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Amazon Aurora DSQL vs CockroachDB

Amazon Aurora DSQL: Serverless, active-active distributed SQL on AWS with PostgreSQL compatibility and no instances to size. CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions.

key differences

  • Licensing: Amazon Aurora DSQL is proprietary (Proprietary (AWS service)); CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License).
  • Only CockroachDB has full-text search, vector search, geospatial, json, change data capture.

choose amazon-aurora-dsql for

  • +New AWS-native microservices needing zero-ops relational storage
  • +Multi-Region active-active user, order and entitlement data
  • +Serverless apps on Lambda with spiky traffic
  • +Ledgers and counters that must never lose a committed write

best at · OLTP, Metadata, Ledger

choose cockroachdb for

  • +Global payments and ledger systems of record
  • +Identity, account and session metadata across regions
  • +Inventory and order management with strict consistency
  • +Data-residency workloads that must pin rows to a country

best at · OLTP, Geo, Metadata

Amazon Aurora DSQLServerless, active-active distributed SQL on AWS with PostgreSQL compatibility and no instances to size.
CockroachDBPostgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
–
Document, Spatial, Vector
Type
Managed service
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Cockroach Labs
First release
2025
2015
Latest version
–
26.3 (Aug 19, 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary (AWS service)
Source-availableCockroachDB Software License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
14.7
47.1
Rank
#227
#33
GitHub stars
–
32.6K
Stack Overflow questions
1
467
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Serverless, Multi primary
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server, Serverless
deployment
Self-hosted
—
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
✓
✓
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
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
SQL
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, Rust, PHP
Best for
OLTP, Metadata, Ledger
OLTP, Geo, Metadata, Ledger
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon Aurora DSQL vs CockroachDB: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon Aurora DSQL and CockroachDB?

Amazon Aurora DSQL: Serverless, active-active distributed SQL on AWS with PostgreSQL compatibility and no instances to size. CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. Licensing: Amazon Aurora DSQL is proprietary (Proprietary (AWS service)); CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License). Only CockroachDB has full-text search, vector search, geospatial, json, change data capture.

When should I choose Amazon Aurora DSQL over CockroachDB?

Choose Amazon Aurora DSQL for new AWS-native microservices needing zero-ops relational storage; multi-Region active-active user, order and entitlement data; and serverless apps on Lambda with spiky traffic. Choose CockroachDB for global payments and ledger systems of record; identity, account and session metadata across regions; and inventory and order management with strict consistency.

Is Amazon Aurora DSQL or CockroachDB more popular?

CockroachDB ranks #33 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and Amazon Aurora DSQL ranks #227 (14.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon Aurora DSQL and CockroachDB open source?

No. Amazon Aurora DSQL is proprietary, closed-source software. Not in the OSI sense. CockroachDB is source-available: you can read the code, but the license restricts some uses, typically offering it as a competing managed service. License: CockroachDB Software License.