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CockroachDB vs SQL Server 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
SQL Server
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
269
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 SQL Server is 16.9%, down from 22.9% 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…
Kapil Dev Khatri - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps monitor queries and identify which indexes need to be created in the databases
SQL Server is very simple due to its GUI, which is available for users. It allows for modifications and has execution plans available, along with options such as activity monitoring. This helps monitor queries and identify which indexes need to be created in the databases, tables, or columns to improve performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The availability and the easy to use feature is the most valuable. The documentation is also good."
"The most valuable feature is that CockroachDB is a distributed database, which can deploy nodes running in different regions."
"CockroachDB is highly reliable."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."
"The tool's most valuable feature is node syncing, which takes only 0.54 milliseconds."
"The initial setup and deployment are simple."
"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 best feature of CockroachDB is the ability to keep the nodes in different locations."
"Tuning Advisor suggests where to add indexes and from where to remove them. It works like an adviser."
"It is integrated with Microsoft tools."
"From a security perspective, we have no complaints."
"I have contacted technical support, and overall my experience with technical support was okay."
"It is quite reliable in cluster configurations and has helped me to reduce downtime and improve SLAs."
"As a data warehouse and storage solution, it's quite good."
"The most valuable feature is that it is easy to use and you don't have to do a lot of configuration."
"I find query optimization to be highly valuable for data management. Additionally, drag-and-drop query creation greatly facilitates data management tasks."
 

Cons

"The initial setup and pricing could be improved."
"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."
"Cockroach does not support all types of protocols. I need to improve it myself to support a CouchDB on my network."
"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."
"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."
"The platform could be more extensible."
"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."
"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."
"We would like to have a common storage option in the SQL Server. This option is available in Oracle Database. It would be great if Microsoft could create something like a columnstore that has not only indexing but also tables for common storage."
"The solution could be better when it comes to security."
"They could improve by adding the SQL format."
"The interface integration could be better."
"The solution could improve by having more integration with other operating systems and other platforms."
"There are a few use cases where we do need the Active-Active options instead of Active-Passive, yet those kinds of options are not available for Microsoft."
"I would like to see native plugins built for other platforms versus having to buy third-party plugins to tap into S3 buckets and AWS Cloud. Right now, it does not have those built-in plugins."
"Currently, I do not face any difficulties with SQL Server as all options and documentations are available."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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 solution's pricing is not cheap. However, the good thing is that customers are willing to pay for it if they want it."
"Licensing fees increase depending on size and performance. If you want higher performance, you should go for a different course."
"The price could be better. Aside from the basic features, if you need any additional features that can be extended, for example, if you want to connect with the heterogeneous databases, they are being managed as separate services and not included in the package. If you manage a database in Azure, it's not providing SFS and reporting services. However, on-premises, if you purchase the SQL Server license, it includes SFIS and SFRS services. If you take Postgre SQL and MySQL, they provide almost all the same features even though they are both open source databases."
"We purchased our license and the pricing is fine for us."
"The licensing is on an annual basis."
"For smaller companies, they find this solution expensive."
"The free version is cumbersome to use and maintain. But $5000 for a licence is more expense than the benefit I would get from a licensed version. A licence might be worth the price to simplify management and speed up searches."
"I believe the licensing to be on an annual basis."
"If you are looking for a small setup and do not want an open-source solution or invest too much money in your database then SQL Server is a very good choice."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
34%
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
6%
Retailer
5%
Educational Organization
24%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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...
Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?
SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...
Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?
SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...
Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?
My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baidu, Kindred, Tierion, Heroic Labs, Gorgias
Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.
Find out what your peers are saying about CockroachDB vs. SQL Server and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.