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Database & Data Management · head to head

Cockroach Labs vs Elastic Stack

Cockroach Labs logo

Cockroach Labs

Database & Data Management

The cloud-native distributed SQL database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic Stack logo

Elastic Stack

Log Management

Search, Observability, and Security Solutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cockroach Labs has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cockroach Labs basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only); Elastic Stack self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • They diverge on capability: Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Elastic Stack covers Full-text search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cockroach Labs and Elastic Stack actually diverge.

Attributes where Cockroach Labs and Elastic Stack differ
AttributeCockroach LabsElastic Stack
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsAWS, GCP, AzureCloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK)
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementLog Management
Founded20152011

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 Cockroach Labs

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

Only in Elastic Stack

  • Full-text search
  • Log analytics
  • Security monitoring
  • Alerting
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Cockroach Labs

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

Elastic Stack

  • Distributed search and analytics engine for production-scale workloadsnot Cockroach Labs
  • Full-text search and vector search with approximate nearest neighbour supportnot Cockroach Labs
  • Security event tracking with field-level and document-level access controlnot Cockroach Labs
  • Machine learning capabilities including anomaly detection and forecastingnot Cockroach Labs

Where each one falls short

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

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

Elastic Stack

  • Self-managed deployment requires licensing based on node count and RAM usage
  • Serverless option has pending features including traffic filtering and bring-your-own-key encryption
  • Hosted deployment requires custom resource configuration for cluster management
  • Pricing models differ significantly across Hosted, Serverless, and Self-managed options

Pricing, plan by plan

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

Elastic Stack

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic Stack review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Elastic Stack if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
  • You also want log analytics.
Elastic Stack review

Questions people ask

Is Cockroach Labs or Elastic Stack better?
Neither clearly leads. Cockroach Labs starts at Free and Elastic Stack at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cockroach Labs or Elastic Stack?
Cockroach Labs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cockroach Labs and On request for Elastic Stack.
Does Cockroach Labs or Elastic Stack run on more platforms?
Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure. Elastic Stack runs on Cloud-hosted, Self-managed, Docker, Kubernetes (ECK).
Can I use Cockroach Labs for free?
Yes. Cockroach Labs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic Stack starts at On request.
What is Cockroach Labs best used for?
Cockroach Labs is most often used for distributed sql database for scalable applications, multi-region deployment and failover. Of those, distributed sql database for scalable applications and multi-region deployment and failover are not what Elastic Stack is typically brought in for.
What can Cockroach Labs do that Elastic Stack cannot?
Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning. Elastic Stack covers Full-text search, Log analytics, Security monitoring, Alerting.
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