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Databases · head to head

RavenDB vs Visual Studio

RavenDB logo

RavenDB

Databases

The fully transactional NoSQL document database

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit RavenDBFull review
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Visual StudioFull review

The short version

  • RavenDB is an open-source document-oriented database written in C#.
  • Visual Studio is free; RavenDB starts at $499/yr.
  • Where RavenDB falls short: the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal.
  • Where Visual Studio falls short: A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where RavenDB and Visual Studio differ
AttributeRavenDBVisual Studio
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, WebWeb
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Freemium), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Visual 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 RavenDB

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

Only in Visual Studio

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 Visual Studio
  • Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot Visual Studio
  • Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot RavenDB
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot RavenDB
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot RavenDB
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot RavenDB
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot 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

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

RavenDB

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

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is RavenDB or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RavenDB or Visual Studio?
RavenDB starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does RavenDB or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted, Web. Visual Studio runs on Web.
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 Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can RavenDB do that Visual Studio cannot?
RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries.

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
Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

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
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

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
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

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
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

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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