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Apache HBase vs Cassandra comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 7, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache HBase
Ranking in NoSQL Databases
11th
Average Rating
6.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cassandra
Ranking in NoSQL Databases
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Vector Databases (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Apache HBase is 5.4%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cassandra is 10.8%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NoSQL Databases
 

Featured Reviews

Sekhar Reddy B - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers real-time aggregations and easy for a beginner to learn to use this
We use it for real-time data grouping The most valuable part is the column family structure. We mainly use it for real-time aggregations. That's why we prefer it as a NoSQL database. We've seen performance issues when we have more regions. The product needs improvement in that area. So we…
Himanshu Amodwala - PeerSpot reviewer
Well-equipped to handle a massive influx of data and billions of requests
The use of Cassandra in real-time data analytics has been pivotal for our e-commerce platform. As our platform operates 24/7, providing services to sellers and customers alike, the need for real-time updates is paramount. For instance, when a customer leaves comments or feedback on an image, they anticipate an immediate reflection of these changes on the portal. Similarly, sellers altering product attributes or updating images expect instant visibility of these modifications. Handling large data volumes with Cassandra has been an excellent experience. Despite challenges related to the influx, these were not attributed to Cassandra itself but rather to middle-layer issues. Generally, it demonstrated scalability with workloads, thanks to its horizontal scaling capabilities. We could easily add new nodes to the system as needed, ensuring the platform coped well with increasing loads. The tool's most beneficial feature for scalability is its entire architecture. The absence of a single point of failure or a leader within the ecosystem contributes to its robust scalability. This key aspect influenced our decision to opt for the Cassandra ecosystem. In terms of performance, it demonstrated the ability to handle approximately 1.6 billion requests per day. This was achieved on AWS using EC2 instances, and it was during a period about four to five years ago.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Apache HBase is a database used for data storage."
"The most valuable part is the column family structure."
"The most valuable features of Cassandra are the NoSQL database, high performance, and zero-copy streaming."
"We can add almost one million columns to the solution."
"I am satisfied with the performance."
"I am getting much better performance than relational databases."
"The most valuable features of Cassandra are its scaling capabilities and its non-SQL nature capabilities."
"A consistent solution."
"Since I haven't had years of experience with it, it's still new to me. One valuable feature is its distribution, so I can run it partly in the cloud and part on-prem. That's a feature I'd like to use but haven't yet because we're trying to move to Azure. I don't know if or when that will happen. Ideally, we'd have it distributed over the cloud and on-prem simultaneously, so if something happens to our on-prem, we can keep going in the cloud, like a pay-as-you-go model with Azure."
"Cassandra is good. It's better than CouchDB, and we are using it in parallel with CouchDB. Cassandra looks better and is more user-friendly."
 

Cons

"I don't like using Apache HBase to store huge amounts of data because of many performance issues."
"We've seen performance issues."
"The disc space is lacking. You need to free it up as you are working."
"Cassandra is very complex to manage. Sometimes, I need to involve a senior DevOps engineer if we encounter a problem."
"There could be more integration, and it could be more user-friendly."
"We experience configuration issues when accommodating the volumes we require, which often necessitates consultation with the Cassandra development team."
"Cassandra could be more user-friendly like MongoDB."
"Maybe they can improve their performance in data fetching from a high volume of data sets."
"The secondary index in Cassandra was a bit problematic and could be improved."
"It can be difficult to analyze what's going on inside of the database relative to other databases. It can also be difficult to troubleshoot sometimes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We pay for a license."
"There are licensing fees that must be paid, but I'm not sure if they are paid monthly or yearly."
"I use the tool's open-source version."
"We are using the open-source version of Cassandra, the solution is free."
"I don't have the specific numbers on pricing, but it was fairly priced."
"Cassandra is a free open source solution, but there is a commercial version available called DataStax Enterprise."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
15%
Healthcare Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache HBase?
Apache HBase is a database used for data storage.
What needs improvement with Apache HBase?
We've seen performance issues when we have more regions. The product needs improvement in that area. So we experience performance issues sometimes when the load increases.
What advice do you have for others considering Apache HBase?
It's better to use AWS DynamoDB or Cassandra. I would rate it an eight out of ten. It is easy for a beginner to learn.
What do you like most about Cassandra?
The use of Cassandra in real-time data analytics has been pivotal for our e-commerce platform. As our platform operates 24/7, providing services to sellers and customers alike, the need for real-ti...
What needs improvement with Cassandra?
Cassandra is very complex to manage. Sometimes, I need to involve a senior DevOps engineer if we encounter a problem. About a year ago, we were unable to recover data without help from a senior Dev...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

HBase
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bloomberg, Wells Fargo, Apple, Capital One, NVIDIA
1. Apple 2. Netflix 3. Facebook 4. Instagram 5. Twitter 6. eBay 7. Spotify 8. Uber 9. Airbnb 10. Adobe 11. Cisco 12. IBM 13. Microsoft 14. Yahoo 15. Reddit 16. Pinterest 17. Salesforce 18. LinkedIn 19. Hulu 20. Airbnb 21. Walmart 22. Target 23. Sony 24. Intel 25. Cisco 26. HP 27. Oracle 28. SAP 29. GE 30. Siemens 31. Volkswagen 32. Toyota
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache HBase vs. Cassandra and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
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