OneTick combines managed market data, a tick database, analytics, transaction cost analysis and surveillance. It is now part of KX, after the two merged in September 2025. Start from the part you want to replace.
Why firms look for OneTick alternatives
- They need part of the platform, such as storage or backtesting, and not all of it.
- They want a published price. OneTick's prices come through sales.
- They already buy data and want to keep it in their own system.
- They want a tool that is not from the same vendor as kdb+, now that KX owns both.
OneTick alternatives compared
Details below were checked against each project's own pages in November 2026.
| Tool | Replaces | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| KDB-X (kdb+) | Tick database and analytics | Very large tick data, q and Python | Free community edition with limits, larger use through sales |
| QuestDB | Tick database | SQL on ticks, order book analytics | Open source (Apache 2.0), paid enterprise edition |
| ClickHouse | Analytical database | General columnar analytics at scale | Open source (Apache 2.0), paid cloud and enterprise |
| DolphinDB | Database and backtesting | One system for data, factors and order-book backtests | Free community edition with limits, commercial editions |
| ArcticDB | Dataframe store | Python research teams | Free for non-commercial use, commercial licence otherwise |
| Databento | Managed market data | Historical and live data without a platform | Usage-based, plans for fuller access |
| Reamer Research | Backtesting on bars | Fill rules and costs for strategies on bars | $1,800 per seat per year |
Tick databases
- KDB-X is the next generation of kdb+, and it comes from the same vendor as OneTick. See What are the best kdb+ alternatives in 2026?
- QuestDB is a time-series database with SQL that names capital markets as a main use. It advertises nanosecond timestamps, order book analytics and materialized views from ticks to OHLCV bars. High availability needs the paid edition.
- ClickHouse is a general columnar database, not a market data product. You write the market calendars, corrections and symbology that OneTick handles for you.
- DolphinDB is a time-series database with its own language and a backtest plugin that simulates order matching. See How does Reamer Research compare with DolphinDB?
- ArcticDB is a dataframe database from Man Group, used from Python. It is under the Business Source License, and firms need a commercial licence to use it for their business.
Managed market data
Databento sells historical and live market data, including order book data. Historical data is priced per gigabyte, with no subscription needed on the usage-based tier. It supplies data, not analytics, surveillance or a query platform.
Backtesting on bars
Reamer Research is the backtesting engine for strategies on OHLCV bars. It holds no market data, so it works beside any of the tools above. It models spread, slippage, commission, swap and margin under a public execution specification, and fixed seeds give byte-identical runs. See How does Reamer Research compare with OneTick?
How to choose
| If you want | Look at |
|---|---|
| Managed data, analytics and surveillance from one vendor | Stay on OneTick |
| A tick database with a long record in capital markets | KDB-X |
| An open-source tick database with SQL | QuestDB or ClickHouse |
| Data and order-book backtests in one system | DolphinDB |
| Market data without a platform | Databento |
| A backtest on bars with fill rules you can read | Reamer Research |
See Who are Reamer Research and Reamer Server for? Reamer Research has a $225 30-day trial; see pricing.