The best storage engines, according to hackers
4 storage engines were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 1 earns the Hacker Approved badge.
Top pick
The most recommended storage engine with the badge. Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
A free, open-source Rust storage engine that its maker describes as formally verified. Critics say a vibe-coded implementation may not match its TLA+ model, which covers only the WAL protocol.
All 4 storage engines, 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 | Aether storage engine | 10 | 2 | 83% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 2 | InnoDB | 7 | 2 | 78% | 6 | — | — |
| 3 | TidesDB | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| 4 | OrioleDB | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
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 storage engine in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to storage engines 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.