TDengine vs. Canary Labs

Be confident choosing the platform that will power your operations for the next decade. Below is a clean, accurate comparison of core capabilities across storage, data collection, modeling, analytics, visualization, distribution, security, deployment, integrations, and AI.

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Why Teams Pick TDengine over Canary Labs

Cloud-native & scalable

Tiered storage to keep hot data fast and cold data affordable; built-in replication and horizontal scale

Richer data model

Element references to allow one device to belong to multiple trees; advanced data types like JSON, blob, and geometry

Open pipelines in & out

Native Kafka and MQTT distribution; broad collector support including Telegraf

SQL everywhere

Standard SQL for queries, backfill, and recalculation — easier analytics and BI

Governance & change control

Version control for models and assets; element references; automatic unit conversion

Zero-install access

Full browser app — no thick client required

Enterprise security

SOC 2 & ISO 27001, encryption at rest/in flight, RBAC; SSO on the roadmap

AI-native

Built-in Chat BI and Zero-Query Intelligence to surface anomalies, forecasts, and insights automatically

Feature Comparison

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Lossless compression	✅	✅
Tiered storage	❌	✅
Data types	Basic types only	Basic types and JSON, blob, decimal, and geometry
Data replication	❌	✅
Scalability	✅	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
OPC UA	✅	✅
OPC DA	✅	✅
MQTT	✅	✅
SQL	✅	✅
CSV	✅	✅
Kafka	❌	✅
Telegraf and others	❌	✅
Store and forward	✅	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Virtual views	✅	✅
Element references	❌	✅
Traits for attributes	✅	✅
Automatic unit conversion	❌	✅
Templates & base templates	✅	✅
Search/Filter	✅	✅
Version control	❌	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Triggers	Data input and periodic	Data input, periodic, and more
Expression analysis	✅	✅
Rollup analysis	✅	✅
Event frame analysis	✅	✅
Backfill and recalculation	✅	✅
Standard SQL	❌	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Value capture	✅	✅
Event acknowledgement	✅	✅
Event templates	✅	✅
Event comparision	✅	✅
Event notifications	✅	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Chart types	Basic types only	Basic types, map, canvas, rich text, and more
Dashboards	✅	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Kafka	❌	✅
MQTT	❌	✅
OPC	✅	❌ (planned)

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Role-based access control (RBAC)	✅	✅
Single sign-on (SSO)	✅	Planned
Data encryption	❌	✅
SOC 2 certification	✅	✅
ISO 27001 certification	❌	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Server access	Dedicated client program	Browser
Windows	✅	✅
Linux	❌	✅
Installation package	✅	✅
Ansible deployment	❌	✅
Helm deployment	❌	✅
Supported cloud platforms	AWS and GCP	Azure, AWS, and GCP

	Canary Labs	TDengine
REST API	✅	✅
JDBC	❌	✅
ODBC	✅	✅
Power BI	✅	✅
Tableau	✅	✅
Seeq	✅	✅
Grafana	❌	✅
Excel	✅	✅

	Canary Labs	TDengine
Chat BI	❌	✅
Zero-Query Intelligence	❌	✅
AI-based time-series forecasting	❌	✅
AI-based anomaly detection	❌	✅

