Is Cockroach Labs or Namely better?

Neither clearly leads. Cockroach Labs starts at Free and Namely at $18/employee/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Cockroach Labs or Namely?

Cockroach Labs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cockroach Labs and $18/employee/month for Namely.

Does Cockroach Labs or Namely run on more platforms?

Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure. Namely runs on Web.

Can I use Cockroach Labs for free?

Yes. Cockroach Labs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Namely starts at $18/employee/month.

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 Namely is typically brought in for.

What can Cockroach Labs do that Namely cannot?

Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning. Namely covers HR Management, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time Off Management.

Database & Data Management · head to head

Cockroach Labs vs Namely

Cockroach Labs

Database & Data Management

The cloud-native distributed SQL database

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Namely

Payroll & Benefits

The HR platform that employees love

From: $18/employee/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

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); Namely limited customization for complex HR processes: workflows and customization options are limited compared to enterprise solutions
They diverge on capability: Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Namely covers HR Management.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Cockroach Labs and Namely differ
Attribute	Cockroach Labs	Namely
Starting price	Free	$18/employee/month
Pricing model	freemium	Unknown
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	AWS, GCP, Azure	Web
Category	Database & Data Management	Payroll & Benefits
Founded	2015	2012

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 Namely

HR Management
Payroll
Benefits Administration
Time Off Management
Performance Management
Onboarding
Slack
Google Workspace

What people use each for

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

Cockroach Labs

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

Namely

No use cases recorded yet. See the Namely review.

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

Namely

Limited customization for complex HR processes: workflows and customization options are limited compared to enterprise solutions
Payroll limitations: better served for less complex organizations and struggles with complex time-and-attendance or multi-FEIN scenarios
Missing ATS and surveys: lacks built-in applicant tracking system and pulse survey capabilities
Slow support response times: pod-based support model has led to slow response times for customers
Designed for specific market segment: best fit is mid-sized companies with 50-350 employees

Pricing, plan by plan

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

Namely

$18/employee/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Namely 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 Namely if

You need hr management.
You also want payroll.

Namely review

Questions people ask

Is Cockroach Labs or Namely better?: Neither clearly leads. Cockroach Labs starts at Free and Namely at $18/employee/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cockroach Labs or Namely?: Cockroach Labs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cockroach Labs and $18/employee/month for Namely.
Does Cockroach Labs or Namely run on more platforms?: Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure. Namely runs on Web.
Can I use Cockroach Labs for free?: Yes. Cockroach Labs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Namely starts at $18/employee/month.
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 Namely is typically brought in for.
What can Cockroach Labs do that Namely cannot?: Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning. Namely covers HR Management, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time Off Management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Namely: Does Namely support global payroll?

Namely primarily focuses on mid-sized US-based companies with 50-350 employees. While it can handle complex payroll scenarios, it is better served for less complex organizations and does not have extensive global payroll capabilities compared to enterprise platforms.

Source

Namely: What is included in Namely's Premium pricing?

Premium plans cost $18-24 per employee per month plus implementation fees of 10-25% of annual software costs. Plans include payroll, HR, benefits administration, time management, and talent management features.

Source

Namely: Does Namely include performance management features?

Yes, Namely offers customizable performance review modules enabling dynamic, ongoing feedback rather than traditional annual-only reviews. This is one of Namely's standout features.

Source

Namely: How long does Namely implementation typically take?

Namely is designed for mid-sized companies and implementation timelines vary based on complexity. The platform includes implementation fees of 10-25% of annual software costs in addition to monthly per-employee pricing.

Source

Cockroach Labs vs Namely

Cockroach Labs

Namely

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Cockroach Labs

Only in Namely

What people use each for

Cockroach Labs

Namely

Where each one falls short

Cockroach Labs

Namely

Pricing, plan by plan

Cockroach Labs

Namely

Which should you pick?

Choose Cockroach Labs if

Choose Namely if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Cockroach Labs

More on Namely

Keep looking

Other head to heads