The best analytical databases, according to hackers
5 analytical databases were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended analytical databases with the badge. Each figure is 25 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Fast, efficient analytical queries
An embedded analytical SQL database that makes querying CSV, JSON and Parquet files fast and easy on one machine, though concurrency limits and slow small inserts frustrate some.
Very fast analytical queries
A fast open-source columnar database for analytics, logs and observability that handles huge data volumes well, though secondary indexing, resource management and operations can be tricky.
All 5 analytical databases, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DuckDB | 390 | 53 | 88% | 13 | 1 yr9 owners | Approved |
| 2 | ClickHouse | 124 | 32 | 79% | 12 | 5 yrs9 owners | Approved |
| 3 | Trino | 9 | 3 | 75% | 9 | — | — |
| 4 | Exasol | 8 | 1 | 89% | 3 | 10 yrs3 owners | — |
| 5 | chDB | 6 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same analytical database in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to analytical databases that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.