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CockroachDB vs MySQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 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

CockroachDB
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MySQL
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of CockroachDB is 4.1%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 8.0%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Dang Quy Tai - PeerSpot reviewer
Geo-replication benefits with distributed setup and a helpful AI support chatbot
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 our applications. Currently, I am using PostgreSQL, however, I want to try some distributed databases…
Muzzamil  Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment
The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 best feature of CockroachDB is the ability to keep the nodes in different locations."
"CockroachDB is highly reliable."
"The initial setup and deployment are simple."
"The product has valuable security features."
"The tool's most valuable feature is node syncing, which takes only 0.54 milliseconds."
"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."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."
"The replication feature is the most valuable. We are replicating our servers."
"The main advantage is the very large user base. This enables users to fix about any issue by answering any question."
"MySQL is easy to integrate. It works with just about every language."
"The initial setup for the SQL database is not complex and it even integrates into the platform. You set up the recipe and then just follow the runbook, the build book. Then it works as long as you follow the procedures."
"For starters, it's free, which is always nice, and it's also pretty straightforward to use. It's a nice conventional database."
"What I've been most pleased with is the cost point, performance, and ease of use."
"A lot of the software components have been trialed and tested for often more than 10 years."
"The easy access to the data and the ability to sort the data with multiple methods are very valuable features."
 

Cons

"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."
"I find the serverless offer a bit confusing."
"The platform could be more extensible."
"The initial setup and pricing could be improved."
"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."
"The closer they can make CockroachDB to being completely compatible with Postgres, the better. It's almost compatible, but not completely. If it was, it would be nice to just be able to use Postgres libraries without any fiddling."
"The product must improve its disaster recovery features."
"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."
"Improvements are required in character set support, scalability, and big data sets."
"The only service which could be improved is its usability. The entire user experience needs to be revamped to meet the 2018 design standards."
"The data masking functionality should be improved as well as the native encryption functionality in the MySQL database."
"Since we upgraded from 8.0.12 to 8.0.22, it has had some slowness-related issues. Some of the queries that were fast previously are quite slow now. I did some research, and I found many people complaining about it."
"It could be more secure."
"MySQL could introduce more indexing strategies."
"The integration with other systems can be improved as can the integration between other databases."
"Sometimes, I get lost in the toggles and buttons, and a better visual design would be nice. The layout is not user-friendly or efficient."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 pricing is good but can be made cheaper. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"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."
"It has a community version."
"There is a license needed for this solution."
"My company uses MySQL's corporate licenses."
"I would rate the solution’s pricing a six out of ten. The solution is not cheap but it’s a fair value. The pricing depends on the use cases of our customers. Some of our customers use the community edition which is license free and a good fit for their use cases. However, we encourage our bigger customers to sign up because of the scalability issues. The paid versions get direct technical support from Oracle."
"For the on-premise version, no license is required."
"We do have a couple of clients who choose to use the paid, enterprise version of the solution and who take full advantage of it."
"MySQL is free."
"There is a licensing cost because we are going for a proprietary product. There are some other versions for which there is no licensing cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
34%
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
6%
Retailer
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CockroachDB?
The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported.
What needs improvement with CockroachDB?
I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations.
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...
Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?
MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...
Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?
I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...
What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?
One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...
 

Comparisons

 

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Find out what your peers are saying about CockroachDB vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.