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CockroachDB vs SAP SQL Anywhere 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
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Vector Databases (17th), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (10th)
SAP SQL Anywhere
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
32nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of CockroachDB is 3.8%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SQL Anywhere is 1.4%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
CockroachDB3.8%
SAP SQL Anywhere1.4%
Other94.8%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

SC
Manager, Software Engineering at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Provides developer-friendly environment with robust security and cost-efficiency
The platform should provide a UI feature where users have the ability to manage it. The CockroachDB platform should have a chatbot where users can inquire about pricing or seek solutions for queries, rather than relying on email support. The current UI only provides SQL playground, which is technical. There should be a UI playground where users with limited technical knowledge can run and update queries, similar to phpMyAdmin or Adminer. Latency optimization could be improved for globally distributed applications, particularly in query routing. For multi-region deployment, CockroachDB requires at least three plus replicas across data centers to achieve strong consistency across regions, which increases infrastructure costs including compute, storage, and networking. The disadvantages include cost-efficiency with multi-region deployment and schema migration speed, which should be faster compared to other drivers. The query optimizer should handle complex queries better through the UI interface.
Crewmem67 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Consultant at College Notre Dame de Nazareth
Reliable and able to expand but needs to be more secure
It is not as good as a SQL Server. I prefer to work with the SQL Server for Microsoft or Oracle. These are better as there are some comments on SQL Anywhere that makes me feel that I'm blocked. We'd like to have them update to a new version. They should update more often. I find I can't move to a new version without running tests as there are chances of bugs that can get into my system. The initial setup is not simple or straightforward, and it took a while to deploy. It is not as secure as it could be. This is an aspect they need to improve. There needs to be more encryption.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is that CockroachDB is a distributed database, which can deploy nodes running in different regions."
"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."
"CockroachDB is excellent for managing relationships in RDBMS with multiple benefits such as the ability to create views and dynamic queries that save data and reduce the use of complex algorithms in code."
"The tool's most valuable feature is node syncing, which takes only 0.54 milliseconds."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."
"The availability and the easy to use feature is the most valuable. The documentation is also good."
"The best feature of CockroachDB is the ability to keep the nodes in different locations."
"The initial setup and deployment are simple."
"We've found the solution very reliable overall. It's very fast."
"It's a great product to use if you are already have an integration with SAP's ERP/CRM systems."
"The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user interface is intuitive."
"It works well in general."
"SQL Anywhere is easy and it did not cost as much as SQL Microsoft."
"The auto-backup replication is a perfect feature. That is the feature I liked the most."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful."
 

Cons

"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."
"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."
"For multi-region deployment, CockroachDB requires at least three plus replicas across data centers to achieve strong consistency across regions, which increases infrastructure costs including compute, storage, and networking."
"The closer they can make CockroachDB to being completely compatible with Postgres, the better. It's almost compatible, but not completely. If it was, it would be nice to just be able to use Postgres libraries without any fiddling."
"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."
"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."
"It is not as secure as it could be."
"It is not as secure as it could be; there needs to be more encryption and we can find passwords very easily."
"SAP SQL Anywhere needs to incorporate functionalities like SAP S/4HANA."
"The interface is not easy in comparison to the SQL Server. It could be more user-friendly."
"We have had some stability issues with SAP SQL Anywhere, but I am not sure if it is an application or network issue. We sometimes have a large amount of data being queried and it cannot handle it."
"A problem we are experiencing now is when doing a backup in SQL 2012 and 14 there's a problem with the license."
"Performance issues when syncing the MBO packages to the server."
 

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 pricing is good but can be made cheaper. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"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 platform is affordable even for the enterprise version. It provides value for investment in terms of performance."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable."
"SQL Anywhere cost us about $400."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Educational Organization
11%
University
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
University
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with CockroachDB?
The platform should provide a UI feature where users have the ability to manage it. The CockroachDB platform should have a chatbot where users can inquire about pricing or seek solutions for querie...
What is your primary use case for CockroachDB?
We have been using CockroachDB for the last two years. From 2023, we started working on a product similar to Google Capture. We decided to work with CockroachDB with Hasura. Hasura is a UI for the ...
What advice do you have for others considering CockroachDB?
The tech support deserves a rating of nine out of ten. My overall rating for CockroachDB is 8 out of 10.
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Also Known As

No data available
Sybase SQL Anywhere
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baidu, Kindred, Tierion, Heroic Labs, Gorgias
AOK Bundesverband, Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, Molson Coors Brewing Company, City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International, Wªrth Group, Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., Coelba, RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association, TALLY WEiJL
Find out what your peers are saying about CockroachDB vs. SAP SQL Anywhere and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.