Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

CockroachDB vs MySQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

CockroachDB
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MySQL
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of CockroachDB is 4.1%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 8.0%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Dang Quy Tai - PeerSpot reviewer
Geo-replication benefits with distributed setup and a helpful AI support chatbot
I am studying how to deploy CockroachDB and YugaByteDB, and learning some basic information about them. I am testing these databases as part of my school application to find a suitable database for our applications. Currently, I am using PostgreSQL, however, I want to try some distributed databases…
Muzzamil  Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment
The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"What I like best is its ability to solve data residency issues. The main advantage is auto geo partitioning, built into the product. This means we don't have to spin up separate servers in each region, which would be much more costly."
"The best feature of CockroachDB is the ability to keep the nodes in different locations."
"The initial setup and deployment are simple."
"The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported."
"The product has valuable security features."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."
"The most valuable feature is that CockroachDB is a distributed database, which can deploy nodes running in different regions."
"The tool's most valuable feature is node syncing, which takes only 0.54 milliseconds."
"A good traditional database that supports JSON."
"MySQL is easy to integrate. It works with just about every language."
"While MySQL offers strong basic functionality."
"It is a very stable solution. I deployed the product six years ago, and it still works fine."
"What I really like about MySQL is the opportunity to search for information and organize it any way I like."
"My main reason for using MySQL for this small customer database company and for some kinds of scientific projects was that I had to do the installation myself. I didn't have a database administration team behind me. Therefore, I was looking for something very easy to handle. MySQL is easy to install, connect, and do all such things."
"The most valuable feature of MySQL is auto-scaling."
"The initial setup was easy. I work in an agile way, which means coding and deploying quickly."
 

Cons

"I think the engine itself could be improved. If you miss a partition key, it should be able to be modeled. This is where AI could be really helpful. For example, if a user is from Australia, the system should know to look for their data there first instead of searching in the US or another continent."
"Cockroach does not support all types of protocols. I need to improve it myself to support a CouchDB on my network."
"The initial setup and pricing could be improved."
"The product must improve its disaster recovery features."
"I find the serverless offer a bit confusing."
"The platform could be more extensible."
"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."
"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."
"Its performance should be better. When we use big data, it is slow in performance. We should be able to use mirroring for improved performance."
"I feel that some tools which make it easier to create queries or make it easier for other functions would be really interesting to see."
"MySQL has some unique exchange problems when it comes to migration projects."
"It would be helpful if there were a graphical user interface to administer, configure, and tune it."
"The GUI could improve in MySQL."
"The workbench could be improved. In particular, error messages can be improved, which are horrific and completely unhelpful. I'd like to see improved parsing of errors. When you write SQL and it crashes, it usually is something completely irrelevant and not helpful. I've started to use GPT 3.5 for finding out how to do things. I got to do something a bit different, and that I found to be very useful. If there was some way to tie it into one of the new AI tools, that would probably be a good idea."
"The solution is expensive."
"MySQL could be improved by adding more automation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is not cheap. However, the good thing is that customers are willing to pay for it if they want it."
"The product's price depends on the user's company and the contract model they enter into with CockroachDB. Depending on the contract model one enters into with CockroachDB, the product may or may not be expensive."
"I've used CockroachDB at a small scale on the free accounts because we are only testing."
"The pricing is good but can be made cheaper. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The platform is affordable even for the enterprise version. It provides value for investment in terms of performance."
"The pricing falls within the moderate range."
"I don't pay for a license."
"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
"We are using the licensed version of MySQL."
"The pricing is not much expensive, it's cheap."
"MySQL is a free and open-source solution."
"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."
"There is a license needed for this solution."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Relational Databases Tools solutions are best for your needs.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
36%
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
6%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CockroachDB?
The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported.
What needs improvement with CockroachDB?
I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations.
What is your primary use case for CockroachDB?
I am studying how to deploy CockroachDB and YugaByteDB, and learning some basic information about them. I am testing these databases as part of my school application to find a suitable database for...
Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?
MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...
Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?
I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...
What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?
One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baidu, Kindred, Tierion, Heroic Labs, Gorgias
Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Find out what your peers are saying about CockroachDB vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.