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Apache CouchDB vs MongoDB

Apache CouchDB: HTTP/JSON document database built around multi-master replication and offline-first sync. MongoDB: The default document database: flexible BSON documents, rich queries and built-in sharding.

key differences

  • Licensing: Apache CouchDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); MongoDB is source-available (Server Side Public License v1 (Community); commercial (Enterprise)).
  • MongoDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Apache CouchDB (≤ 10 TB).
  • Transactions: Apache CouchDB offers limited ACID; MongoDB offers full.
  • Only Apache CouchDB has offline sync.
  • Only MongoDB has transactions, joins, vector search, geospatial, ttl / expiry.

choose apache-couchdb for

  • +Offline-first web and mobile apps with PouchDB
  • +Field data collection in low-connectivity environments
  • +Multi-site replication between edge locations and a central hub
  • +Document stores where HTTP-native access is valuable

best at · OLTP, Mobile/offline, Local-first

choose mongodb for

  • +Product catalogs with highly variable attributes
  • +Content management and user-generated content
  • +Mobile and web backends that evolve their schema weekly
  • +IoT and event data with time-series collections

best at · OLTP, Content, Metadata

Apache CouchDBHTTP/JSON document database built around multi-master replication and offline-first sync.
MongoDBThe default document database: flexible BSON documents, rich queries and built-in sharding.
overview
Primary model
Document
Document
Also supports
Search Engine
Search Engine, Vector, Time-Series, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Apache Software Foundation
MongoDB, Inc.
First release
2005
2009
Latest version
3.5.3 (Oct 12, 2026)
9.0.4 (Oct 14, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Source-availableServer Side Public License v1 (Community); commercial (Enterprise)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
43.6
80.5
Rank
#41
#4
GitHub stars
7K
28.7K
Stack Overflow questions
6.1K
175.2K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Read replicas
ACID
Limited
Full
Consistency
Eventual
Tunable, Causal
Schema
Schemaless
Flexible
Architecture
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server
Primary replica, Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
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
Mango (JSON query), JavaScript MapReduce views, Lucene query syntax (Nouveau)
MongoDB Query API (MQL), Aggregation pipeline
Client languages
JavaScript, Python, Java, C#, Go, PHP, Ruby
C, C++, C#, Go, Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, PHP
Best for
OLTP, Mobile/offline, Local-first, Edge
OLTP, Content, Metadata, IoT
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Apache CouchDB vs MongoDB: FAQ

What is the difference between Apache CouchDB and MongoDB?

Apache CouchDB: HTTP/JSON document database built around multi-master replication and offline-first sync. MongoDB: The default document database: flexible BSON documents, rich queries and built-in sharding. Licensing: Apache CouchDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); MongoDB is source-available (Server Side Public License v1 (Community); commercial (Enterprise)). MongoDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Apache CouchDB (≤ 10 TB). Transactions: Apache CouchDB offers limited ACID; MongoDB offers full.

When should I choose Apache CouchDB over MongoDB?

Choose Apache CouchDB for offline-first web and mobile apps with PouchDB; field data collection in low-connectivity environments; and multi-site replication between edge locations and a central hub. Choose MongoDB for product catalogs with highly variable attributes; content management and user-generated content; and mobile and web backends that evolve their schema weekly.

Is Apache CouchDB or MongoDB more popular?

MongoDB ranks #4 on the WhichDB Score (80.5/100) and Apache CouchDB ranks #41 (43.6/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Apache CouchDB and MongoDB open source?

Yes. Apache CouchDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Not in the OSI sense. MongoDB is source-available: you can read the code, but the license restricts some uses, typically offering it as a competing managed service. License: Server Side Public License v1 (Community); commercial (Enterprise).