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Business Intelligence · head to head

Evidence vs TiDB

Evidence logo

Evidence

Business Intelligence

Business intelligence as code for teams and AI agents

From
$2500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TiDB logo

TiDB

Databases

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only TiDB has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Evidence high starting price at $2,500/month limits small team adoption; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Evidence covers Analytics Agent, TiDB covers MySQL wire compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Evidence and TiDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Evidence and TiDB differ
AttributeEvidenceTiDB
Starting price$2500/monthFree
Pricing modelFlat team pricing with no per-user feesfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, EmbeddedCloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDatabases
FoundedUnknown2015

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 Evidence

  • Analytics Agent
  • Code-based infrastructure
  • Development environment
  • Visualization tools
  • Embedded analytics
  • Enterprise security
  • Multi-channel access

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.

Evidence

  • Building version-controlled analytics infrastructurenot TiDB
  • Enabling AI agents to answer business questionsnot TiDB
  • Delivering analytics through multiple channels (web, Slack, ChatGPT)not TiDB
  • Embedding white-labeled analytics in productsnot TiDB

TiDB

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

Where each one falls short

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

Evidence

  • High starting price at $2,500/month limits small team adoption
  • No freemium option for evaluation or learning
  • Code-based approach has steeper learning curve than visual tools
  • AI credits limited on Team plan; additional credits cost extra
  • Requires Git workflow familiarity for effective collaboration

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

Evidence

$2500/month
  • Team$2500/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Monthly billing
    • Analytics Agent
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • All Team features
    • SSO/SAML authentication
    • SCIM directory sync

TiDB

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Evidence if

  • You need analytics agent.
  • You work on Cloud, Embedded.
  • You also want code-based infrastructure.
Evidence review

Choose TiDB if

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

Questions people ask

Is Evidence or TiDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Evidence starts at $2500/month and TiDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Evidence or TiDB?
TiDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2500/month for Evidence and Free for TiDB.
Does Evidence or TiDB run on more platforms?
Evidence runs on Cloud, Embedded. TiDB runs on Cloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed.
Can I use TiDB for free?
Yes. TiDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Evidence starts at $2500/month.
What is Evidence best used for?
Evidence is most often used for building version-controlled analytics infrastructure, enabling ai agents to answer business questions, delivering analytics through multiple channels (web, slack, chatgpt), embedding white-labeled analytics in products. Of those, building version-controlled analytics infrastructure and enabling ai agents to answer business questions are not what TiDB is typically brought in for.
What can Evidence do that TiDB cannot?
Evidence covers Analytics Agent, Code-based infrastructure, Development environment, Visualization tools. TiDB covers MySQL wire compatibility, Horizontal write scaling, Distributed ACID transactions, TiFlash columnar replica.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Evidence: Does Evidence have per-user pricing?

No, Evidence offers one flat price for unlimited users at $2,500/month on the Team plan with a 30-day free trial.

Source
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.

Evidence: How many AI credits come with Team plan?

Team plan includes 20,000 AI credits monthly at $0.01 per additional credit. Enterprise offers custom credit packages.

Source
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.

Evidence: What is included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise adds SSO/SAML, SCIM directory sync, row-level access rules, embedding capabilities, and custom deployment options at custom pricing.

Source
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.

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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