MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) vs SurrealDB
A detailed comparison to help you choose between MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) and SurrealDB.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle)
0 reviews
3.6/5
SurrealDB
0 reviews
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) is rated higher (4.0 vs 3.6). 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. 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.
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) In-memory analytics engine for MySQL with real-time query acceleration | SurrealDB Multi-model database with built-in real-time sync and WebSocket support | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.6 (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. | 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 | — | — |
| Data-center count | — | 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 Ireland (aws-euw1), AWS US East N. Virginia (aws-use1), AWS US West Oregon (aws-usw2) |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter | free tieropen sourceself hostableapi access |
| Visit MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) → | Visit SurrealDB → | |
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
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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