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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs Cockroach Labs

Lambda (AWS Serverless) logo

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Cloud & Infrastructure

Run code without thinking about servers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cockroach Labs logo

Cockroach Labs

Cloud & Infrastructure

The cloud-native distributed SQL database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does; Cockroach Labs basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Cockroach Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Cockroach Labs differ
AttributeLambda (AWS Serverless)Cockroach Labs
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsWeb, ApiAWS, GCP, Azure
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureUnknown
Founded20142015

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

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 Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Function-as-a-Service
  • Event-driven execution
  • Auto-scaling
  • Pay-per-use
  • Multiple languages
  • Concurrency limits
  • Dead Letter Queues
  • Environment variables

Only in Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL
  • Automatic Sharding
  • Multi-region Replication
  • Geo-partitioning
  • ACID Transactions
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Survivability
  • PostgreSQL Compatibility

Both cover

  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Event-driven functions without managing serversnot Cockroach Labs
  • API backends behind API Gatewaynot Cockroach Labs
  • Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot Cockroach Labs
  • Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot Cockroach Labs
  • Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot Cockroach Labs

Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL database for scalable applicationsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • Multi-region deployment and failovernot Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Where each one falls short

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

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
  • Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
  • Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
  • Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
  • VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top

Cockroach Labs

  • Basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • Azure support restricted to Advanced tier only
  • Basic tier limited to 50 million RUs and 10 GiB storage per month
  • Advanced tier starts at $0.60/hour for 4 vCPUs minimum
  • 3 TiB maximum storage on Basic and Standard tiers, 10 TiB per node on Advanced

Pricing, plan by plan

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • 1M free requests/month
    • 400,000 GB-seconds/month
    • Always free

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if

  • You need function-as-a-service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want event-driven execution.
Lambda (AWS Serverless) review

Choose Cockroach Labs if

  • You need distributed sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure.
  • You also want automatic sharding.
Cockroach Labs review

Questions people ask

Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Cockroach Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Cockroach Labs?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free.
Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Cockroach Labs run on more platforms?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure.
Can I use Lambda (AWS Serverless) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Lambda (AWS Serverless) best used for?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) is most often used for event-driven functions without managing servers, api backends behind api gateway, processing s3, dynamodb, sqs and kinesis events, scheduled jobs without a always-on instance. Of those, event-driven functions without managing servers and api backends behind api gateway are not what Cockroach Labs is typically brought in for.
What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that Cockroach Labs cannot?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning. Both handle Encryption, Cloud deployment.
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