CockroachDB vs Xata
A detailed comparison to help you choose between CockroachDB and Xata.
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
CockroachDB
0 reviews
3.9/5
Xata
0 reviews
CockroachDB is rated higher (4.2 vs 3.9). 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. Xata is a managed Postgres platform built around copy-on-write branching and scale-to-zero compute, aimed at per-PR and per-agent database workflows. Vanilla PostgreSQL, open-source core (Apache 2.0), plus pgroll for zero-downtime migrations. The original search/spreadsheet product was retired during a 2024-2025 pivot.
CockroachDB Distributed SQL database that survives failures | Xata Postgres platform with copy-on-write branching and scale-to-zero | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.9 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | pay-as-you-go |
| Starting price | Free tier available✓ | From $9/mo |
| 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 that need an isolated Postgres per pull request or per AI agent run, with branching and scale-to-zero economics rather than per-database pricing |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | 2 vCPU | 2 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 1 GB |
| Storage | — | — |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | 99.99% | — |
| Data-center count | — | — |
| €/vCPU/mo | €0.00✓ | €4.50 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | — | €9.00 |
| 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) | US East (N. Virginia), GCP; EU Central (Frankfurt), GCP |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi access | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapi access |
| Visit CockroachDB → | Visit Xata → | |
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
Xata
Pros
- + Instant copy-on-write branching with no per-branch, per-developer or per-database fees
- + Scale-to-zero: idle branches bill $0 compute and wake in about a second
- + Vanilla PostgreSQL — standard extensions, drivers and tooling, no fork
- + Public pricing is unusually transparent, including a machine-readable pricing.md
- + Open-source core (Apache 2.0) plus genuinely useful standalone tools: pgroll, pgstream
Cons
- - Young platform behind a company that already retired one product its customers relied on
- - No published uptime SLA or backup policy on the public site
- - Self-serve limited to two regions (US East, EU Central); deep compliance and support tiers are BYOC sales conversations
- - Key pieces (Xatastor, multi-tenant control plane) remain proprietary despite the open-source push
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