whichdb
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RocksDB vs TidesDB

RocksDB: Meta's embeddable LSM-tree key-value engine, the storage layer under dozens of databases. TidesDB: Young C storage-engine library: transactional LSM with MVCC, column families and TTL.

key differences

  • Licensing: RocksDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0 or GPL-2.0 (dual)); TidesDB is open source (copyleft) (Mozilla Public License 2.0).
  • RocksDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than TidesDB (≤ 100 GB).

choose rocksdb for

  • +Storage engine for a custom database or service
  • +Stream-processing state stores (Kafka Streams, Flink)
  • +MySQL storage engine via MyRocks
  • +Write-heavy local indexes and caches on SSD

best at · Embedded, OLTP, Streaming

choose tidesdb for

  • +Building custom database engines
  • +Embedded transactional storage in C/C++ systems
  • +Experimenting with alternatives to RocksDB

best at · Embedded, OLTP

RocksDBMeta's embeddable LSM-tree key-value engine, the storage layer under dozens of databases.
TidesDBYoung C storage-engine library: transactional LSM with MVCC, column families and TTL.
overview
Primary model
Key-Value
Key-Value
Also supports
–
Wide-Column
Type
Embedded library
Embedded library
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Meta
TidesDB (Alex Gaetano Padula)
First release
2013
2024
Latest version
11.12 (Oct 26, 2026)
10.2.1 (Oct 12, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0 or GPL-2.0 (dual)
Open source (copyleft)Mozilla Public License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
48.2
13.7
Rank
#30
#249
GitHub stars
32.2K
606
Stack Overflow questions
504
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Horizontal scaling
None
None
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Schemaless
Schemaless
Architecture
Embedded
Embedded
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
✓
✓
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
–
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
C++ API
C API
Client languages
C++, C, Java
C, C++, Go, Rust, Python, Java
Best for
Embedded, OLTP, Streaming, Metadata
Embedded, OLTP
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

RocksDB vs TidesDB: FAQ

What is the difference between RocksDB and TidesDB?

RocksDB: Meta's embeddable LSM-tree key-value engine, the storage layer under dozens of databases. TidesDB: Young C storage-engine library: transactional LSM with MVCC, column families and TTL. Licensing: RocksDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0 or GPL-2.0 (dual)); TidesDB is open source (copyleft) (Mozilla Public License 2.0). RocksDB is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than TidesDB (≤ 100 GB).

When should I choose RocksDB over TidesDB?

Choose RocksDB for storage engine for a custom database or service; stream-processing state stores (Kafka Streams, Flink); and MySQL storage engine via MyRocks. Choose TidesDB for building custom database engines, embedded transactional storage in C/C++ systems and experimenting with alternatives to RocksDB.

Is RocksDB or TidesDB more popular?

RocksDB ranks #30 on the WhichDB Score (48.2/100) and TidesDB ranks #249 (13.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are RocksDB and TidesDB open source?

Yes. RocksDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0 or GPL-2.0 (dual). Yes. TidesDB is open source. License: Mozilla Public License 2.0.