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Apache Arrow VS Apache Pinot

Compare Apache Arrow VS Apache Pinot and see what are their differences

Apache Arrow logo Apache Arrow

Apache Arrow is a cross-language development platform for in-memory data.

Apache Pinot logo Apache Pinot

Apache Pinot is a real-time distributed OLAP datastore, built to deliver scalable real-time analytics with low latency.
  • Apache Arrow Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-03
Not present

Apache Arrow features and specs

  • In-Memory Columnar Format
    Apache Arrow stores data in a columnar format in memory which allows for efficient data processing and analytics by enabling operations on entire columns at a time.
  • Language Agnostic
    Arrow provides libraries in multiple languages such as C++, Java, Python, R, and more, facilitating cross-language development and enabling data interchange between ecosystems.
  • Interoperability
    Arrow's ability to act as a data transfer protocol allows easy interoperability between different systems or applications without the need for serialization or deserialization.
  • Performance
    Designed for high performance, Arrow can handle large data volumes efficiently due to its zero-copy reads and SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) operations.
  • Ecosystem Integration
    Arrow integrates well with various data processing systems like Apache Spark, Pandas, and more, making it a versatile choice for data applications.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Arrow

  • Complexity
    The use of Apache Arrow can introduce additional complexity, especially for smaller projects or those which do not require high-performance data interchange.
  • Learning Curve
    Getting accustomed to Apache Arrow can take time due to its unique in-memory format and APIs, especially for developers who are new to columnar data processing.
  • Memory Usage
    While Arrow excels in speed and performance, the memory consumption can be higher compared to row-based storage formats, potentially becoming a bottleneck.
  • Maturity
    Although rapidly evolving, some Arrow components or language implementations may not be as mature or feature-complete, potentially leading to limitations in certain use cases.
  • Integration Challenges
    While Arrow aims for broad compatibility, integrating it into existing systems may require substantial effort, affecting development timelines.

Apache Pinot features and specs

  • Real-time Analytics
    Apache Pinot is designed for real-time analytics on large-scale data. It is capable of ingesting data from streaming sources like Apache Kafka, providing low-latency query capabilities on freshly ingested data.
  • High Throughput
    Pinot can handle high query loads and large datasets efficiently. Its architecture is optimized for distributed processing and fast query execution, making it suitable for use cases with high query throughput requirements.
  • Columnar Storage
    Pinot utilizes a columnar storage format, which allows efficient compression and fast retrieval of highly selective query results, reducing I/O and improving query performance.
  • Scalability
    Pinot is highly scalable and can be deployed across a distributed infrastructure. This makes it suitable for both growing startups and large enterprises with expanding data needs.
  • Integration with Big Data Ecosystem
    Apache Pinot integrates seamlessly with other big data technologies like Apache Kafka, Hadoop, and Spark, making it easier for organizations to adopt it in existing tech stacks.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Pinot

  • Complex Setup
    Deploying and configuring a Pinot cluster can be complex, especially for organizations without experience in distributed systems, requiring careful planning and resources.
  • Maintenance Overhead
    Running a Pinot cluster involves ongoing maintenance tasks such as monitoring, scaling, and upgrading the system, which can add to the operational overhead.
  • Learning Curve
    Organizations may encounter a steep learning curve when adopting Apache Pinot, especially if team members are not familiar with its architecture and operational procedures.
  • Limited Use Cases
    While Pinot is powerful for real-time analytics, it may not be the best choice for transactional or general-purpose database use cases, limiting its applicability in certain scenarios.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Pinot efficiently requires a significant amount of computational resources, which might be a concern for organizations with limited infrastructure or budget.

Apache Arrow videos

Wes McKinney - Apache Arrow: Leveling Up the Data Science Stack

More videos:

  • Review - "Apache Arrow and the Future of Data Frames" with Wes McKinney
  • Review - Apache Arrow Flight: Accelerating Columnar Dataset Transport (Wes McKinney, Ursa Labs)

Apache Pinot videos

No Apache Pinot videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Arrow and Apache Pinot)
Databases
79 79%
21% 21
Big Data
64 64%
36% 36
NoSQL Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Data Dashboard
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Arrow and Apache Pinot

Apache Arrow Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache Arrow yet.
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Apache Pinot Reviews

Rockset, ClickHouse, Apache Druid, or Apache Pinot? Which is the best database for customer-facing analytics?
The biggest value behind Apache Pinot is that you can index each column, which allows it to process data at a super fast speed. โ€œItโ€™s like taking a pivot table and saving it to disk. So you can get this highly dimensional data with pre-computed aggregations and pull those out in what seems like supernaturally fast time,โ€ says Tim Berglund, Developer Relations at StarTree....
Source: embeddable.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Arrow seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 40 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Arrow mentions (40)

  • Show HN: Typed-arrow โ€“ compileโ€‘time Arrow schemas for Rust
    I had no idea what Arrow is: https://arrow.apache.org or arrow-rs: https://github.com/apache/arrow-rs. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Show HN: Pontoon, an open-source data export platform
    - Open source: Pontoon is free to use by anyone Under the hood, we use Apache Arrow (https://arrow.apache.org/) to move data between sources and destinations. Arrow is very performant - we wanted to use a library that could handle the scale of moving millions of records per minute. In the shorter-term, there are several improvements we want to make, like:. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Unlocking DuckDB from Anywhere - A Guide to Remote Access with Apache Arrow and Flight RPC (gRPC)
    Apache Arrow : It contains a set of technologies that enable big data systems to process and move data fast. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Using Polars in Rust for high-performance data analysis
    One of the main selling points of Polars over similar solutions such as Pandas is performance. Polars is written in highly optimized Rust and uses the Apache Arrow container format. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Kotlin DataFrame โค๏ธ Arrow
    Kotlin DataFrame v0.14 comes with improvements for reading Apache Arrow format, especially loading a DataFrame from any ArrowReader. This improvement can be used to easily load results from analytical databases (such as DuckDB, ClickHouse) directly into Kotlin DataFrame. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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Apache Pinot mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Apache Pinot yet. Tracking of Apache Pinot recommendations started around May 2025.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Arrow and Apache Pinot, you can also consider the following products

Redis - Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.

ClickHouse - ClickHouse is an open-source column-oriented database management system that allows generating analytical data reports in real time.

Apache Parquet - Apache Parquet is a columnar storage format available to any project in the Hadoop ecosystem.

Hashquery - A Python framework for defining and querying BI models in your data warehouse.

DuckDB - DuckDB is an in-process SQL OLAP database management system

ViyaDB - In-Memory Analytical Database