MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) vs CockroachDB
A detailed comparison to help you choose between MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) and CockroachDB.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle)
0 reviews
4.2/5
CockroachDB
0 reviews
CockroachDB is rated higher (4.2 vs 4.0). Oracle MySQL HeatWave runs OLTP MySQL plus in-memory OLAP analytics in the same database engine. Serverless OLAP queries without ETL pipelines. Available on OCI, AWS, and Azure. 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.
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) In-memory analytics engine for MySQL with real-time query acceleration | CockroachDB Distributed SQL database that survives failures | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews) | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | MySQL shops with real analytical load that want sub-second reporting on live data and want to retire a separate warehouse and its ETL pipeline. | 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 |
| 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 optioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi access |
| Visit MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) → | Visit CockroachDB → | |
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle)
Pros
- + Genuinely useful Always Free tier: HeatWave DB system with single-node cluster, 50 GB storage, 50 GB backup, unlimited time
- + Real-time analytics on live transactional data without ETL duplication into a warehouse
- + Wire-compatible MySQL — existing apps, drivers, and BI tools work unchanged
- + Native deployment on OCI and AWS (eight regions) plus Azure via interconnect
- + Fully managed with automatic backups, patching, failover options up to 99.99% availability
Cons
- - Layered, partly consumption-derived pricing (ECPU meter, cluster memory-hour allocation) that is hard to model upfront
- - Full stack with HeatWave cluster plus ML/GenAI can cost 3x to 5x the base database bill
- - Full feature set is OCI-first; AWS/Azure deployments lack some features
- - No bare metal, GPU, or object storage product of its own — enterprise add-ons are separate meters
- - Oracle contracting and rate changes warrant written rate commitments at order time
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
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