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Databases · head to head

CouchDB vs FaunaDB

CouchDB logo

CouchDB

Databases

Seamless multi-master sync with Apache CouchDB

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
FaunaDB logo

FaunaDB

Databases

Document-relational database whose hosted service closed in 2025 and whose core is now unmaintained Apache 2.0 code.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CouchDB append-only storage model may have performance implications for certain workloads with high update rates; FaunaDB the hosted service was wound down in 2025, so there is no managed Fauna to buy; every remaining user either operates a JVM cluster themselves or migrates, and both are projects rather than tasks.
  • They diverge on capability: CouchDB covers Multi-master Replication, FaunaDB covers Document-relational model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CouchDB and FaunaDB actually diverge.

Attributes where CouchDB and FaunaDB differ
AttributeCouchDBFaunaDB
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsDocker, Windows (x64), macOS, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS), Raspberry PiWeb
Founded19992012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 CouchDB

  • Multi-master Replication
  • HTTP/JSON API
  • MapReduce Views
  • ACID Semantics
  • Offline-first
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Fauxton UI
  • PouchDB

Only in FaunaDB

  • Document-relational model
  • FQL v10
  • Distributed ACID transactions
  • HTTPS access
  • User-defined functions
  • Attribute-based access control
  • Document history
  • Event streaming

What people use each for

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

CouchDB

  • Offline-first applications requiring seamless replication across mobile and server environmentsnot FaunaDB
  • Multi-master deployments where data consistency eventually resolves across regionsnot FaunaDB
  • IoT and edge computing scenarios with intermittent connectivitynot FaunaDB

FaunaDB

  • Keeping an existing Fauna-backed application alive on self-hosted infrastructure while a migration is planned and fundednot CouchDB
  • Extracting historical data from a Fauna dataset that can no longer be reached through the hosted APInot CouchDB
  • Studying a production implementation of deterministic distributed transactions, since the full server source is now readable under Apache 2.0not CouchDB
  • Forking the engine deliberately, where an organisation has JVM and distributed-systems staff and wants a document-relational store it fully controlsnot CouchDB

Where each one falls short

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

CouchDB

  • Append-only storage model may have performance implications for certain workloads with high update rates
  • Requires network synchronisation for cluster data consistency; can introduce latency in multi-master scenarios
  • No explicit support for complex joins; MapReduce queries may be inefficient compared to relational databases

FaunaDB

  • The hosted service was wound down in 2025, so there is no managed Fauna to buy; every remaining user either operates a JVM cluster themselves or migrates, and both are projects rather than tasks.
  • The open-sourced repository has had no substantive activity since May 2025 and the drivers were frozen alongside it, so you inherit responsibility for security patches in a Scala distributed database that almost nobody else is running.
  • FQL has no wire or dialect compatibility with anything else, so migrating off is a rewrite of every query, index and access rule in the application rather than a data export.
  • No BI tool, ORM or CDC connector speaks FQL, so reporting and analytics always required exporting the data first, and that export tooling is now also unmaintained.
  • The community was small before the shutdown and has dispersed since, so operational answers, tuning advice and people who have run a Fauna cluster in anger are all scarce when something breaks.

Pricing, plan by plan

CouchDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the CouchDB review.

FaunaDB

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100K read ops
    • 50K write ops
    • 1GB storage
  • Pro$25/month
    • Pay per use
    • Priority support
    • Advanced features

Which should you pick?

Choose CouchDB if

  • You need multi-master replication.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Windows (x64), macOS, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS), Raspberry Pi.
  • You also want http/json api.
CouchDB review

Choose FaunaDB if

  • You need document-relational model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want fql v10.
FaunaDB review

Questions people ask

Is CouchDB or FaunaDB better?
Neither clearly leads. CouchDB starts at Free and FaunaDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CouchDB or FaunaDB?
CouchDB starts at Free and FaunaDB at Free.
Does CouchDB or FaunaDB run on more platforms?
CouchDB runs on Docker, Windows (x64), macOS, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS), Raspberry Pi. FaunaDB runs on Web.
Can I use CouchDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CouchDB best used for?
CouchDB is most often used for offline-first applications requiring seamless replication across mobile and server environments, multi-master deployments where data consistency eventually resolves across regions, iot and edge computing scenarios with intermittent connectivity. Of those, offline-first applications requiring seamless replication across mobile and server environments and multi-master deployments where data consistency eventually resolves across regions are not what FaunaDB is typically brought in for.
What can CouchDB do that FaunaDB cannot?
CouchDB covers Multi-master Replication, HTTP/JSON API, MapReduce Views, ACID Semantics. FaunaDB covers Document-relational model, FQL v10, Distributed ACID transactions, HTTPS access.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CouchDB: Is Apache CouchDB free to use?

Yes, Apache CouchDB is completely free to download and use. It is open source software licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

Source
FaunaDB: Can I still sign up for Fauna as a service?

No. Fauna Inc. wound down the hosted service in 2025 and the company website is no longer serving. The only way to run Fauna now is to build and operate the open-sourced server yourself.

CouchDB: Can I use CouchDB for commercial purposes?

Yes, the Apache License 2.0 permits commercial use. The license is permissive and does not restrict business applications.

Source
FaunaDB: What licence is the open-sourced code under?

Apache 2.0, with the copyright held by a FaunaDB Foundation. That is a permissive OSI licence with no competing-use clause, so you may run it, modify it and even offer it as a service.

CouchDB: Is there a paid support or professional services option?

CouchDB's homepage mentions Professional Services as an available option, but no pricing details or specific service costs are listed. Contact the Apache CouchDB project for more information.

Source
FaunaDB: Is the open source version the same software that ran the cloud?

It is the core database engine. The control plane, billing, dashboard and multi-tenant operational tooling that made it a service are not part of the release, so you are running the engine, not the product.

CouchDB: Who handles hosting costs if I use CouchDB?

CouchDB is self-hosted, so you are responsible for your own infrastructure and hosting costs. The software itself is free.

Source
FaunaDB: What should I migrate to?

There is no drop-in target. Teams that valued the document model with relationships usually land on Postgres with JSONB, and teams that valued the serverless HTTP access pattern usually land on DynamoDB or a managed Postgres with an HTTP driver. Either way the query layer is rewritten.

FaunaDB: How hard is it to self-host?

It builds as a fat JAR and runs as a multi-node JVM cluster. There is an OPERATING.md, but no supported packaging, no operator, no upstream releases and no support contract, so budget for a distributed-systems engineer, not a container.

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