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RodrigoGalhardo - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at Kultua
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
An application with great velocity to make queries
Pros and Cons
  • "The best feature is the velocity to make a query."
  • "A further simple application is required for Brazil."

What is our primary use case?

I use Cosmos DB for geolocation identification.

If you pass by a market on the street, it sends me your location. My application will then send you a personalized notification about relevant products you can buy at the market.

What is most valuable?

The best feature is the velocity of making queries. 

What needs improvement?

I would like to see better documentation for this solution. 

The pricing of the solution should be reduced. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cosmos DB for one year. 

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate stability an eight out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate scalability a five out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

I would rate technical support a ten out of ten. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It's very easy to start a function or application with Azure. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is very expensive. 

What other advice do I have?

I would overall rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1496493 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Director at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Provides single-digit millisecond response times but struggles with large amounts of data
Pros and Cons
  • "I would recommend Cosmos. It made our lives a lot easier. There's not a big learning curve in order to understand the structure and how to use it."
  • "We should have more freedom to tweak it and make our own queries for non-traditional use-cases."

What is our primary use case?

We have a database stored on Microsoft Azure where we fetch records and validate them against the application data that is displayed. We use it as a backend in an application to store data.

Within our organization, there are around 500 people using this solution.

What is most valuable?

There's no specific feature of Cosmos. Basically, we try to query the database. Since it's unstructured data, all the related fields are stored as a single JSON. You don't have to go ahead and hit multiple tables, or multiple containers. Instead, you get all of those things, relationally, stored in a nested JSON — in one single container itself. This way, you don't have to go back and forth to different tables. There are pros and cons with this feature, but often it makes things easier for us.

I am impressed with the TTL (time to live feature) of Cosmos. If we need to perform a manual addition to a container, we just need to configure the time to live. And then based on that, it can be deleted.

What needs improvement?

We should have more freedom to tweak it and make our own queries for non-traditional use-cases.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for roughly one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cosmos should be more stable. Sometimes we fetch more than 60,000 records at a time. When we try to fetch large amounts of data, sometimes it breaks-down, requiring us to rescale it. Overall, performance-wise, it needs to be a little more stable. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I personally haven't had contact with the technical support. Our solution architects deal with support. 

How was the initial setup?

I wasn't involved in the initial setup. We have a DevOps team that was responsible for handling the installation. We are just leveraging it for developmental purposes.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Cosmos should be cheaper. We actually intend to stop using it in the near future because the price is too high — and because of the stability issues. 

What other advice do I have?

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of seven. Aside from the scalability issues, we haven't experienced any other issues. 

I would recommend Cosmos. It made our lives a lot easier. There's not a big learning curve in order to understand the structure and how to use it. We were good to go with only one container. Anybody who is new can learn quickly.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Boingotlo Molefhe - PeerSpot reviewer
Azure IoT Developer & Solutions Architecture trainee (AZ-220) at Afrika Tikkun Services
Real User
Top 5
Helps to input data but pricing is expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's most valuable feature is latency."
  • "The tool's pricing is expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product to input data that doesn't require structuring. 

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's most valuable feature is latency. 

What needs improvement?

The tool's pricing is expensive. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product since November 2021. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is scalable. My company has eight users. 

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's tech support is okay. 

How was the initial setup?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's deployment is straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's licensing costs are monthly. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the tool a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Student at KL University
Real User
Top 10
A scalable tool that allows users to access web applications easily
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a cloud-based solution that is easy to deploy, easy to access, and provides users with more features compared to other clouds like AWS and GCP."
  • "The pricing of the solution is an area with certain shortcomings."

What is our primary use case?

I use Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for some web applications.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it makes it easy for users to access web applications like Visio while not being complex like AWS at the same time.

What needs improvement?

The pricing of the solution is an area with certain shortcomings. From an improvement perspective, I wish for the solution to offer users an increased storage capacity at a cheaper price.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for a few months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution's stability eight to nine out of ten. The solution's stability is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution.

There are almost 1,000 users of the solution in my institution.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

What about the implementation team?

I think that there was a third-party involvement required during the solution's deployment phase.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Right now, I have opted for the student subscription plan, for which Microsoft charges me around 100 USD. The pricing of the solution depends on the solution's usage.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend the solution to those who plan to use it. It is a cloud-based solution that is easy to deploy, easy to access, and provides users with more features compared to other clouds like AWS and GCP.

I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Developer at NA
Real User
A solution that is scalable and easy to integrate new features into
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to use, and it is also easy to integrate with several things for database use cases."
  • "I would like the speed of transferring data to be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We normally use Cosmos DB for data storage.

What is most valuable?

There are a lot of security features that can be integrated with Cosmos DB. The solution is easy to use, and it is also easy to integrate with several things for database use cases.

What needs improvement?

I would like the speed of transferring data to be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I’ve been using it for two to three years, and I’m working on the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable. We have more than 1,000 users in our company.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. We deploy Cosmos DB once or twice a quarter. We have three or four teams handling deployment and maintenance, which is about 38 members.

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution in-house.

What was our ROI?

