RxDB vs CockroachDB
A detailed comparison to help you choose between RxDB and CockroachDB.
Quick Verdict
3.9/5
RxDB
0 reviews
4.2/5
CockroachDB
0 reviews
CockroachDB is rated higher (4.2 vs 3.9). RxDB is a real-time, offline-first NoSQL database for JavaScript applications. Works in the browser, Node.js, React Native, and Electron. Syncs with CouchDB, Firestore, and others. 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.
RxDB Reactive database for JavaScript apps with real-time sync | CockroachDB Distributed SQL database that survives failures | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.9 (0 reviews) | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | JavaScript teams building offline-first, UI-reactive apps (PWAs, Electron, React Native) that may later sync with their own backend | 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 tieropen source | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi access |
| Visit RxDB → | Visit CockroachDB → | |
RxDB
Pros
- + Apache 2.0 core at $0 with replication, reactive queries and schema migration included
- + Pluggable storage engines keep one codebase across browser, Node, Electron and React Native
- + Mature project with a public changelog, 15,000+ commits and a documented replication protocol
- + Explicit conflict handling with revisions instead of silent last-write-wins
- + Tier pricing is published openly, including the exact free-tier limits
Cons
- - Paid tiers jump straight to $99/month billed annually with nothing in between
- - Free tier caps at 13 open collections; trial SQLite storage is evaluation-only at 500 documents
- - RxJS-shaped API carries a learning curve for teams new to observables
- - Effectively a one-primary-maintainer project with no support org behind the free tier
- - Sync backend is bring-your-own; there is no managed hosting or SLA on standard tiers
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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