Software · head to head
ArangoDB vs RavenDB
ArangoDB
Software
Multi-model database for graph, document, and search
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: ArangoDB the company has repositioned around a wider platform, so ArangoDB is now described as the foundation inside Arango rather than the product itself; RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
- They diverge on capability: ArangoDB covers Multi-model Support, RavenDB covers Auto-indexing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ArangoDB and RavenDB actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web), 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 ArangoDB
- Multi-model Support
- AQL Query Language
- Graph Traversals
- SmartGraphs
- Satellite Collections
- Foxx Microservices
- Pregel
- Kafka
Only in RavenDB
- Auto-indexing
- Graph Queries
- Distributed Counters
- Time Series
- Document Compression
- .NET
- Node.js
- Java
Both cover
- Full-text Search
- ACID Transactions
- Linux support
- Windows support
- Mac support
- Docker support
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ArangoDB
- Graph, document and key-value data in one databasenot RavenDB
- Vector and full-text search alongside graph traversalnot RavenDB
- Avoiding separate stores for related and unstructured datanot RavenDB
- Backing AI applications needing both graph context and vectorsnot RavenDB
RavenDB
- Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot ArangoDB
- Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot ArangoDB
- Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot ArangoDB
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ArangoDB
- The company has repositioned around a wider platform, so ArangoDB is now described as the foundation inside Arango rather than the product itself
- Neither the community licence terms nor cloud pricing are stated on the main site
- arangodb.com redirects to arango.ai
RavenDB
- The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
- The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
- The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
- Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
- Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate
Pricing, plan by plan
ArangoDB
Free- CommunityFree
- All data models
- AQL queries
- Full-text search
- ArangoGraph$99/month
- Managed service
- Graph analytics
- Enterprise support
RavenDB
Free- CommunityFree
- 3 cores
- 6GB RAM
- Community support
- Professional$499/year
- Production use
- Professional support
- Advanced features
Which should you pick?
Choose ArangoDB if
- You need multi-model support.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
- You also want aql query language.
Choose RavenDB if
- You need auto-indexing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
- You also want graph queries.
Questions people ask
- Is ArangoDB or RavenDB better?
- Neither clearly leads. ArangoDB starts at Free and RavenDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ArangoDB or RavenDB?
- ArangoDB starts at Free and RavenDB at Free.
- Does ArangoDB or RavenDB run on more platforms?
- Both run on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use ArangoDB for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is ArangoDB best used for?
- ArangoDB is most often used for graph, document and key-value data in one database, vector and full-text search alongside graph traversal, avoiding separate stores for related and unstructured data, backing ai applications needing both graph context and vectors. Of those, graph, document and key-value data in one database and vector and full-text search alongside graph traversal are not what RavenDB is typically brought in for.
- What can ArangoDB do that RavenDB cannot?
- ArangoDB covers Multi-model Support, AQL Query Language, Graph Traversals, SmartGraphs. RavenDB covers Auto-indexing, Graph Queries, Distributed Counters, Time Series. Both handle Full-text Search, ACID Transactions, Linux support, Windows support.