SingleStore vs RisingWave for Real-Time Workloads
SingleStore (formerly MemSQL) is a distributed SQL database that handles both transactional (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP) workloads. RisingWave is a PostgreSQL-compatible streaming database focused on continuous stream processing. Use SingleStore for unified OLTP+OLAP with real-time ingestion. Use RisingWave for streaming SQL with CDC, Kafka processing, and Iceberg integration.
Comparison
| Feature | SingleStore | RisingWave |
| Type | Distributed SQL (HTAP) | Streaming database |
| OLTP | ✅ | ❌ (not for transactions) |
| Streaming ingestion | ✅ (Kafka pipelines) | ✅ (Kafka, CDC, native) |
| Materialized views | ✅ (incremental) | ✅ (continuous, sub-second) |
| CDC | Via Kafka | ✅ Native (PG, MySQL) |
| SQL | MySQL-compatible | PostgreSQL-compatible |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0 |
| Iceberg sink | ❌ | ✅ |
| State storage | Shared storage | S3 (disaggregated) |
When to Choose
SingleStore: You need a single database for both OLTP and real-time analytics, MySQL compatibility, or don't want to manage separate systems.
RisingWave: You need streaming-first processing (CDC pipelines, Kafka processing), PostgreSQL ecosystem, Iceberg lakehouse integration, or open-source licensing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SingleStore a streaming database?
SingleStore can ingest streaming data and maintains materialized views, but it's primarily an HTAP database (combined OLTP+OLAP), not a dedicated streaming processor. RisingWave is purpose-built for stream processing.
Which is cheaper?
RisingWave (self-hosted, Apache 2.0) = compute + S3 costs only. SingleStore is proprietary with enterprise licensing. For streaming-only workloads, RisingWave is significantly cheaper.
