem

The database system MariaDB is a community-driven MySQL fork that was launched in 2010 after Oracle acquired MySQL. At its core, MariaDB remains fully com­pat­i­ble with MySQL clients and queries, but it also offers in­no­v­a­tive storage engines like Aria, Column­Store for an­a­lyt­i­cal eval­u­a­tions, and MyRocks for SSD-optimized storage.

Ex­ten­sions like Galera Cluster enable syn­chro­nous multi-master repli­ca­tion, while features such as virtual columns and dynamic column storage (JSON documents) enhance flex­i­bil­i­ty for modern ap­pli­ca­tion scenarios. The Dynamic Columns feature allows time-based data to be flexibly modeled within re­la­tion­al tables, making MariaDB in­ter­est­ing for time-series-like ap­pli­ca­tions. As an InfluxDB al­ter­na­tive, MariaDB is par­tic­u­lar­ly appealing to companies that value trans­paren­cy, high per­for­mance, and open standards.

Overview of MariaDB ad­van­tages

• Open source with a trans­par­ent license (GPLv2)
• Full com­pat­i­bil­i­ty with MySQL
• Versatile storage engines for different re­quire­ments
• High per­for­mance and scal­a­bil­i­ty
• Advanced SQL features like virtual columns and JSON documents
• Runs very stably on all common platforms

MongoDB, the document-oriented NoSQL for large datasets

While InfluxDB is mainly spe­cial­ized in time series data, a more flexible NoSQL al­ter­na­tive is better suited for het­ero­ge­neous workloads – and this is where MongoDB comes into play. The database system, released in 2009, stores struc­tured, semi-struc­tured, and un­struc­tured data in BSON documents – thus foregoing rigid schemas. This allows for quick adap­ta­tions and agile de­vel­op­ment cycles.

With automatic sharding, datasets are dis­trib­uted across multiple server nodes, in­creas­ing both avail­abil­i­ty and fault tolerance. Thanks to hor­i­zon­tal scaling, the database easily adapts to growing data volumes. Whether it’s a web ap­pli­ca­tion, IoT platform, or content man­age­ment system, MongoDB is a top-notch InfluxDB al­ter­na­tive for in­creas­ing data volumes and is used by the New York Times, Disney, and the CERN particle ac­cel­er­a­tor, among others.

Overview of MongoDB benefits

• In­fi­nite­ly hor­i­zon­tal scaling and therefore optimal for in­creas­ing data volumes
• High avail­abil­i­ty and fault tolerance thanks to sharding
• Highly flexible usage
• Suitable for diverse data types
• Com­pat­i­ble with a variety of platforms, systems, and languages
• Extensive ecosystem with tools like Compass or Atlas Charts
• Simple repli­ca­tion

Redis, the in-memory database for ultra-fast per­for­mance

If you’re looking for a NoSQL option with low response times, Redis is a great InfluxDB al­ter­na­tive. This open-source database stores data entirely in memory, achieving latencies of less than one mil­lisec­ond. With its stream­lined model based on so-called key values, Redis is ideal as a cache layer, message broker, or for real-time analytics.

The ar­chi­tec­ture of the database system allows for both vertical scaling (using larger servers) and hor­i­zon­tal scaling (via Redis clusters), but it is more geared towards speed rather than large data volumes. Therefore, Redis is less suitable for workloads involving complex data and extensive query options. For larger datasets, the high RAM re­quire­ment can also quickly drive up operating costs.

Ad­van­tages of Redis at a glance

• Open source
• Out­stand­ing speed thanks to in-memory model
• Latencies of less than one mil­lisec­ond
• Ideal for real-time analytics and event pro­cess­ing
• Hor­i­zon­tal and vertical scal­a­bil­i­ty
• High user-friend­li­ness
• Flexible data pro­cess­ing thanks to versatile data types
• Com­pat­i­ble with many systems, platforms, and languages

SQLite, the compact SQL solution with minimal ad­min­is­tra­tive effort

As an InfluxDB al­ter­na­tive for smaller ap­pli­ca­tions or embedded devices, SQLite is excellent. With a minimal library size of just a few hundred kilobytes and broad language support via API, SQLite is ideal for desktop, mobile, and IoT ap­pli­ca­tions where resources are limited. The server­less, file-based database stores all data and the complete schema in just one file and does not require a separate database service. As a result, most of the ad­min­is­tra­tive effort as well as in­stal­la­tion and server con­fig­u­ra­tion are elim­i­nat­ed. Backups can be easily created by copying the file.

SQLite not only covers a large portion of the SQL standard, but also impresses with its com­pat­i­bil­i­ty with most common data storage formats. Because SQLite databases can be ef­fort­less­ly trans­ferred between different systems, many de­vel­op­ers trust the light­weight engine as the foun­da­tion of their ap­pli­ca­tions. With uniform data access, low resource re­quire­ments, and server­less operation, SQLite offers a high level of re­li­a­bil­i­ty.

Overview of SQLite ad­van­tages

• Server­less operation with minimal ad­min­is­tra­tive effort
• Compact library with a memory re­quire­ment of only a few hundred kilobytes
• Extensive SQL support
• Porta­bil­i­ty
• High re­li­a­bil­i­ty and fault tolerance
• Un­com­pli­cat­ed backups
• Optimal for embedded scenarios