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Cassandra vs SingleStore

Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Software

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SingleStore logo

SingleStore

Software

The real-time distributed SQL database for data-intensive applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cassandra no support for joins across tables; SingleStore high licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size
  • They diverge on capability: Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cassandra and SingleStore actually diverge.

Attributes where Cassandra and SingleStore differ
AttributeCassandraSingleStore
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, KubernetesCloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed
Founded20082011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), 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
  • No Single Point of Failure
  • DataStax
  • Apache Spark

Only in SingleStore

  • Real-time Analytics
  • Fast Data Ingest
  • In-memory Processing
  • MySQL Compatible
  • Columnar Storage
  • Vector Search
  • Kafka
  • Spark

Both cover

  • Distributed Architecture
  • Linux support
  • Docker support

What people use each for

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

Cassandra

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

SingleStore

  • Transaction processingnot Cassandra
  • Data storagenot Cassandra
  • Application backendnot Cassandra
  • Reportingnot Cassandra
  • Data analyticsnot 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

SingleStore

  • High licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size
  • Eventual consistency in replication: secondary replicas may lag during high write loads
  • Complex operational setup requiring specialized knowledge for optimization
  • Vendor lock-in due to proprietary technology without open-source alternatives
  • Disorganized documentation and lack of online training resources

Pricing, plan by plan

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

SingleStore

Free
  • Free Tier$0.99/month
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Limited resources

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 SingleStore if

  • You need real-time analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed.
  • You also want fast data ingest.
SingleStore review

Questions people ask

Is Cassandra or SingleStore better?
Neither clearly leads. Cassandra starts at Free and SingleStore at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cassandra or SingleStore?
Cassandra starts at Free and SingleStore at Free.
Does Cassandra or SingleStore run on more platforms?
Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. SingleStore runs on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed.
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 SingleStore is typically brought in for.
What can Cassandra do that SingleStore cannot?
Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency. SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics, Fast Data Ingest, In-memory Processing, MySQL Compatible. Both handle Distributed Architecture, Linux support, Docker support.

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
SingleStore: Does SingleStore offer a free tier?

Yes, SingleStore offers a free tier starting from $0.99/month with usage-based pricing. The free tier allows developers to evaluate the platform with limited resources before scaling to production workloads.

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
SingleStore: Can SingleStore handle both transactional and analytical workloads?

Yes, SingleStore is a hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) database that combines operational (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP) workloads in a single unified engine, eliminating the need for separate systems.

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
SingleStore: Does SingleStore integrate with Apache Spark?

Yes, SingleStore provides the Spark Connector 3.0 for bidirectional data integration with Apache Spark. The connector supports SQL, Python, Scala, Java, and R for data loading and extraction.

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
SingleStore: Can SingleStore ingest data from Kafka?

Yes, SingleStore supports high-throughput streaming ingestion from Apache Kafka and other sources, enabling millions of events per second without requiring ETL pipelines or data movement.

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
SingleStore: Is SingleStore available as cloud or self-managed?

SingleStore offers both deployment options: SingleStoreDB Cloud (managed service) and SingleStore Self-Managed for on-premises or private cloud deployments. The managed service handles infrastructure, scaling, and maintenance automatically.

Source
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