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Amazon DynamoDB vs Apache Cassandra

Amazon DynamoDB: AWS's serverless key-value and document store with single-digit-millisecond reads at any scale. Apache Cassandra: Masterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers.

key differences

  • Amazon DynamoDB is primarily a key-value database; Apache Cassandra is wide-column.
  • Licensing: Amazon DynamoDB is proprietary (Proprietary (AWS service)); Apache Cassandra is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • Only Amazon DynamoDB has transactions, encryption at rest, time travel.
  • Only Apache Cassandra has vector search, compression, online schema changes.
  • Amazon DynamoDB has a serverless option; Apache Cassandra does not.

choose amazon-dynamodb for

  • +Serverless application backends on Lambda
  • +User profiles, sessions and shopping carts
  • +High-traffic e-commerce and gaming state
  • +IoT device state and metadata

best at · OLTP, Sessions, Cache

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

Amazon DynamoDBAWS's serverless key-value and document store with single-digit-millisecond reads at any scale.
Apache CassandraMasterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers.
overview
Primary model
Key-Value
Wide-Column
Also supports
Document
Key-Value, Vector
Type
Managed service
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Apache Software Foundation
First release
2012
2008
Latest version
–
5.0.9 (Jul 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary (AWS service)
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
63.3
55.9
Rank
#14
#20
GitHub stars
–
10.1K
Stack Overflow questions
14.3K
20.9K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Massive (Multi-PB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Tunable, Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Serverless
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
—
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
—
Serverless
✓
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
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
DynamoDB API, PartiQL
CQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, .NET, Rust, Ruby
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, C++, Rust, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Sessions, Cache, Metadata
OLTP, Time-series, IoT, Observability
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon DynamoDB vs Apache Cassandra: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon DynamoDB and Apache Cassandra?

Amazon DynamoDB: AWS's serverless key-value and document store with single-digit-millisecond reads at any scale. Apache Cassandra: Masterless wide-column database built for always-on writes across data centers. Amazon DynamoDB is primarily a key-value database; Apache Cassandra is wide-column. Licensing: Amazon DynamoDB is proprietary (Proprietary (AWS service)); Apache Cassandra is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). Only Amazon DynamoDB has transactions, encryption at rest, time travel.

When should I choose Amazon DynamoDB over Apache Cassandra?

Choose Amazon DynamoDB for serverless application backends on Lambda; user profiles, sessions and shopping carts; and high-traffic e-commerce and gaming state. Choose Apache Cassandra for write-heavy event and telemetry ingestion; messaging and activity feeds; and multi-region user and device data.

Is Amazon DynamoDB or Apache Cassandra more popular?

Amazon DynamoDB ranks #14 on the WhichDB Score (63.3/100) and Apache Cassandra ranks #20 (55.9/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon DynamoDB and Apache Cassandra open source?

No. Amazon DynamoDB is proprietary, closed-source software. Yes. Apache Cassandra is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.