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Databases · head to head

RavenDB vs SingleStore

RavenDB logo

RavenDB

Databases

The fully transactional NoSQL document database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SingleStore logo

SingleStore

Databases

The real-time distributed SQL database for data-intensive applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal; SingleStore high licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size
  • They diverge on capability: RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RavenDB and SingleStore actually diverge.

Attributes where RavenDB and SingleStore differ
AttributeRavenDBSingleStore
Pricing modelfreemiumUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, Docker, WebCloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed
Founded20102011

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 RavenDB

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

Only in SingleStore

  • Real-time Analytics
  • Fast Data Ingest
  • In-memory Processing
  • Distributed Architecture
  • MySQL Compatible
  • Columnar Storage
  • Vector Search
  • Kafka

Both cover

  • Linux support
  • Docker support
  • Web 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 SingleStore
  • Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot SingleStore
  • Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot SingleStore

SingleStore

  • Transaction processingnot RavenDB
  • Data storagenot RavenDB
  • Application backendnot RavenDB
  • Reportingnot RavenDB
  • Data analyticsnot 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

SingleStore

  • High licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size
  • Eventual consistency in replication: secondary replicas may lag during high write loads
  • Complex operational setup requiring specialized knowledge for optimization
  • Vendor lock-in due to proprietary technology without open-source alternatives
  • Disorganized documentation and lack of online training resources

Pricing, plan by plan

RavenDB

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

SingleStore

Free
  • Free Tier$0.99/month
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Limited resources

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.
RavenDB review

Choose SingleStore if

  • You need real-time analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed.
  • You also want fast data ingest.
SingleStore review

Questions people ask

Is RavenDB or SingleStore better?
Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and SingleStore at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RavenDB or SingleStore?
RavenDB starts at Free and SingleStore at Free.
Does RavenDB or SingleStore run on more platforms?
RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. SingleStore runs on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed.
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 SingleStore is typically brought in for.
What can RavenDB do that SingleStore cannot?
RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics, Fast Data Ingest, In-memory Processing, Distributed Architecture. Both handle Linux support, Docker support, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
SingleStore: Does SingleStore offer a free tier?

Yes, SingleStore offers a free tier starting from $0.99/month with usage-based pricing. The free tier allows developers to evaluate the platform with limited resources before scaling to production workloads.

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
SingleStore: Can SingleStore handle both transactional and analytical workloads?

Yes, SingleStore is a hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) database that combines operational (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP) workloads in a single unified engine, eliminating the need for separate systems.

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
SingleStore: Does SingleStore integrate with Apache Spark?

Yes, SingleStore provides the Spark Connector 3.0 for bidirectional data integration with Apache Spark. The connector supports SQL, Python, Scala, Java, and R for data loading and extraction.

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
SingleStore: Can SingleStore ingest data from Kafka?

Yes, SingleStore supports high-throughput streaming ingestion from Apache Kafka and other sources, enabling millions of events per second without requiring ETL pipelines or data movement.

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

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

Source
SingleStore: Is SingleStore available as cloud or self-managed?

SingleStore offers both deployment options: SingleStoreDB Cloud (managed service) and SingleStore Self-Managed for on-premises or private cloud deployments. The managed service handles infrastructure, scaling, and maintenance automatically.

Source
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