CockroachDB vs TiKV
CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. TiKV: CNCF-graduated, Raft-replicated transactional key-value store in Rust; the storage layer of TiDB.
key differences
- CockroachDB is primarily a relational database; TiKV is key-value.
- Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); TiKV is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
- TiKV is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than CockroachDB (≤ 1 PB).
- Only CockroachDB has joins, secondary indexes, full-text search, vector search, geospatial.
- CockroachDB has a serverless option; TiKV 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 tikv for
- +Storage layer for distributed SQL (TiDB)
- +Metadata for distributed file systems (JuiceFS)
- +Large-scale transactional key-value services
- +Redis-protocol or custom data layers needing strong consistency
best at · OLTP, Metadata, HTAP
CockroachDB vs TiKV: FAQ
What is the difference between CockroachDB and TiKV?
CockroachDB: Postgres-wire distributed SQL built to survive node, zone and region failures with serializable transactions. TiKV: CNCF-graduated, Raft-replicated transactional key-value store in Rust; the storage layer of TiDB. CockroachDB is primarily a relational database; TiKV is key-value. Licensing: CockroachDB is source-available (CockroachDB Software License); TiKV is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). TiKV is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than CockroachDB (≤ 1 PB).
When should I choose CockroachDB over TiKV?
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 TiKV for storage layer for distributed SQL (TiDB), metadata for distributed file systems (JuiceFS) and large-scale transactional key-value services.
Is CockroachDB or TiKV more popular?
CockroachDB ranks #33 on the WhichDB Score (47.1/100) and TiKV ranks #148 (20.8/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.
Are CockroachDB and TiKV 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. TiKV is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.