whichdb
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CockroachDB vs TigerBeetle

CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. TigerBeetle: Purpose-built financial transactions database: double-entry accounts and transfers at very high throughput.

key differences

  • CockroachDB is primarily a relational database; TigerBeetle is ledger.
  • Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); TigerBeetle is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • CockroachDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than TigerBeetle (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in CockroachDB and none in TigerBeetle.
  • Only CockroachDB has joins, full-text search, vector search, geospatial, json.
  • CockroachDB has a serverless option; TigerBeetle 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 tigerbeetle for

  • +Payment and wallet ledgers
  • +Real-time balance tracking for fintech and brokerages
  • +Usage metering and billing credits
  • +In-game currency and loyalty points

best at · Ledger, OLTP

CockroachDBPostgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions.
TigerBeetlePurpose-built financial transactions database: double-entry accounts and transfers at very high throughput.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Ledger
Also supports
Document, Spatial, Vector
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Cockroach Labs
TigerBeetle, Inc.
First release
2015
2020
Latest version
26.3 (Aug 19, 2026)
0.17.9 (Jul 6, 2026)
License
Source-availableCockroachDB Software License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
47.1
19.2
Rank
#33
#172
GitHub stars
32.6K
17.3K
Stack Overflow questions
467
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
None
Multi-region
Active active
None
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
TigerBeetle client API (create_accounts, create_transfers, lookups, queries)
Client languages
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, Rust, PHP
Go, Java, .NET, Node.js, Python, Rust
Best for
OLTP, Geo, Metadata, Ledger
Ledger, OLTP
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

CockroachDB vs TigerBeetle: FAQ

What is the difference between CockroachDB and TigerBeetle?

CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. TigerBeetle: Purpose-built financial transactions database: double-entry accounts and transfers at very high throughput. CockroachDB is primarily a relational database; TigerBeetle is ledger. Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); TigerBeetle is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). CockroachDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than TigerBeetle (≤ 10 TB).

When should I choose CockroachDB over TigerBeetle?

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 TigerBeetle for payment and wallet ledgers; real-time balance tracking for fintech and brokerages; and usage metering and billing credits.

Is CockroachDB or TigerBeetle more popular?

CockroachDB ranks #33 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and TigerBeetle ranks #172 (19.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are CockroachDB and TigerBeetle 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. Yes. TigerBeetle is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.