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Aerospike vs Apache Cassandra

Aerospike: Flash-optimized distributed key-value and document database for predictable sub-millisecond latency at scale. Apache Cassandra: Masterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers.

key differences

  • Aerospike is primarily a key-value database; Apache Cassandra is wide-column.
  • Licensing: Aerospike is open source (copyleft) (AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition); commercial Enterprise Edition); Apache Cassandra is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • Transactions: Aerospike offers full ACID; Apache Cassandra offers limited.
  • Only Aerospike has transactions, geospatial, stored procedures, in-memory, encryption at rest.
  • Only Apache Cassandra has vector search, triggers, streaming ingest.

choose aerospike for

  • +Real-time bidding and ad-tech user profiles
  • +Fraud detection and payment authorization
  • +Online ML feature stores
  • +Telecom subscriber and session data

best at · OLTP, Cache, Sessions

choose apache-cassandra for

  • +Write-heavy event and telemetry ingestion
  • +Messaging and activity feeds
  • +Multi-region user and device data
  • +Time-series with TTL-based expiry

best at · OLTP, Time-series, IoT

AerospikeFlash-optimized distributed key-value and document database for predictable sub-millisecond latency at scale.
Apache CassandraMasterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers.
overview
Primary model
Key-Value
Wide-Column
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Key-Value, Vector
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Aerospike, Inc.
Apache Software Foundation
First release
2010
2008
Latest version
8.2.0 (Sep 29, 2026)
5.0.9 (Jul 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition); commercial Enterprise Edition
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
40.4
55.9
Rank
#42
#20
GitHub stars
1.4K
10.1K
Stack Overflow questions
842
20.9K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Full
Limited
Consistency
Tunable, Strong, Eventual
Tunable, Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, In memory, Client server
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, IBM Cloud
capabilities
Transactions
✓
—
Joins
—
—
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
—
—
Vector search
—
✓
Geospatial
✓
—
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
✓
✓
Triggers
—
✓
Stored procedures
✓
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
✓
✓
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
✓
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
✓
—
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
✓
✓
Streaming ingest
—
✓
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
Aerospike Expressions, AQL (CLI)
CQL
Client languages
C, C#, Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, Rust
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, C++, Rust, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Cache, Sessions, Feature store
OLTP, Time-series, IoT, Observability
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Aerospike vs Apache Cassandra: FAQ

What is the difference between Aerospike and Apache Cassandra?

Aerospike: Flash-optimized distributed key-value and document database for predictable sub-millisecond latency at scale. Apache Cassandra: Masterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers. Aerospike is primarily a key-value database; Apache Cassandra is wide-column. Licensing: Aerospike is open source (copyleft) (AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition); commercial Enterprise Edition); Apache Cassandra is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). Transactions: Aerospike offers full ACID; Apache Cassandra offers limited.

When should I choose Aerospike over Apache Cassandra?

Choose Aerospike for real-time bidding and ad-tech user profiles; fraud detection and payment authorization; and online ML feature stores. Choose Apache Cassandra for write-heavy event and telemetry ingestion; messaging and activity feeds; and multi-region user and device data.

Is Aerospike or Apache Cassandra more popular?

Apache Cassandra ranks #20 on the WhichDB Score (55.9/100) and Aerospike ranks #42 (40.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Aerospike and Apache Cassandra open source?

Yes. Aerospike is open source. License: AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition); commercial Enterprise Edition. Yes. Apache Cassandra is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.