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RAD Studio vs RavenDB

RAD Studio logo

RAD Studio

Developer Tools

Cross-platform native app development with Delphi and C++Builder

From
$2000/perpetual
Free plan
No
Visit RAD StudioFull review
RavenDB logo

RavenDB

Databases

The fully transactional NoSQL document database

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit RavenDBFull review

The short version

  • RAD Studio is a cross-platform IDE; RavenDB is an open-source document-oriented database written in C#.
  • RavenDB has a free plan, then $499/yr; RAD Studio starts at $2000/mo.
  • Where RAD Studio falls short: professional edition costs $2,000 for the perpetual license plus $599 for year one maintenance, totaling $2,599 before tax.
  • Where RavenDB falls short: the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RAD Studio and RavenDB actually diverge.

Attributes where RAD Studio and RavenDB differ
AttributeRAD StudioRavenDB
Starting price$2000/perpetualFree
Pricing modelOne-timeFreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, Web
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

Not yet recorded: founded for RAD Studio.

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 RAD Studio

Nothing recorded that RavenDB does not also cover.

Only in RavenDB

  • ACID Transactions
  • Auto-indexing
  • Full-text Search
  • Graph Queries
  • Distributed Counters
  • Time Series
  • Document Compression
  • .NET

What people use each for

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

RAD Studio

  • Building Windows desktop applications with VCL componentsnot RavenDB
  • Creating iOS and Android apps from shared Delphi codebasenot RavenDB
  • Connecting to Oracle databases through FireDAC connectivitynot RavenDB
  • Building REST web services that run on Linux serversnot RavenDB

RavenDB

  • Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot RAD Studio
  • Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot RAD Studio
  • Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot RAD Studio

Where each one falls short

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

RAD Studio

  • Professional edition costs $2,000 for the perpetual license plus $599 for year one maintenance, totaling $2,599 before tax
  • Enterprise edition steps up to $3,400 license plus $1,199 maintenance, and Architect edition to $4,416 license plus $2,183 maintenance
  • The perpetual license only entitles the buyer to updates for one year; continued access to new updates and upgrades requires an annually renewable Update Subscription

RavenDB

  • The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
  • The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
  • The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
  • Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate

Pricing, plan by plan

RAD Studio

$2000/perpetual
  • Professional Edition$2,000 one-off
    • Perpetual License
    • First year maintenance $599
    • Total $2,599 + Tax
  • Enterprise Edition$3,400 one-off
    • Perpetual License
    • First year maintenance $1,199
    • Total $4,599 + Tax
  • Architect Edition$4,416 one-off
    • Perpetual License
    • First year maintenance $2,183
    • Total $6,599 + Tax

RavenDB

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • 3 cores
    • 6GB RAM
    • Community support
  • Professional$499/yr
    • Production use
    • Professional support
    • Advanced features

Which should you pick?

Choose RAD Studio if

Nothing in the data separates RAD Studio from RavenDB on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

RAD Studio review

Choose RavenDB if

  • You need acid transactions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
  • You also want auto-indexing.
RavenDB review

Questions people ask

Is RAD Studio or RavenDB better?
Neither clearly leads. RAD Studio starts at $2000/perpetual and RavenDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RAD Studio or RavenDB?
RavenDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2000/perpetual for RAD Studio and Free for RavenDB.
Does RAD Studio or RavenDB run on more platforms?
RAD Studio runs on Web. RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
Can I use RavenDB for free?
Yes. RavenDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. RAD Studio starts at $2000/perpetual.
What is RAD Studio best used for?
RAD Studio is most often used for building windows desktop applications with vcl components, creating ios and android apps from shared delphi codebase, connecting to oracle databases through firedac connectivity, building rest web services that run on linux servers. Of those, building windows desktop applications with vcl components and creating ios and android apps from shared delphi codebase are not what RavenDB is typically brought in for.
What can RAD Studio do that RavenDB cannot?
RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

RAD Studio: How much does RAD Studio cost?

RAD Studio uses perpetual licensing: Professional Edition $2,000 perpetual license + $599 first year maintenance ($2,599 total + tax). Enterprise Edition $3,400 license + $1,199 maintenance ($4,599 total + tax). Architect Edition $4,416 license + $2,183 maintenance ($6,599 total + tax).

Source
RavenDB: Is RavenDB free or open source?

RavenDB is open source under the AGPLv3 license and available on GitHub. It also offers a free developer license with enterprise-level features limited to 9 cores, 36GB max RAM, 3 nodes, and non-commercial use.

Source
RAD Studio: What is the difference between RAD Studio editions?

Professional Edition ($2,599 total + tax) targets individual developers. Enterprise Edition ($4,599 total + tax) adds multi-tier app capabilities. Architect Edition ($6,599 total + tax) includes advanced database and cloud features. All three include perpetual licenses.

Source
RavenDB: Can I use RavenDB commercially for free?

RavenDB offers a free Community License that permits commercial deployment with unlimited databases and sizes, subject to a 60-core maximum per customer and requirement to run the latest major version.

Source
RAD Studio: Does RAD Studio offer Kai AI integration and discounts?

Yes, adding Kai AI to any edition provides discounts: 25% off Professional ($2,136 + tax), 30% off Enterprise ($3,394 + tax), and 40% off Architect ($4,109 + tax). This promotion is active through August 31, 2026.

Source
RavenDB: What commercial licensing options does RavenDB offer?

RavenDB offers Professional, Enterprise, and AI tiers for commercial use. Pricing for these tiers requires contacting their sales team at [email protected].

Source
RavenDB: Does RavenDB offer a cloud hosting option?

RavenDB Cloud provides a fully managed cloud database with maintenance, failover, and backups included. Pricing is available at cloud.ravendb.net/pricing.

Source
RavenDB: Is there a refund window if I purchase RavenDB?

RavenDB offers a 30-day refund window for purchased licenses.

Source
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