An InfluxDB alternative for hardware teams
InfluxDB is a fast, well-loved time-series database. For a team with drones, robots or sensors in the field, a database is also the start of a project: running it, getting data into it, and building everything you look at on top.
This page is written by Plexus. We’ve tried to be straight about when InfluxDB is the better choice.
When InfluxDB is the right call
- You want to own and operate the database, and query it directly in its own query languages.
- You want it free and self-managed. InfluxDB 3 Core is open source.
- You're building your own product on top of the store and need its full query surface.
What a hardware team builds around a database
Running the database
Sizing, upgrades, backups and retention settings are yours, whether you self-manage or pay for a cloud tier.
Getting data off the device
Something on the device has to batch readings, retry when the link drops and buffer when it's offline.
Dashboards and alerts
The store holds the data; seeing a fleet at a glance and knowing when a unit goes quiet is a layer you add on top.
What Plexus does instead
Plexus Time Series is a hosted time-series store built for machine data. Raw readings are kept for 3 years, 1-minute and hourly rollups are built as data lands, and every reading is on a dashboard with alerts, including when a device goes offline. The Python SDK retries and buffers on the device; anything else can POST JSON over HTTP.
Questions
Is Plexus an InfluxDB alternative?
For storing and watching data from a hardware fleet, yes. Plexus Time Series keeps raw readings for 3 years with automatic rollups, and Plexus adds dashboards and alerts on top, with nothing to run. If you want a general-purpose time-series database to operate and query directly, InfluxDB is the better fit.
Can Plexus read my existing InfluxDB?
Partly. Plexus reads InfluxDB buckets and charts them. Influx speaks Flux and InfluxQL rather than SQL, so Plexus's SQL editor and generated panels don't run against it.
How long does Plexus keep data?
Raw readings for 3 years, 1-minute rollups for 90 days, hourly rollups for 5 years and events for 90 days. Free shows the last 7 days; the Founding 50 gets the full history.
How much does Plexus cost?
Free for up to 3 devices and 7 days of history, no card. The Founding 50 is $299 a month (normally $499) on a 6-month contract, with every device, full history, alerts and sharing. No per-seat or per-host charges.