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Cassandra vs Cockroach Labs

Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Software

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cockroach Labs logo

Cockroach Labs

Software

The cloud-native distributed SQL database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cassandra no support for joins across tables; Cockroach Labs basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • They diverge on capability: Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cassandra and Cockroach Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where Cassandra and Cockroach Labs differ
AttributeCassandraCockroach Labs
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, KubernetesAWS, GCP, Azure
Founded20082015

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 Cassandra

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

Only in Cockroach Labs

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

What people use each for

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

Cassandra

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

Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL database for scalable applicationsnot Cassandra
  • Multi-region deployment and failovernot Cassandra

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

Which should you pick?

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

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 Cassandra or Cockroach Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. Cassandra 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, Cassandra or Cockroach Labs?
Cassandra starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free.
Does Cassandra or Cockroach Labs run on more platforms?
Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure.
Can I use Cassandra for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cassandra best used for?
Cassandra is most often used for real-time applications, content management, user profiles, mobile backends. Of those, real-time applications and content management are not what Cockroach Labs is typically brought in for.
What can Cassandra do that Cockroach Labs cannot?
Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency. Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning.

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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