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Cortex vs TiDB

Cortex logo

Cortex

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit CortexFull review
TiDB logo

TiDB

Databases

Apache 2.0 distributed SQL database with MySQL wire compatibility and a separate columnar replica for analytical queries.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit TiDBFull review

The short version

  • TiDB starts at $250/mo; Cortex prices on request.
  • Only Cortex lists service catalogue; only TiDB lists MySQL wire compatibility.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and TiDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and TiDB differ
AttributeCortexTiDB
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelQuoteFreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, AWS, Azure, Self-managed
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

Not yet recorded: founded for Cortex.

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 Cortex

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards
  • Initiatives
  • Self-service templates
  • Query language
  • Eng intelligence
  • Integrations layer
  • On-call and ownership mapping

Only in TiDB

  • MySQL wire compatibility
  • Horizontal write scaling
  • Distributed ACID transactions
  • TiFlash columnar replica
  • Automatic rebalancing
  • Raft replication
  • Apache 2.0 licence
  • Online schema change

What people use each for

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

Cortex

  • A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot TiDB
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot TiDB
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot TiDB
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot TiDB

TiDB

  • A MySQL workload that has hit the write ceiling of a single primary and would otherwise need an application-level sharding layernot Cortex
  • Reporting that must run against current transactional data, where the columnar replica removes the delay and the cost of an ETL pipelinenot Cortex
  • Multi-region deployments needing a single logical database with automatic failover rather than manual primary promotionnot Cortex
  • Migrating off a sharded MySQL estate where the sharding logic in the application has become the main source of bugs and operational toilnot Cortex

Where each one falls short

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

Cortex

  • Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first
  • The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything
  • Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue
  • It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves
  • Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract

TiDB

  • A production cluster needs several placement driver, storage and SQL nodes before it is fault tolerant, so the minimum viable footprint is far larger than a MySQL server and TiDB is never the economical choice for a small database
  • Every transaction takes a timestamp from the placement driver and crosses the network to storage nodes, so simple point queries are slower than on single-node MySQL and latency-sensitive paths need to be measured, not assumed
  • MySQL compatibility is at the wire and dialect level but not complete; stored procedures, triggers and events are not supported, so an application that pushed logic into the database cannot simply be repointed
  • The columnar replica is an extra full copy of the data on its own nodes, so hybrid analytics roughly doubles storage and adds hardware that must be sized and paid for separately
  • Operating it well requires cluster-specific expertise in TiUP or the Kubernetes operator, region hot spots, and rebalancing behaviour, so the licence is free but the running cost includes an engineer who understands distributed storage

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

On request
  • CortexOn request
    • Service catalogue and ownership mapping
    • Scorecards and initiatives
    • Self-service templates

TiDB

Free
  • ServerlessFree
    • 5GB storage
    • 50M request units
    • Free forever tier
  • Dedicated$250/mo
    • Dedicated resources
    • SLA guarantees
    • Enterprise support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want scorecards.
Cortex review

Choose TiDB if

  • You need mysql wire compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, AWS, Azure, Self-managed.
  • You also want horizontal write scaling.
TiDB review

Questions people ask

Is Cortex or TiDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and TiDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or TiDB?
TiDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cortex and Free for TiDB.
Does Cortex or TiDB run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. TiDB runs on Web, AWS, Azure, Self-managed.
Can I use TiDB for free?
Yes. TiDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
What is Cortex best used for?
Cortex is most often used for a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services, an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions, enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident review, replacing a self-hosted backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgraded. Of those, a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services and an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions are not what TiDB is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that TiDB cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. TiDB covers MySQL wire compatibility, Horizontal write scaling, Distributed ACID transactions, TiFlash columnar replica.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?

Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.

TiDB: Is TiDB a drop-in replacement for MySQL?

At the protocol and dialect level it is close, and most applications connect unchanged. Stored procedures, triggers and events are not supported, and latency characteristics differ, so it needs testing rather than assumption.

Cortex: Is pricing published?

No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.

TiDB: What licence is it under?

Apache 2.0, for both TiDB and the underlying TiKV storage engine. TiKV is a graduated CNCF project, which is a meaningful governance signal in a market where several competitors moved to source-available licences.

Cortex: Can it self-host?

It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.

TiDB: Do I need TiFlash?

Only for analytical queries. It is an optional columnar replica; without it TiDB is a distributed transactional database. With it you get analytics on live data at the cost of an additional full copy.

Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?

Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.

TiDB: Is the managed cloud the same software?

TiDB Cloud runs the same engine, with the control plane, scaling and operational tooling provided as a service. The entry tier is metered differently from a dedicated cluster, so the cost model rather than the engine is what changes.

TiDB: When is TiDB the wrong choice?

When the database is small enough for one server, when latency on single-row lookups is the primary constraint, or when the application depends on MySQL stored procedures and triggers.

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