Software · head to head
RavenDB vs Knack
The short version
- Only RavenDB has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal; Knack plans are priced by number of records and objects rather than users, ranging from $110 to $300 per month as data volume grows
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which RavenDB and Knack actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 Knack
Nothing recorded that RavenDB does not also cover.
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 Knack
- Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot Knack
- Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot Knack
Knack
No use cases recorded yet. See the Knack review.
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
Knack
- Plans are priced by number of records and objects rather than users, ranging from $110 to $300 per month as data volume grows
Pricing, plan by plan
RavenDB
Free- CommunityFree
- 3 cores
- 6GB RAM
- Community support
- Professional$499/year
- Production use
- Professional support
- Advanced features
Knack
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Knack 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 Knack if
Nothing in the data separates Knack from RavenDB on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is RavenDB or Knack better?
- Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and Knack at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, RavenDB or Knack?
- RavenDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for RavenDB and On request for Knack.
- Does RavenDB or Knack run on more platforms?
- RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. Knack runs on Web.
- Can I use RavenDB for free?
- Yes. RavenDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Knack starts at On request.
- 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 Knack is typically brought in for.
- What can RavenDB do that Knack cannot?
- RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries.