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CockroachDB vs MySQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MySQL
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
148
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of CockroachDB is 3.5%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 8.4%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Antonio Tringali - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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

"The most valuable feature is that CockroachDB is a distributed database, which can deploy nodes running in different regions."
"The tool's most valuable feature is node syncing, which takes only 0.54 milliseconds."
"The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."
"CockroachDB is highly reliable."
"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 initial setup was easy. I work in an agile way, which means coding and deploying quickly."
"The installation process for the most scalable solution is remarkably quick, taking only a short amount of time."
"However, it is easy to scale MySQL using the functions provided with the product."
"​We use MySQL for enterprise data storage as well as part of the back-end of websites and web applications.​"
"The solution is great for small applications in particular."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"MySQL's clustering features are very strong, and you can automate scripting, so that helps. We wrote a Terraform script and ran it."
"It has a community version. When I have to create a new database, I have no problems with licenses."
 

Cons

"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."
"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."
"Cockroach does not support all types of protocols. I need to improve it myself to support a CouchDB on my network."
"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."
"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 platform could be more extensible."
"The initial setup and pricing could be improved."
"Some problems with big table operations, and a struggle to keep the servers responding in peak situations."
"The interface could be improved."
"Scalability could be improved."
"I would like to have features that allow us to jump between the cloud and our on-premises system."
"The tool needs to improve table visualization."
"The workbench could be improved. In particular, error messages can be improved, which are horrific and completely unhelpful. I'd like to see improved parsing of errors. When you write SQL and it crashes, it usually is something completely irrelevant and not helpful. I've started to use GPT 3.5 for finding out how to do things. I got to do something a bit different, and that I found to be very useful. If there was some way to tie it into one of the new AI tools, that would probably be a good idea."
"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 should provide better customer experiences."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."
"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."
"I've used CockroachDB at a small scale on the free accounts because we are only testing."
"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."
"MySQL is a cheap solution."
"The solution does not come with a licensing fee."
"MySQL is cheaper than Microsoft SQL Server."
"I am not paying, but I am not sure about the exact licensing requirements."
"We are using the free community edition of MySQL."
"The tool is open source."
"MySQL is a cheap solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
39%
Computer Software Company
13%
Retailer
5%
University
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
 

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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Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Find out what your peers are saying about CockroachDB vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.