MongoDB Atlas vs SurrealDB
A detailed comparison to help you choose between MongoDB Atlas and SurrealDB.
Quick Verdict
4.1/5
MongoDB Atlas
0 reviews
3.6/5
SurrealDB
0 reviews
MongoDB Atlas is rated higher (4.1 vs 3.6). MongoDB Atlas is the managed cloud version of MongoDB. Available on AWS, GCP, and Azure. Full-text search, vector search, time-series collections, and usage-priced Flex tiers. Free M0 cluster forever. SurrealDB is a multi-model database that handles relational, document, graph, and full-text queries in a single database. Schema-optional, built-in auth, and real-time subscriptions.
MongoDB Atlas The cloud database for modern apps | SurrealDB Multi-model database with built-in real-time sync and WebSocket support | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.1 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.6 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Application-first teams that want production MongoDB with multi-AZ resilience and no DBA, plus developers who want a free tier that can grow into paid tiers. | Teams building real-time, multi-model applications that would otherwise combine a document database, a search engine and a graph store |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 0 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 1 GB |
| Storage | — | 1 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | 99.995% | — |
| Data-center count | 125✓ | 3 |
| €/GB RAM/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", "Google Cloud", "Microsoft Azure"] | AWS Ireland (aws-euw1), AWS US East N. Virginia (aws-use1), AWS US West Oregon (aws-usw2) |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi access | free tieropen sourceself hostableapi access |
| Visit MongoDB Atlas → | Visit SurrealDB → | |
MongoDB Atlas
Pros
- + Genuinely useful free M0 tier (512MB forever) with the same drivers and code path as production
- + Multi-cloud: 125+ regions across AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure, with cross-region and cross-provider node placement
- + Automated operations: three-node cross-AZ replica sets, failover, patching, point-in-time recovery, storage auto-scaling
- + 99.995% uptime SLA on Dedicated tiers with clearly documented exclusions and service-credit ladder
- + Integrated full-text and vector search, time-series collections, and Terraform/API automation
Cons
- - Per-node billing: a production replica set triples the advertised node price; sharded clusters multiply again
- - Backups on Dedicated, egress, search add-ons, and support are billed separately — invoice drift is common
- - No SLA and no continuous backups on Free or Flex; M0 cannot be resized into a paid cluster
- - Proprietary add-ons (Atlas Search, Vector Search, Data Federation) create soft lock-in
SurrealDB
Pros
- + One engine for relational, document, graph, time-series and geospatial data, plus full-text and vector search
- + Transparent published rate table with a real free instance (0.25 vCPU, 1 GB memory, 1 GB storage)
- + Hourly billing keeps development and prototype instances cheap
- + Granular permissions at table, document and field level defined in the schema
- + Self-hostable under BSL 1.1 with open-source (Apache 2.0 / MIT) SDKs as an exit path
Cons
- - Young database: 1.0 in 2023 and the storage engine is still being replaced
- - Only three AWS regions (Ireland, N. Virginia, Oregon) — nothing in APAC
- - Smaller ecosystem, tooling and hiring pool than PostgreSQL or MongoDB
- - Scale plan requires a three-node minimum; several advertised features are still marked coming soon
- - Custom SLAs only at Enterprise tier; backup retention policy for free instances is ambiguous in the docs
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