Citus Data vs CockroachDB comparison

Citus Data and Cockroach are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. Citus Data is ranked #24 with an average rating of 7.5, while Cockroach is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.4. Citus Data holds a 2.2% mindshare in SQL, compared to Cockroach’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Citus Data users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Cockroach users who would recommend it.

Citus Data

Read 3 Citus Data reviews

1,351 Views
997 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

CockroachDB

Read 12 CockroachDB reviews

2,809 Views
1,932 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Citus Data

CockroachDB

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Citus Data and CockroachDB are both distributed databases with advanced scalability. CockroachDB is more attractive due to its superior features and reliability, though Citus Data has favorable pricing and support.

Features: Citus Data offers powerful extensions to PostgreSQL, enabling seamless horizontal scaling and real-time query processing. CockroachDB provides strong consistency, automatic sharding, and multi-region capabilities, with its robust distributed architecture giving it an edge in large-scale deployments and complex data operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Citus Data integrates easily with existing PostgreSQL deployments, simplifying transitions for PostgreSQL users. CockroachDB offers an easy setup for cloud and on-premises environments with extensive documentation and community support. Its proactive customer service enhances deployment experiences.

Pricing and ROI: Citus Data’s competitive pricing appeals to budget-conscious businesses seeking scalability without a large initial investment. CockroachDB, with a higher setup cost, justifies its premium pricing through robust performance, high traffic handling, and complex transaction capabilities, offering significant long-term ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Citus Data vs. CockroachDB Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Citus Data vs. CockroachDB

March 2025

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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

Citus Data

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

24th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

CockroachDB

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Citus Data is 2.2%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CockroachDB is 3.6%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Arucy Lionel

Co-Founder at Afriziki

Efficiently handles high-traffic scenarios and compatible with PostgreSQL extensions, offering flexibility in database management

There are many areas of improvement , especially in terms of DDL query routing. Even though it's masterless, DDL queries need to be sent to the coordinator node. Also, setting up a multi-node environment could be more straightforward. Currently, setting up a multi-node environment is challenging. It's a bit tricky. Installation on each PostgreSQL node can lead to communication issues between nodes. An automatic rebalancing feature would be a significant improvement. Currently, I have to manually command the rebalance. It would be more convenient if it was rebalanced automatically. The dashboard and monitoring capabilities are good, but it would be helpful to have an integrated availability dashboard.

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Antonio Tringali

Software Engineer at a consultancy with self employed

Open source with extensive documentation and a University for training

I am a freelancer. A client of mine wanted a solution that would allow them to scale yet not abandon the familiar PostgreSQL front-end (and rewrite a part of their source code). Scalability aside, CockroachDB is a fine way forward from PostgreSQL and is not changing the client source code part of the system. If you are lucky and you do not use newer features from recent versions of PostgreSQL or PostgreSQL extensions, it's fine. There are nice-to-have features for big organizations like regional tables. At the moment, my client simply does not use these. However, the serverless offer from CockroachDB is reacting well as data grows.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its distributed processing capabilities are a standout feature. It requires minimal changes to get up and running if you already have a system on PostgreSQL. Citus can run in its natural state."

"You can use Citus Data to write complex scripts. I like its version upgrades and disaster recovery as well."

"It's very straightforward to implement the solution. It took us two days to set up everything."

"The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported."

"The product has valuable security features."

"The most valuable feature is that CockroachDB is a distributed database, which can deploy nodes running in different regions."

"I use CockroachDB to test big data samples and to create the best structure for databases. We have four users and required 10 people for deployment and maintenance."

"What I like best is its ability to solve data residency issues. The main advantage is auto geo partitioning, built into the product. This means we don't have to spin up separate servers in each region, which would be much more costly."

"The initial setup and deployment are simple."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."

"The availability and the easy to use feature is the most valuable. The documentation is also good."

More CockroachDB pros

Cons

"More features in monitoring and the reporting could make it better."

"Citus Data needs to improve its stability. Do not consider this product if you have the budget. It is still developing and has a lot of issues."

"There are many areas of improvement , especially in terms of DDL query routing. Even though it's masterless, DDL queries need to be sent to the coordinator node. Also, setting up a multi-node environment could be more straightforward."

"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."

"The product must improve its disaster recovery features."

"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."

"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."

"I think the engine itself could be improved. If you miss a partition key, it should be able to be modeled. This is where AI could be really helpful. For example, if a user is from Australia, the system should know to look for their data there first instead of searching in the US or another continent."

"I find the serverless offer a bit confusing."

"The initial setup and pricing could be improved."

"The platform could be more extensible."

More CockroachDB cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Citus Data is an open-source product."

"The product's price depends on the user's company and the contract model they enter into with CockroachDB. Depending on the contract model one enters into with CockroachDB, the product may or may not be expensive."

"I've used CockroachDB at a small scale on the free accounts because we are only testing."

"The solution's pricing is not cheap. However, the good thing is that customers are willing to pay for it if they want it."

"The platform is affordable even for the enterprise version. It provides value for investment in terms of performance."

"The pricing is good but can be made cheaper. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

23%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

38%

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citus Data?

You can use Citus Data to write complex scripts. I like its version upgrades and disaster recovery as well.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Citus Data?

Citus Data needs to improve its stability. Do not consider this product if you have the budget. It is still developing and has a lot of issues.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Citus Data?

I rate the product a seven out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about CockroachDB?

The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported.

See all answers

What needs improvement with CockroachDB?

I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for CockroachDB?

I am studying how to deploy CockroachDB and YugaByteDB, and learning some basic information about them. I am testing these databases as part of my school application to find a suitable database for...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

MySQL vs CockroachDB

Compared 9% of the time

SQL Server vs CockroachDB

Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

February 2025

Download Citus Data product report

Buyer's Guide

CockroachDB

March 2025

Download CockroachDB product report

Overview

Citus is a distributed database that extends PostgreSQL, allowing you to continue using all the powerful Postgres features while still scaling.

Whether you're running into a ceiling on a single node, or need more performance for real-time analytical queries Citus can help.

Citus Data

CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database built on a transactional and strongly-consistent key-value store. It scales horizontally; survives disk, machine, rack, and even datacenter failures with minimal latency disruption and no manual intervention; supports strongly-consistent ACID transactions; and provides a familiar SQL API for structuring, manipulating, and querying data.

CockroachDB is inspired by Google’s Spanner and F1 technologies, and it’s completely open source.

Cockroach

Sample Customers

Cloud Flare, Agari, Mix Rank, Heap

Baidu, Kindred, Tierion, Heroic Labs, Gorgias

Buyer's Guide

Citus Data vs. CockroachDB

March 2025

Free Report: Citus Data vs. CockroachDB

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