InfluxDB vs VictoriaMetrics
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
InfluxDB
Purpose-built time series database for metrics and events
VS
VictoriaMetrics
Fast, cost-effective time series database and monitoring solution
| Feature | InfluxDB | VictoriaMetrics |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 31,754 | ★ 17,760 |
| First released | 2013 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Datadog, AWS Timestream | Datadog, Grafana Cloud |
What are InfluxDB and VictoriaMetrics?
InfluxDB
InfluxDB is an open-source time series database designed for high write and query loads of metrics, events, and analytics data. It powers monitoring dashboards, IoT data collection, and real-time analytics.
- High-throughput time series storage
- SQL and Flux query support
- Built-in retention policies
- Telegraf collector ecosystem
VictoriaMetrics
VictoriaMetrics is a fast, cost-effective, and scalable monitoring solution and time series database. It is a drop-in replacement for Prometheus storage with lower resource usage and a high-performance query engine.
- Low memory footprint
- MetricsQL query language
- Single-binary or cluster mode
- Prometheus-compatible
InfluxDB vs VictoriaMetrics: key differences
InfluxDB is written in Rust, while VictoriaMetrics is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for InfluxDB versus Apache-2.0 for VictoriaMetrics. VictoriaMetrics is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for InfluxDB. InfluxDB is the more established project (first released 2013), while VictoriaMetrics arrived in 2018.
Why pick each one
Choose InfluxDB if…
- Excellent for IoT and metrics
- Rich tooling and integrations
Watch out for
- Clustering reserved for enterprise
- Query language changes between versions
Choose VictoriaMetrics if…
- Excellent compression and speed
- Easy single-binary deployment
Watch out for
- MetricsQL differs slightly from PromQL
- Smaller ecosystem than Prometheus
Frequently asked questions
Is InfluxDB or VictoriaMetrics better?
Neither is universally better. InfluxDB has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are InfluxDB and VictoriaMetrics free and open-source?
Yes. InfluxDB is licensed under MIT and VictoriaMetrics under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run InfluxDB and VictoriaMetrics with Docker?
InfluxDB: yes. VictoriaMetrics: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, InfluxDB or VictoriaMetrics?
VictoriaMetrics has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for InfluxDB. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.