CockroachDB vs SingleStore
A detailed comparison to help you choose between CockroachDB and SingleStore.
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
CockroachDB
0 reviews
3.8/5
SingleStore
0 reviews
CockroachDB is rated higher (4.2 vs 3.8). CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database built to survive datacenter failures. Postgres-compatible, strong consistency, and automatic scaling across regions. Managed plans: Basic (usage-based, free tier), Standard and Advanced (provisioned), plus BYOC and the new Cockroach Continuum editions. SingleStore (formerly MemSQL) is a cloud-native database combining OLTP and OLAP in a single system. Handles real-time analytics and transactions without ETL. Used by financial services and gaming companies.
CockroachDB Distributed SQL database that survives failures | SingleStore Real-time analytics and transactions in one database | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.8 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | usage-based |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Applications where the database must survive region loss without losing transactions — payments, ledgers, identity, multi-region SaaS, global gaming backends — and teams ready for distributed-SQL trade-offs | Teams with genuinely mixed transactional and analytical workloads — fraud, risk, adtech, IoT, live gaming — that need sub-second freshness and want to retire a separate warehouse and sync pipeline. |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | 2 vCPU | — |
| RAM | — | — |
| Storage | — | — |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | 99.99% | — |
| Data-center count | — | — |
| €/vCPU/mo | €0.00 | — |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | AWS, GCP and Azure regions across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific (multi-region clusters) | — |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi access | free tiermanaged optioneu datacenterus datacenterapi access |
| Visit CockroachDB → | Visit SingleStore → | |
CockroachDB
Pros
- + True multi-region survivability with serializable transactions and Postgres wire compatibility
- + Generous free tier: Basic at $0/month with 50M RUs and 10 GiB free monthly, $400 trial credits, no card required
- + Contractual SLAs: 99.99% availability, up to 99.999% multi-region on Advanced; P1 response targets published
- + Transparent per-component cost documentation and a public pricing calculator
- + Enterprise compliance path (CMEK, PCI DSS, HIPAA) and AWS/GCP/Azure coverage
Cons
- - Production costs climb fast: storage billed at 4.5x durability multiplier, plus backups, CDC and egress
- - September 2026 plan restructure (Cockroach Continuum) splits new and existing customers onto different rate cards
- - Distributed-SQL learning curve: RU model, planner differences from vanilla Postgres, cross-region latency
- - Overkill for single-region applications — managed Postgres is far cheaper for the same job
- - Proprietary managed plane; open-core self-hosting shifts the operational burden back to you
SingleStore
Pros
- + Transactions and analytics in one engine — no ETL pipeline between an operational database and a warehouse
- + Published, itemised rate card: workspace sizes, credit burn, storage tiers and every multiplier are public
- + Genuine free evaluation tier plus $500 of credits on Standard
- + MySQL-compatible wire protocol shortens migration from MySQL-based stacks
- + Documented compliance posture (ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR) and a BYOC option for data residency
Cons
- - Stacking multipliers (Enterprise 1.5x, Multi-AZ 1.3x, region tier, scaling) make real bills hard to predict from headline prices
- - Distributed-engine concepts (shard keys, distribution, reference tables) are overkill for simple CRUD applications
- - Free Shared tier is explicitly non-production and self-support only
- - Self-managed licensing and BYOC/Dedicated pricing require a sales conversation
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