We are receiving an ROI with this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Cost isn’t a big hurdle for us right now. The solution is not costly.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB to anyone who wants to use it. If you are using Azure Stack, it is a good solution to use

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1786155 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
It has various APIs that allow it to integrate with other solutions
Pros and Cons
  • "Cosmos is a PaaS, so you don't need to worry about infrastructure and hosting. It has various APIs that allow it to integrate with other solutions. For example, we are using a MongoDB-compatible API for customers, which makes it easier for developers on the team who previously used MongoDB or are accustomed to the old document storage paradigm."
  • "The API compatibility has room for improvement, particularly integration with MongoDB. You have to connect to a specific flavor of MongoDB. We'd also like a richer query capability in line with the latest Mongo features. That is one thing on our wish list. The current version is good enough for our use case, but it could be improved."

What is most valuable?

Cosmos is a PaaS, so you don't need to worry about infrastructure and hosting. It has various APIs that allow it to integrate with other solutions. For example, we are using a MongoDB-compatible API for customers, which makes it easier for developers on the team who previously used MongoDB or are accustomed to the old document storage paradigm. 

What needs improvement?

The API compatibility has room for improvement, particularly integration with MongoDB. You have to connect to a specific flavor of MongoDB. We'd also like a richer query capability in line with the latest Mongo features. That is one thing on our wish list. The current version is good enough for our use case, but it could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Cosmos DB for about six to eight months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cosmos DB's reliability, performance, and scalability are all good. We can't complain. Azure has management outages, and the management windows that Azure publishes are still too big. They provide a 24 hour period in which maintenance will happen. Smaller, specific windows are easier to manage when you have a production system. Otherwise, it does a good job technically.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the Azure platform is a given. It's easy to scale and quickly deploy. The API's richness also helped us. We use Cosmos DB for a public-facing application with upwards of a million users.

I think we have all the scalability that we need, and we like that the system doesn't have outages when it's updating. However, an on-prem version is required for some use cases, and they provide this now. 

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft support is good if you contact a specialist. Getting in touch with the right specialist is crucial for whatever technology you're using on Azure. If you reach the right person, it's a dream, but that can be difficult in some cases can be difficult. You might go through several layers of support before you reach the platform experts.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We haven't used another solution for this particular use case. The product was benchmarked on Azure, so we used Cosmos DB. It wasn't like we were looking at different solutions, and we chose Cosmos.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up the whole landscape took about a week. It doesn't take long. It's a PaaS, so the setup is mostly configuration. It's more like provisioning rather than deployment. You could probably set it up in a day if you wanted to. We set it up with an in-house team. About 15 to 20 people support the solution, but they aren't dedicated to Cosmos DB. They work on lots of things. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Cosmos DB is a PaaS, so there are no upfront costs for infrastructure. There are only subscriptions you pay for Azure and things like that. But it's a PaaS, so it's a subscription service. The license isn't perpetual, and the cost might seem expensive on its face, but you have to look at the upkeep for infrastructure and what you're saving. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Cosmos DB eight out of 10. I would recommend it for an appropriate use case. However, you need to be aware of the system's limitations. If you're using the DocumentDB system, it's crucial to plan properly for document structure, etc. You also need to plan for failure to ensure that your system can survive when any node fails. Set up clustering, redundancy, high availability, and so on.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chandrakant Deshmukh - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior VP IOT at Mastek Ltd
Real User
Top 5
An solution for a fast NoSQL database, with open APIs for any scale
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is user friendly and Microsoft's technical support is good."
  • "In Microsoft manufacturing, managers really need to know about the product."

What is our primary use case?

We provide automated solutions to manufacturing plants. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is user friendly and Microsoft's technical support is good. 

What needs improvement?

In Microsoft manufacturing, managers really need to know about the product. This market is flooded by other vendors. So putting Microsoft in action in such places looks challenging.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for four months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Cosmos is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution and twelve hundred users are using the solution. 

The entire POC process and Microsoft's entire page were really smooth. There are no hiccups at all, and the kind of documentation support has really helped to build a competitive customer, so that is good enough.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support team is good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. Two developers and one architect were enough for the deployment. The maintenance is easy. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Microsoft provides fair pricing. 

What other advice do I have?

If somebody is really looking to adopt a solution like this, this is the best option to go.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Joyal Benni - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at ProArch
Real User
Is scalable with multiple master file and provides good performance
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is scalable with multiple master files."
  • "Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's pricing model is complicated, which people don't understand."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for faster databases.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is scalable with multiple master files. The performance of the solution is also good.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's pricing model is complicated, which people don't understand. So, the pricing model should be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a highly scalable solution, and 15 to 20 people use the solution in my organization.

How are customer service and support?

I rate Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB’s technical support an eight out of ten. They do take some time to get to the root of a problem.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and needs a few tools to upload.

What was our ROI?

We have had an ROI with the solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing model of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a bit complex.

What other advice do I have?

We are using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB as a cloud-based solution. Two admins and one manager are required for the deployment and maintenance of the solution.

New users must keep an eye on its pricing models and configure them properly.

Overall, I rate Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user