What is Firebolt used for?

Firebolt is an analytical database for low-latency analytics and data applications that runs as a managed cloud warehouse or as a self-run engine. It is a good fit for real-time analytics for data applications and efficient ELT on object storage.

Yes. Firebolt has a free plan. Open source and free to self-host. Managed compute is $0.92 per hour for a size S compute-optimized node and storage is $0.0264 per GB-month; $200 in free credits are offered.

Is Firebolt open source?

No. Firebolt is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Firebolt include StarRocks, Databend and Apache Cloudberry.

Can I self-host Firebolt?

Yes. Although Firebolt is closed source, it can be self-hosted on your own servers, and the vendor also offers a hosted version.

What are some alternatives to Firebolt?

Firebolt competes with Snowflake, Google BigQuery and Amazon Redshift. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Firebolt alternatives.

Firebolt: features, pricing and alternatives

About Firebolt

Firebolt is an analytical database built for engineers who need fast SQL on large datasets, real-time analytics and efficient ELT. The vendor describes it as a Postgres SQL dialect database built for object storage, with ACID transactions and snapshot isolation.

It runs as a single binary on a laptop and scales out to many nodes in a user's cloud. Deployment options listed include a binary, Docker, Helm and a Kubernetes operator, and connectivity covers ADBC, a JSON REST interface and the Postgres wire protocol. Storage supports a custom format for real-time use and Parquet with Iceberg for batch. A managed service is available on AWS and GCP, with Azure in preview.

The vendor says an open-source version of the engine is in preview. Firebolt also has a hosted commercial service with a start-free option and a pricing page.

Key features

Postgres SQL dialect
Single binary that scales out
Parquet and Iceberg storage support
ACID transactions with snapshot isolation
Deployment via Docker, Helm and Kubernetes
Managed service on AWS and GCP

Good fit for

→Real-time analytics for data applications
→Efficient ELT on object storage

Tags: analytics-database; data-warehouse; sql; iceberg; real-time-analytics; postgres-compatible; cloud

Firebolt: questions and answers

What is Firebolt used for?: Firebolt is an analytical database for low-latency analytics and data applications that runs as a managed cloud warehouse or as a self-run engine. It is a good fit for real-time analytics for data applications and efficient ELT on object storage.
Is Firebolt free?: Yes. Firebolt has a free plan. Open source and free to self-host. Managed compute is $0.92 per hour for a size S compute-optimized node and storage is $0.0264 per GB-month; $200 in free credits are offered.
Is Firebolt open source?: No. Firebolt is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Firebolt include StarRocks, Databend and Apache Cloudberry.
Can I self-host Firebolt?: Yes. Although Firebolt is closed source, it can be self-hosted on your own servers, and the vendor also offers a hosted version.
What are some alternatives to Firebolt?: Firebolt competes with Snowflake, Google BigQuery and Amazon Redshift. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Firebolt alternatives.