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Software · head to head

Vitess vs Cockroach Labs

Vitess logo

Vitess

Software

Scalable database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cockroach Labs logo

Cockroach Labs

Software

The cloud-native distributed SQL database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Vitess vTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties; Cockroach Labs basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • They diverge on capability: Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Vitess and Cockroach Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where Vitess and Cockroach Labs differ
AttributeVitessCockroach Labs
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Docker, KubernetesAWS, GCP, Azure
Founded20102015

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 Vitess

  • Horizontal Sharding
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Routing
  • Online Schema Changes
  • Shard Management
  • Replication Management
  • Automated Failover
  • MySQL

Only in Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL
  • Automatic Sharding
  • Multi-region Replication
  • Geo-partitioning
  • ACID Transactions
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Survivability
  • PostgreSQL Compatibility

Both cover

  • Kubernetes

What people use each for

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

Vitess

  • Transaction processingnot Cockroach Labs
  • Data storagenot Cockroach Labs
  • Application backendnot Cockroach Labs
  • Reportingnot Cockroach Labs
  • Data analyticsnot Cockroach Labs

Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL database for scalable applicationsnot Vitess
  • Multi-region deployment and failovernot Vitess

Where each one falls short

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

Vitess

  • VTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
  • Foreign key constraints not enforced across shards, requiring application-level integrity handling
  • Single primary per keyspace limits multi-region write capabilities
  • Distributed transactions without proper sharding key routing suffer performance degradation

Cockroach Labs

  • Basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • Azure support restricted to Advanced tier only
  • Basic tier limited to 50 million RUs and 10 GiB storage per month
  • Advanced tier starts at $0.60/hour for 4 vCPUs minimum
  • 3 TiB maximum storage on Basic and Standard tiers, 10 TiB per node on Advanced

Pricing, plan by plan

Vitess

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Vitess review.

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Vitess if

  • You need horizontal sharding.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want connection pooling.
Vitess review

Choose Cockroach Labs if

  • You need distributed sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure.
  • You also want automatic sharding.
Cockroach Labs review

Questions people ask

Is Vitess or Cockroach Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. Vitess starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Vitess or Cockroach Labs?
Vitess starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free.
Does Vitess or Cockroach Labs run on more platforms?
Vitess runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes. Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure.
Can I use Vitess for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Vitess best used for?
Vitess is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Cockroach Labs is typically brought in for.
What can Vitess do that Cockroach Labs cannot?
Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Connection Pooling, Query Routing, Online Schema Changes. Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning. Both handle Kubernetes.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Vitess: Is Vitess free to use?

Yes. Vitess is completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It is a graduated CNCF project with no licensing costs or pricing tiers.

Source
Vitess: What databases does Vitess support?

Vitess supports MySQL and MariaDB as backend databases. It acts as a middleware layer that adds sharding and orchestration capabilities on top of these databases.

Source
Vitess: Does Vitess require Kubernetes to run?

No. Vitess can run on Kubernetes using the Vitess Operator, but it can also be deployed on traditional infrastructure. Kubernetes integration is optional and provides additional automation benefits.

Source
Vitess: How does Vitess handle cross-shard transactions?

Vitess supports distributed transactions across shards, but they require queries to be routed through the sharding key. Transactions without a proper sharding key can result in slower performance.

Source
Vitess: Does Vitess enforce foreign key constraints?

Vitess does not enforce foreign key constraints across shards by default. Referential integrity must be managed at the application layer, though per-database support can be enabled with limitations.

Source
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