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Aiven vs Cassandra

Aiven logo

Aiven

Software

Fully managed open source data infrastructure cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Software

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Aiven the free plan gives 1 VM with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM and 1 GB storage, and cannot pick a specific cloud or region; Cassandra no support for joins across tables
  • They diverge on capability: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Cassandra covers Linear Scalability.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aiven and Cassandra actually diverge.

Attributes where Aiven and Cassandra differ
AttributeAivenCassandra
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Aws, Azure, Gcp, DoLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes
Founded20162008

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Aiven

  • Multi-cloud Support
  • Automated Backups
  • Seamless Upgrades
  • VPC Peering
  • End-to-end Encryption
  • Compliance
  • Observability
  • PostgreSQL

Only in Cassandra

  • Linear Scalability
  • Fault Tolerance
  • Multi-datacenter Replication
  • Tunable Consistency
  • CQL Query Language
  • Distributed Architecture
  • No Single Point of Failure
  • DataStax

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Aiven

  • Running managed open source databases without operating themnot Cassandra
  • Multi-cloud deployment across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, OVH and UpCloudnot Cassandra
  • Highly available data services with automatic failovernot Cassandra
  • Prototyping on a small free instance before scaling upnot Cassandra

Cassandra

  • Real-time applicationsnot Aiven
  • Content managementnot Aiven
  • User profilesnot Aiven
  • Mobile backendsnot Aiven
  • Cachingnot Aiven

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Aiven

  • The free plan gives 1 VM with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM and 1 GB storage, and cannot pick a specific cloud or region
  • Free and Developer tiers have no integrations and no connection pooling
  • Connection pooling, database forks and dynamic disk sizing need the Business or Premium plan
  • A 99.99 percent uptime SLA starts at the Startup plan from $75 a month
  • High availability with automatic failover starts at Business from $180 a month

Cassandra

  • No support for joins across tables
  • No ACID transactions across multiple rows
  • Data model must be designed around query patterns upfront, making schema evolution difficult
  • Partition key misconfigurations can cause uneven data distribution and hotspots that degrade performance

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • $300 credits
    • 30 day trial
    • All services
  • Startup$19/month
    • Single node
    • Basic support
    • Daily backups

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Aiven if

  • You need multi-cloud support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do.
  • You also want automated backups.
Aiven review

Choose Cassandra if

  • You need linear scalability.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want fault tolerance.
Cassandra review

Questions people ask

Is Aiven or Cassandra better?
Neither clearly leads. Aiven starts at Free and Cassandra at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aiven or Cassandra?
Aiven starts at Free and Cassandra at Free.
Does Aiven or Cassandra run on more platforms?
Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Aiven for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Aiven best used for?
Aiven is most often used for running managed open source databases without operating them, multi-cloud deployment across aws, google cloud, azure, digitalocean, ovh and upcloud, highly available data services with automatic failover, prototyping on a small free instance before scaling up. Of those, running managed open source databases without operating them and multi-cloud deployment across aws, google cloud, azure, digitalocean, ovh and upcloud are not what Cassandra is typically brought in for.
What can Aiven do that Cassandra cannot?
Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cassandra: Does Cassandra support joins between tables?

No. Cassandra does not support joins or foreign keys. The data model requires denormalization, meaning data must be duplicated across tables to support different query patterns.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra offer ACID transactions?

No. Cassandra provides only row-level atomicity and isolation, not full ACID transactions across multiple rows or tables. It uses lightweight transactions via Paxos for per-row compare-and-set operations.

Source
Cassandra: What programming languages can connect to Cassandra?

Cassandra supports official drivers for multiple languages including Python, Java, Node.js, and Go, allowing applications to communicate via the native Cassandra protocol.

Source
Cassandra: Can I deploy Cassandra in the cloud?

Yes. Cassandra can run on any cloud platform (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) via Docker, virtual machines, or managed services like DataStax Astra DB, which provides a fully managed DBaaS option.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra have a free option?

The open source Apache Cassandra is free. DataStax also offers Astra DB with a free tier providing up to 25GB storage and 25 million read/write operations per month.

Source
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