whichdb
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Riak KV vs ScyllaDB

Riak KV: Erlang-based, Dynamo-style key-value store built to stay up through ugly failures. ScyllaDB: C++ rewrite of Cassandra with shard-per-core design; also speaks the DynamoDB API.

key differences

  • Riak KV is primarily a key-value database; ScyllaDB is wide-column.
  • Licensing: Riak KV is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); ScyllaDB is source-available (ScyllaDB Software License Agreement 1.1).
  • ScyllaDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Riak KV (≤ 1 PB).
  • Transactions: Riak KV offers none ACID; ScyllaDB offers limited.
  • Only ScyllaDB has json, change data capture, materialized views, encryption at rest, role-based access.

choose riak-kv for

  • +Highly available session and profile storage
  • +Healthcare or betting systems needing extreme uptime
  • +Object and blob metadata stores
  • +Shopping carts with CRDT merges

best at · OLTP, Sessions, Metadata

choose scylladb for

  • +Chat and messaging history at very high volume
  • +Low-latency feature stores for ML
  • +Cassandra or DynamoDB migration targets
  • +IoT and telemetry ingestion

best at · OLTP, Time-series, IoT

Riak KVErlang-based, Dynamo-style key-value store built to stay up through ugly failures.
ScyllaDBC++ rewrite of Cassandra with shard-per-core design; also speaks the DynamoDB API.
overview
Primary model
Key-Value
Wide-Column
Also supports
–
Key-Value
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
OpenRiak (Erlang Ecosystem Foundation)
ScyllaDB Inc.
First release
2009
2015
Latest version
3.4.1 (Jun 29, 2026)
2026.3.4 (Oct 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Source-availableScyllaDB Software License Agreement 1.1
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
18.1
45.9
Rank
#184
#36
GitHub stars
56
15.8K
Stack Overflow questions
772
381
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
None
Limited
Consistency
Eventual, Causal
Tunable, Eventual
Schema
Schemaless
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server
Distributed, Multi primary, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
AWS, Google 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
Riak HTTP API, Protocol Buffers API
CQL, DynamoDB API
Client languages
Erlang, Java, Python, Go, C#, Ruby, JavaScript
Java, Python, Go, Rust, C++, C#, JavaScript, Scala
Best for
OLTP, Sessions, Metadata, Content
OLTP, Time-series, IoT, Feature store
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Riak KV vs ScyllaDB: FAQ

What is the difference between Riak KV and ScyllaDB?

Riak KV: Erlang-based, Dynamo-style key-value store built to stay up through ugly failures. ScyllaDB: C++ rewrite of Cassandra with shard-per-core design; also speaks the DynamoDB API. Riak KV is primarily a key-value database; ScyllaDB is wide-column. Licensing: Riak KV is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); ScyllaDB is source-available (ScyllaDB Software License Agreement 1.1). ScyllaDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Riak KV (≤ 1 PB).

When should I choose Riak KV over ScyllaDB?

Choose Riak KV for highly available session and profile storage; healthcare or betting systems needing extreme uptime; and object and blob metadata stores. Choose ScyllaDB for chat and messaging history at very high volume; low-latency feature stores for ML; and cassandra or DynamoDB migration targets.

Is Riak KV or ScyllaDB more popular?

ScyllaDB ranks #36 on the WhichDB Score (45.9/100) and Riak KV ranks #184 (18.1/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Riak KV and ScyllaDB open source?

Yes. Riak KV is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Not in the OSI sense. ScyllaDB is source-available: you can read the code, but the license restricts some uses, typically offering it as a competing managed service. License: ScyllaDB Software License Agreement 1.1.