See full comparison table

		Canary Labs	TDengine
Storage	Lossless compression	✅	✅
	Tiered storage	❌	✅
	Data types	Basic types only	Basic types and JSON, blob, decimal, and geometry
	Data replication	❌	✅
	Scalability	✅	✅
Data Collectors	OPC UA	✅	✅
	OPC DA	✅	✅
	MQTT	✅	✅
	SQL	✅	✅
	CSV	✅	✅
	Kafka	❌	✅
	Telegraf and others	❌	✅
	Store and forward	✅	✅
Data Modeling	Virtual views	✅	✅
	Element references	❌	✅
	Traits for attributes	✅	✅
	Automatic unit conversion	❌	✅
	Templates & base templates	✅	✅
	Search/Filter	✅	✅
	Version control	❌	✅
Analytics	Triggers	Data input and periodic	Data input, periodic, and more
	Expression analysis	✅	✅
	Rollup analysis	✅	✅
	Event frame analysis	✅	✅
	Backfill and recalculation	✅	✅
	Standard SQL	❌	✅
Event Management	Value capture	✅	✅
	Event acknowledgement	✅	✅
	Event templates	✅	✅
	Event comparision	✅	✅
	Event notifications	✅	✅
Visualization	Chart types	Basic types only	Basic types, map, canvas, rich text, and more
Visualization	Dashboards	✅	✅
Data Distribution	Kafka	❌	✅
	MQTT	❌	✅
	OPC	✅	❌ (planned)
Security	Role-based access control (RBAC)	✅	✅
	Single sign-on (SSO)	✅	Planned
	Data encryption	❌	✅
	SOC 2 certification	✅	✅
	ISO 27001 certification	❌	✅
Application	Server access	Dedicated client program	Browser
Platforms & Deployment	Windows	✅	✅
	Linux	❌	✅
	Installation package	✅	✅
	Ansible deployment	❌	✅
	Helm deployment	❌	✅
	Supported cloud platforms	AWS and GCP	Azure, AWS, and GCP
Integrations	REST API	✅	✅
	JDBC	❌	✅
	ODBC	✅	✅
	Power BI	✅	✅
	Tableau	✅	✅
	Seeq	✅	✅
	Grafana	❌	✅
	Excel	✅	✅
AI	Chat BI	❌	✅
	Zero-Query Intelligence	❌	✅
	AI-based time-series forecasting	❌	✅
	AI-based anomaly detection	❌	✅

See How Much You Could Save

TDengine Plans

Cores	Tags (Estimated)	Perpetual License	Annual Support
1	5,000	$10,000	$1,500
2	10,000	$18,000	$2,700
4	20,000	$34,000	$5,100
8	40,000	$66,000	$9,900
16	80,000	$100,000	$15,000
32	160,000	$160,000	$24,000
64	320,000	$200,000	$30,000
100	500,000	$300,000	$45,000

Canary Labs Plans

Tags	Perpetual License	Annual Support
5,500	$14,600	$2,628
10,000	$22,100	$3,978
22,500	$43,600	$7,848
45,000	$79,300	$14,274
100,000	$135,500	$24,390
200,000	$198,800	$35,784
300,000	$248,500	$44,730
500,000	$397,600	$71,568

TDengine Pricing

What TDengine Delivers

Insight without friction

TDengine combines SQL, browser dashboards, and advanced visualization to accelerate time-to-value.

Cost-effective at scale

Tiered storage and replication reduce infrastructure and operational costs.

Intelligence built-in

With Chat BI and Zero-Query Intelligence, TDengine actively finds anomalies and trends—users don’t need to ask.

Secure operations

Version control, encryption, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 ensure enterprise-grade compliance and auditability.

Ready to compare with your data?

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do TDengine and Canary Historian differ in querying and analytics?

TDengine supports standard SQL for queries, plus data subscriptions, rollups, and integration with BI/AI tools. Canary Historian emphasizes ease of trending, reporting, and dashboarding through its Axiom platform but offers less flexibility for advanced analytics or integration into data science workflows.

Is TDengine or Canary Historian better for AI?

TDengine is AI-ready, offering SQL access, data subscriptions, and integration with machine learning frameworks. Canary Historian supports reporting and visualization but is less oriented toward advanced analytics and AI use cases.

Which is more cost-effective: TDengine or Canary Historian?

TDengine uses predictable, usage-based pricing with no tag limits, helping keep costs low at scale. Canary Historian traditionally uses tag-based licensing, which can become expensive as the number of signals increases.

How do TDengine and Canary Historian compare on security and access control?

TDengine provides fine-grained role management, token-based sharing, and encryption. Canary Historian offers user-based security within industrial control networks but less flexibility for external collaboration.

How does developer support differ between TDengine and Canary Historian?

TDengine provides open APIs, SDKs in multiple languages, and strong integration with open-source tools. Canary Historian is proprietary and primarily focused on operator usability.

Which is better for digital transformation projects: TDengine or Canary Historian?

TDengine is built for modern IoT, AI, and analytics use cases, making it ideal for digital transformation initiatives. Canary Historian is reliable for traditional process monitoring but less aligned with modern data-driven workflows.

Take the Next Step

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