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Database & Data Management · head to head

Cassandra vs Hive

Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Database & Data Management

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hive logo

Hive

Project Management

Project management built for speed

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cassandra has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cassandra no support for joins across tables; Hive the free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage
  • They diverge on capability: Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Hive covers Tasks.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cassandra and Hive actually diverge.

Attributes where Cassandra and Hive differ
AttributeCassandraHive
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, KubernetesWeb, Ios, Android, Desktop
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementProject Management
Founded20082015

Identical on both: 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 Cassandra

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

Only in Hive

  • Tasks
  • Gantt view
  • Kanban
  • Time tracking
  • Forms
  • Slack
  • Zoom
  • Google Drive

What people use each for

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

Cassandra

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

Hive

  • Project and task management with multiple project viewsnot Cassandra
  • Coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teamsnot 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

Hive

  • The free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage
  • The Starter plan at $5 per user per month is limited to 10 projects
  • Eight capabilities are sold as $5 per user add ons on the Teams plan, including CRM, timesheets, proofing, resourcing, advanced dashboards, external users and SSO
  • Buying SSO plus a few of those add ons therefore costs more than the $12 base seat itself
  • AI credits are metered monthly at 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 by plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

Hive

On request
  • FreeFree
    • Basic features
    • 10 users
  • Teams$12/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Time tracking
    • Automations

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 Hive if

  • You need tasks.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop.
  • You also want gantt view.
Hive review

Questions people ask

Is Cassandra or Hive better?
Neither clearly leads. Cassandra starts at Free and Hive at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cassandra or Hive?
Cassandra has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cassandra and On request for Hive.
Does Cassandra or Hive run on more platforms?
Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Hive runs on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop.
Can I use Cassandra for free?
Yes. Cassandra has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hive starts at On request.
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 Hive is typically brought in for.
What can Cassandra do that Hive cannot?
Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency. Hive covers Tasks, Gantt view, Kanban, Time tracking.

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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