vs

BaikalDB vs OceanBase

BaikalDB: Baidu's MySQL-compatible distributed HTAP database on RocksDB and Raft, with full-text and vector indexes. OceanBase: Alipay-proven distributed SQL with MySQL (and Oracle, in Enterprise) compatibility, HTAP and vector search.

key differences

  • OceanBase is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than BaikalDB (≤ 1 PB).
  • Only BaikalDB has ttl / expiry.
  • Only OceanBase has geospatial, change data capture, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views.

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 oceanbase for

  • +Core banking and payment systems
  • +Oracle-to-distributed-SQL migrations
  • +Consolidating many MySQL instances into one multi-tenant cluster
  • +HTAP reporting on live order data

best at · OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics

overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Vector, Search Engine
Document, Columnar / OLAP, Vector, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Baidu
OceanBase (Ant Group)
First release
2018
2010
Latest version
5.0.0 (Jun 15, 2026)
5.0.1 CE (Aug 6, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0 (Community Edition)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
2.3
19.4
Rank
#478
#168
GitHub stars
1.2K
10.4K
Stack Overflow questions
–
20
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
None
Active active
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed
Distributed, Client server, Single node
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Cloud, Tencent 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
SQL (MySQL dialect)
SQL, PL/SQL (Enterprise Oracle mode)
Client languages
Any MySQL driver
Java, Python, Go, C, JavaScript, C#
Best for
HTAP, OLTP, OLAP, Search
OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search

BaikalDB vs OceanBase: FAQ

What is the difference between BaikalDB and OceanBase?

BaikalDB: Baidu's MySQL-compatible distributed HTAP database on RocksDB and Raft, with full-text and vector indexes. OceanBase: Alipay-proven distributed SQL with MySQL (and Oracle, in Enterprise) compatibility, HTAP and vector search. OceanBase is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than BaikalDB (≤ 1 PB). Only BaikalDB has ttl / expiry. Only OceanBase has geospatial, change data capture, triggers, stored procedures, materialized views.

When should I choose BaikalDB over OceanBase?

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 OceanBase for core banking and payment systems; oracle-to-distributed-SQL migrations; and consolidating many MySQL instances into one multi-tenant cluster.

Is BaikalDB or OceanBase more popular?

OceanBase ranks #168 on the WhichDB Score (19.4/100) and BaikalDB ranks #478 (2.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are BaikalDB and OceanBase open source?

Yes. BaikalDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. OceanBase is open source. License: Apache License 2.0 (Community Edition).