Software · head to head
RavenDB vs CouchDB
The short version
- Each has a real cost: RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal; CouchDB append-only storage model may have performance implications for certain workloads with high update rates
- They diverge on capability: RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, CouchDB covers Multi-master Replication.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which RavenDB and CouchDB actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 RavenDB
- ACID Transactions
- Auto-indexing
- Full-text Search
- Graph Queries
- Distributed Counters
- Time Series
- Document Compression
- .NET
Only in CouchDB
- Multi-master Replication
- HTTP/JSON API
- MapReduce Views
- ACID Semantics
- Offline-first
- Conflict Resolution
- Fauxton UI
- PouchDB
Both cover
- Linux support
- Windows support
- Mac support
- Docker support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
RavenDB
- Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot CouchDB
- Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot CouchDB
- Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot CouchDB
CouchDB
- Offline-first applications requiring seamless replication across mobile and server environmentsnot RavenDB
- Multi-master deployments where data consistency eventually resolves across regionsnot RavenDB
- IoT and edge computing scenarios with intermittent connectivitynot RavenDB
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
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
Pricing, plan by plan
RavenDB
Free- CommunityFree
- 3 cores
- 6GB RAM
- Community support
- Professional$499/year
- Production use
- Professional support
- Advanced features
CouchDB
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the CouchDB review.
Which should you pick?
Choose RavenDB if
- You need acid transactions.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
- You also want auto-indexing.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is RavenDB or CouchDB better?
- Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and CouchDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, RavenDB or CouchDB?
- RavenDB starts at Free and CouchDB at Free.
- Does RavenDB or CouchDB run on more platforms?
- RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. CouchDB runs on Docker, Windows (x64), macOS, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS), Raspberry Pi.
- Can I use RavenDB for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is RavenDB best used for?
- RavenDB is most often used for running a distributed document database with acid transactions, self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware, replicating operational data out to analytics systems through etl. Of those, running a distributed document database with acid transactions and self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware are not what CouchDB is typically brought in for.
- What can RavenDB do that CouchDB cannot?
- RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. CouchDB covers Multi-master Replication, HTTP/JSON API, MapReduce Views, ACID Semantics. Both handle Linux support, Windows support, Mac support, Docker support.