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Software · head to head

Census vs Cockroach Labs

Census logo

Census

Software

The reverse ETL infrastructure for data activation

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: Census census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans; Cockroach Labs basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • They diverge on capability: Census covers Reverse ETL, Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Census and Cockroach Labs differ
AttributeCensusCockroach Labs
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsWeb, ApiAWS, GCP, Azure
Founded20202015

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 Census

  • Reverse ETL
  • Data syncing
  • Transformation
  • Real-time activation
  • Error handling
  • Monitoring
  • Analytics
  • 150+ destinations

Only in Cockroach Labs

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

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Census

  • Syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse ETL)not Cockroach Labs

Cockroach Labs

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

Where each one falls short

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

Census

  • Census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans
  • Free Fivetran Activations tier caps at 3,500 monthly active rows

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

Census

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic syncing
    • Limited destinations
  • Pro$250/month
    • Advanced syncing
    • Email support
  • Enterprise$1500/month
    • Unlimited syncing
    • Dedicated support

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Census if

  • You need reverse etl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data syncing.
Census 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 Census or Cockroach Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. Census 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, Census or Cockroach Labs?
Census starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free.
Does Census or Cockroach Labs run on more platforms?
Census runs on Web, Api. Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure.
Can I use Census for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Census best used for?
Census is most often used for syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse etl). Of those, syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse etl) is not what Cockroach Labs is typically brought in for.
What can Census do that Cockroach Labs cannot?
Census covers Reverse ETL, Data syncing, Transformation, Real-time activation. Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning. Both handle SOC2, Encryption, Cloud deployment.
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