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CockroachDB vs HPE NonStop SQL

CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. HPE NonStop SQL: Fault-tolerant, shared-nothing SQL on HPE NonStop, built for payment switches that can never go down.

key differences

  • Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); HPE NonStop SQL is proprietary (Proprietary commercial license).
  • Only CockroachDB has full-text search, vector search, geospatial, json, change data capture.
  • CockroachDB has a serverless option; HPE NonStop SQL does not.

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

choose hpe-nonstop-sql for

  • +ATM and card-payment authorisation switches
  • +Stock exchange order matching and settlement
  • +Telecom home-location and subscriber registers

best at · OLTP

CockroachDBPostgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions.
HPE NonStop SQLFault-tolerant, shared-nothing SQL on HPE NonStop, built for payment switches that can never go down.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial, Vector
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Cockroach Labs
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
First release
2015
1987
Latest version
26.3 (Aug 19, 2026)
–
License
Source-availableCockroachDB Software License
ProprietaryProprietary commercial license
Free tier
✓
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
47.1
4.3
Rank
#33
#412
GitHub stars
32.6K
–
Stack Overflow questions
467
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server, Serverless
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
SQL, PL/pgSQL
SQL
Client languages
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, Rust, PHP
C, COBOL, Java, C++
Best for
OLTP, Geo, Metadata, Ledger
OLTP
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

CockroachDB vs HPE NonStop SQL: FAQ

What is the difference between CockroachDB and HPE NonStop SQL?

CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. HPE NonStop SQL: Fault-tolerant, shared-nothing SQL on HPE NonStop, built for payment switches that can never go down. Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); HPE NonStop SQL is proprietary (Proprietary commercial license). Only CockroachDB has full-text search, vector search, geospatial, json, change data capture. CockroachDB has a serverless option; HPE NonStop SQL does not.

When should I choose CockroachDB over HPE NonStop SQL?

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. Choose HPE NonStop SQL for ATM and card-payment authorisation switches; stock exchange order matching and settlement; and telecom home-location and subscriber registers.

Is CockroachDB or HPE NonStop SQL more popular?

CockroachDB ranks #33 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and HPE NonStop SQL ranks #412 (4.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are CockroachDB and HPE NonStop SQL open source?

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. No. HPE NonStop SQL is proprietary, closed-source software.