Amazon Timestream costs $25/mo.
These cost $0.
8 free alternatives to Amazon Timestream, checked for license, recent activity and real adoption. Each one tells you the catch, so you can switch with your eyes open.
The top-rated free, open-source replacement for Amazon Timestream is InfluxDB (Apache-2.0 Open Source). Across this category, 7 self-hostable tools are available (including InfluxDB and TDengine). Switching a 5-person team saves up to $1,500/year compared to Amazon Timestream's $25/mo subscription.
The catch: Requires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed kdb+.
Amazon Timestream vs Free Alternatives
Quick side-by-side comparison Β· $0/mo vs $25/mo
| Alternative | Type | License | Where It Runs | Stars | Head-to-Head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InfluxDB | open source | Apache-2.0 | Self-host | β 31.8k | Amazon Timestream vs InfluxDB β |
| TDengine | open source | AGPL-3.0 | Self-host | β 25.2k | Amazon Timestream vs TDengine β |
| TimescaleDb | open source | Open Source | Self-host | β 23.8k | Amazon Timestream vs TimescaleDb β |
| VictoriaMetrics | open source | Open Source | Self-host | β 18k | Amazon Timestream vs VictoriaMetrics β |
| QuestDB | open source | Apache-2.0 | Self-host | β 17.5k | Amazon Timestream vs QuestDB β |
| Apache IoTDB | open source | Open Source | Self-host | β 6.4k | Amazon Timestream vs Apache IoTDB β |
| Apache Pinot | open source | Open Source | Self-host | β 6.2k | Amazon Timestream vs Apache Pinot β |
| CrateDB | open source | Open Source | Local | β 4.5k | Amazon Timestream vs CrateDB β |
The picks
8 open source Β· ranked by fit
- 01
InfluxDB
open sourceApache-2.0Self-host31.8knov 2026InfluxDB handles high-velocity, high-resolution time series data at scale, built for telemetry, edge devices, IoT, and physical AI workloads.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed kdb+.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/influxdata/influxdb or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 02
TDengine
open sourceAGPL-3.0Self-host25.2knov 2026High-performance time-series database with industrial data management, built-in stream analytics, and AI-driven anomaly detection for operational environments.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed kdb+.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/taosdata/TDengine or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 03
TimescaleDb
open sourceOpen SourceSelf-host23.8knov 2026PostgreSQL extension for time-series data with automatic partitioning, up to 95% columnar compression, continuous aggregates, and ~200 native SQL functions.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Amazon Timestream.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 04
VictoriaMetrics
open sourceOpen SourceSelf-host18knov 2026Time series database and monitoring platform compatible with Prometheus, handling billions of metrics with lower resource usage than most alternatives.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Amazon Timestream.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 05
QuestDB
open sourceApache-2.0Self-host17.5knov 2026Open-source time-series database offering massive ingestion throughput, millisecond queries, and SQL extensions, designed for optimal performance at any hardware scale.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed kdb+.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/questdb/questdb or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 06
Apache IoTDB
open sourceOpen SourceSelf-host6.4knov 2026Apache IoTDB manages industrial IoT time-series data with high-throughput read/write, edge-cloud sync, ultra-high compression, and integrations with Hadoop, Spark, Flink, and Grafana.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Amazon Timestream.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/apache/iotdb or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 07
Apache Pinot
open sourceOpen SourceSelf-host6.2knov 2026Sub-second SQL queries on fresh streaming data at petabyte scale, built for high-concurrency user-facing apps and AI agent backends.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Amazon Timestream.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/apache/pinot or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 08
CrateDB
open sourceOpen SourceLocal4.5knov 2026Distributed SQL database designed for high-speed ingestion and complex queries on massive datasets, ideal for IoT and time-series data.
The catch vs Amazon TimestreamCommunity-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- desktopcross-platformone-click install
- install
- Clone https://github.com/crate/crate or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- your data
- All application data lives locally on your own machine.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
Amazon Timestream Head-to-Head Comparisons (2027)
Side-by-side trade-off breakdowns Β· 8 free alternatives
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers Β· Amazon Timestream open-source replacements
What is the best free alternative to Amazon Timestream?+
The top free alternative to Amazon Timestream is InfluxDB (open source, Apache-2.0). InfluxDB handles high-velocity, high-resolution time series data at scale, built for telemetry, edge devices, IoT, and physical AI workloads. Other popular Amazon Timestream replacements include TDengine, TimescaleDb, VictoriaMetrics.
Can I self-host a free replacement for Amazon Timestream?+
Yes. Of the 8 free alternatives to Amazon Timestream, 7 can be self-hosted on your own server or local machine: InfluxDB (Apache-2.0), TDengine (AGPL-3.0), TimescaleDb (Open Source), VictoriaMetrics (Open Source), QuestDB (Apache-2.0), Apache IoTDB (Open Source), Apache Pinot (Open Source).
How much does switching from Amazon Timestream to a free alternative save?+
Amazon Timestream starts at $25/month per seat ($300/year). Switching a 5-person team to a free alternative like InfluxDB saves $1,500 per year in software subscription fees.
Should I vibe-code or build my own Amazon Timestream clone from scratch?+
Our build verdict for Amazon Timestream is NO (use a free alternative, save the tokens). Instead of paying recurring SaaS fees for Amazon Timestream or rebuilding it from scratch, deploy one of the 8 battle-tested open-source alternatives like InfluxDB.
What is the catch when switching from Amazon Timestream to InfluxDB?+
Requires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed kdb+.