CosmosDBvs
Cockroach Labs
Cockroach Labs: The cloud-native distributed SQL database
CosmosDB
Globally distributed, multi-model database service from Azure
As of 30 August 2026, CosmosDB is free to use. Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed, globally distributed, multi-model database service. Softwr lists it under Databases. CosmosDB is made by Microsoft Corporation, launched in 1975, available on Web.
Overview
What CosmosDB does
Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed, globally distributed, multi-model database service. It offers turnkey global distribution, elastic scaling of throughput and storage, single-digit millisecond latencies, and five well-defined consistency levels. Cosmos DB supports multiple data models and APIs.
What people use it for
- Running a globally distributed multi model database on Azure
- Serving low latency reads and writes from multiple Azure regions
- Storing document, key value and graph data behind a managed service
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about CosmosDB.
- Autoscale provisioned throughput enforces a minimum of 1,000 RU/s, billed hourly whether or not the database is used
- Provisioned throughput is charged in every region the account is replicated to, so multi region accounts multiply the RU bill
- Storage charges cover data, indexes and backups in each replicated region
- Egress out of Azure and between regions is charged, though ingress is free
- The free allowance is one account per Azure subscription, limited to 1,000 RU/s and 25 GB
- RU/s rates vary by region and are only shown through the pricing calculator rather than a flat published rate
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of CosmosDB
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- CosmosDBvsPostgreSQL
PostgreSQL: The world's most advanced open source relational database
- CosmosDBvsAirtable
Airtable: Create apps that perfectly fit your team's needs
- CosmosDBvsAmazon Aurora
Amazon Aurora: MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud
Pricing
What CosmosDB costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free Tier
Free
- 1000 RU/s
- 25GB storage
- First 12 months
Serverless
Free
- Pay per request
- Auto-scaling
- Event-driven workloads
Capabilities
Features
Global Distribution
Multi-model APIs
Elastic Scaling
Five Consistency Levels
SLA-backed Latency
Automatic Indexing
Serverless
Azure Functions
Integration with Azure Functions
Logic Apps
Integration with Logic Apps
Stream Analytics
Integration with Stream Analytics
Power BI
Integration with Power BI
Synapse Link
Integration with Synapse Link
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is there a free tier for Azure Cosmos DB?
Yes, Cosmos DB offers a free tier with 1,000 RU/s of throughput and 25 GB of storage per month for the lifetime of the account, available to new accounts.
SourceHow is Cosmos DB priced after the free tier?
Cosmos DB uses three billing models: provisioned throughput billed per request unit per second, vCore pricing for certain APIs, or serverless consumption pricing where you pay only for requests processed. Reserved capacity offers 20% discount for one year or 30% for three years.
SourceCan I change my pricing model after choosing one?
No. Once you select a compute pricing model and API, they cannot be changed. This choice is permanent for that database.
SourceIs there a trial period for Cosmos DB beyond the free tier?
Azure offers a 30-day free trial account for all Azure services. Additionally, Azure AI customers may be eligible for a 90-day free Cosmos DB subscription through the Azure AI Advantage program.
SourceBehind it
Who makes CosmosDB
- Company
- Microsoft Corporation
- Based in
- Redmond, Washington
Keep looking
Where to go from CosmosDB
- CosmosDB alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- CosmosDB pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- CosmosDB badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Databases softwareThe full category
- Best Databases softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Databases software for
Compare CosmosDB with
- Amazon Aurora
- Cockroach Labs
- Airtable
- PostgreSQL
- Google Cloud SQL
- ArangoDB
- DataStax
- FaunaDB
- Firebolt
- turbopuffer
- VerneMQ
- Vespa
- Xata
- YugabyteDB
- Zilliz
- Amazon Redshift
- BigQuery
- Amazon RDS
Other Databases software
MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud
Free plan12 researched notesCreate apps that perfectly fit your team's needs
Free, then $20/month per editor11 researched notesFully managed relational database service for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server
Free plan9 researched notesDocument-relational database whose hosted service closed in 2025 and whose core is now unmaintained Apache 2.0 code.
Free plan14 researched notesClosed-source vector and full-text search service built directly on object storage, with cold queries measured in seconds rather than milliseconds.
From $16/mo14 researched notesErlang MQTT broker whose source is Apache 2.0 but whose official binaries need a paid subscription
Free plan12 researched notesDistributed AI search platform for retrieval, ranking, and inference
Free plan11 researched notesApache 2.0 platform for running many Postgres instances on Kubernetes, with copy-on-write branching and scale-to-zero.
Free plan14 researched notesOpen source distributed SQL database for cloud native apps
Free, then $0.1/hour13 researched notesGoogle Cloud's serverless analytical warehouse, billed either by bytes scanned per query or by reserved compute slots.
Free plan13 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for CosmosDB, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on CosmosDB
CosmosDB alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
CosmosDB pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare CosmosDB
Put it head to head with anything we hold
CosmosDB badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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