vs

BaikalDB vs CockroachDB

BaikalDB: Baidu's MySQL-compatible distributed HTAP database on RocksDB and Raft, with full-text and vector indexes. CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions.

key differences

  • Licensing: BaikalDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License).
  • Only BaikalDB has columnar storage.
  • Only CockroachDB has geospatial, change data capture, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views.
  • CockroachDB has a serverless option; BaikalDB does not.

choose baikaldb for

  • +Scaling out MySQL-style OLTP workloads
  • +HTAP reporting on live transactional data
  • +Combining SQL filters with full-text or vector similarity search

best at · HTAP, OLTP, OLAP

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

overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Vector, Search Engine
Document, Spatial, Vector
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Baidu
Cockroach Labs
First release
2018
2015
Latest version
5.0.0 (Jun 15, 2026)
26.3 (Aug 19, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Source-availableCockroachDB Software License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
2.3
47.1
Rank
#478
#33
GitHub stars
1.2K
32.6K
Stack Overflow questions
–
467
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
Active active
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server, Serverless
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
SQL (MySQL dialect)
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
Any MySQL driver
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, Rust, PHP
Best for
HTAP, OLTP, OLAP, Search
OLTP, Geo, Metadata, Ledger

BaikalDB vs CockroachDB: FAQ

What is the difference between BaikalDB and CockroachDB?

BaikalDB: Baidu's MySQL-compatible distributed HTAP database on RocksDB and Raft, with full-text and vector indexes. CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. Licensing: BaikalDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License). Only BaikalDB has columnar storage. Only CockroachDB has geospatial, change data capture, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views.

When should I choose BaikalDB over CockroachDB?

Choose BaikalDB for scaling out MySQL-style OLTP workloads, HTAP reporting on live transactional data and combining SQL filters with full-text or vector similarity search. 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 BaikalDB or CockroachDB more popular?

CockroachDB ranks #33 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and BaikalDB ranks #478 (2.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are BaikalDB and CockroachDB open source?

Yes. BaikalDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. 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.