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Databases · head to head

Cassandra vs Sourcegraph

Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Databases

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit CassandraFull review
Sourcegraph logo

Sourcegraph

Developer Tools

Code search and intelligence platform for large codebases with Cody AI assistant

From
$16000/year
Free plan
No
Visit SourcegraphFull review

The short version

  • Sourcegraph is an enterprise code intelligence platform.
  • Cassandra is free; Sourcegraph starts at $16000/yr.
  • Where Cassandra falls short: no support for joins across tables.
  • Where Sourcegraph falls short: enterprise pricing starting at $16k annually creates significant barrier for small teams.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cassandra and Sourcegraph actually diverge.

Attributes where Cassandra and Sourcegraph differ
AttributeCassandraSourcegraph
Starting priceFree$16000/year
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb, Self-hosted
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Not yet recorded: pricing model for Cassandra, founded for Sourcegraph.

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 Sourcegraph

Nothing recorded that Cassandra does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Cassandra

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

Sourcegraph

  • Large-scale code migrations across hundreds of repositoriesnot Cassandra
  • Enterprise governance and code ownership trackingnot Cassandra
  • AI-assisted bug hunting and security pattern detectionnot Cassandra
  • Onboarding engineers into large unfamiliar codebasesnot Cassandra
  • Regulatory compliance and code audit trailsnot 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

Sourcegraph

  • Enterprise pricing starting at $16k annually creates significant barrier for small teams
  • No free tier or standard plan published; all options require custom sales engagement
  • Complex enterprise-only positioning limits adoption compared to GitHub Copilot's pervasiveness
  • Requires indexing entire codebase; not suitable for small or ephemeral projects

Pricing, plan by plan

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

Sourcegraph

$16000/year
  • Enterprise$16,000/yr
    • Scales with team size
    • Credits for AI features per user
    • Deep Search

Which should you pick?

Choose Cassandra if

  • You need linear scalability.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
  • You also want fault tolerance.
Cassandra review

Choose Sourcegraph if

  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
Sourcegraph review

Questions people ask

Is Cassandra or Sourcegraph better?
Neither clearly leads. Cassandra starts at Free and Sourcegraph at $16000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cassandra or Sourcegraph?
Cassandra has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cassandra and $16000/year for Sourcegraph.
Does Cassandra or Sourcegraph run on more platforms?
Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Sourcegraph runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Cassandra for free?
Yes. Cassandra has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sourcegraph starts at $16000/year.
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 Sourcegraph is typically brought in for.
What can Cassandra do that Sourcegraph cannot?
Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency.

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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