ClickHouse vs MySQL vs PostgreSQL: Performance and Speed Analysis

Here’s a compelling case for using ClickHouse DB:

Benchmark Query 1: SELECT RegionID, SUM(AdvEngineID), COUNT(*) AS c, AVG(ResolutionWidth), COUNT(DISTINCT UserID) FROM hits GROUP BY RegionID ORDER BY c DESC LIMIT 10;

This query involves complex aggregations, group by, distinct count, and ordering, making it a demanding analytical workload.

Results:

Database	Execution Time (seconds)
ClickHouse	3.627
MySQL	326.17
PostgreSQL	362.261

Observation:

ClickHouse outperforms both MySQL and PostgreSQL by a significant margin, with an execution time of just 3.627 seconds compared to MySQL’s 326.17 seconds and PostgreSQL’s 362.261 seconds. This remarkable difference highlights ClickHouse’s superior ability to handle complex analytical queries efficiently.

Benchmark Query 2: SELECT UserID FROM hits WHERE UserID = 435090932899640449;

This query involves a simple point lookup, retrieving a specific user ID from a large dataset.

Results:

Database	Execution Time (seconds)
ClickHouse	0.375
MySQL	2.263
PostgreSQL	4.913

Observation:

ClickHouse again demonstrates its speed, executing the point lookup query in just 0.375 seconds compared to MySQL’s 2.263 seconds and PostgreSQL’s 4.913 seconds. This reinforces ClickHouse’s capability for efficient single-row retrievals.

Conclusion:

The benchmark results clearly demonstrate ClickHouse’s superior performance and speed compared to MySQL and PostgreSQL, particularly for complex analytical workloads. ClickHouse’s columnar data storage, optimized query engine, and vectorized processing capabilities make it an ideal choice for organizations that require high-performance data analytics.

Additional Considerations for Choosing ClickHouse:

• Scalability: ClickHouse can handle massive datasets and scales horizontally to accommodate growing data volumes.
• Real-time Analytics: ClickHouse excels at real-time data processing and analytics, enabling near-instantaneous insights from data streams.
• Cost-Effectiveness: ClickHouse’s efficient data compression and storage techniques reduce infrastructure costs.

Recommendation:

For organizations seeking a high-performance, scalable, and cost-effective database solution for analytical workloads, ClickHouse emerges as the clear winner. Its superior performance and capabilities make it an ideal choice for modern data-driven businesses.