Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Neo4j AuraDB comparison

Microsoft and Neo4j are both solutions in the Managed NoSQL Databases category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2, while Neo4j is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.7. Microsoft holds a 15.5% mindshare in MND, compared to Neo4j’s 5.0% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Neo4j users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Read 85 Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reviews

2,870 Views
1,067 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Neo4j AuraDB

Read 6 Neo4j AuraDB reviews

462 Views
319 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Neo4j AuraDB

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB and Neo4j AuraDB are competitors in the database management category, focusing on different data types and use cases. Cosmos DB often has the upper hand when scalability and global distribution are required, whereas Neo4j AuraDB is favored for complex relationship queries due to its graph database capabilities.

Features: Cosmos DB offers multi-model support, extensive global distribution, and low latency, making it strong in scalability scenarios. It also integrates easily with other Microsoft products, enhancing its versatility. Neo4j AuraDB specializes in handling graph-based data efficiently, offering strong performance and advanced query handling for complex relationships, thus excelling in graph database scenarios.

Room for Improvement: Cosmos DB could improve its cost efficiency and offer better pricing models to accommodate a wider variety of users. There is also room for improvement in the optimization of query performances, especially for smaller scale applications. Neo4j AuraDB can enhance its global distribution capabilities and expand its multi-model support to increase adoption beyond graph use cases. Additionally, providing more integration options with non-graph databases could make it more versatile.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cosmos DB integrates seamlessly within the Azure ecosystem, supported by robust documentation and cross-platform compatibility, facilitating an easier deployment process. Neo4j AuraDB offers a tailored experience with dedicated support channels, focusing on graph databases, enabling a quick and specific setup.

Pricing and ROI: Cosmos DB might involve a higher cost due to its expansive capabilities but offers a good ROI for applications that leverage its scalability and global reach. In contrast, Neo4j AuraDB provides a cost-effective solution for graph-specific needs, promising excellent ROI when efficiently handling highly connected data scenarios.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Neo4j AuraDB Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Neo4j AuraDB

March 2025

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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

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Ranking in Managed NoSQL Databases

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Database as a Service (DBaaS) (6th), NoSQL Databases (3rd), Vector Databases (3rd)

Neo4j AuraDB

Ranking in Managed NoSQL Databases

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Managed NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 15.5%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Neo4j AuraDB is 5.0%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed NoSQL Databases

Featured Reviews

MichaelJohn

Director | Data & AI at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Very efficient for application-facing scenarios

There are several areas for improvement. Firstly, having a local development emulator or simulator for Azure Cosmos DB would be beneficial. It would be very handy to have a Docker container that developers can use locally. Although, I know there is a free tier and so on and so forth, having a local environment would be nice. For example, SQL Server is very portable. You can even install it on your machine. That is the number one thing that is missing in Azure Cosmos DB. The second improvement area is the IDE of choice. That means how you interact with Azure Cosmos DB. For example, with SQL Server, you have SQL Server Management Studio. I know there is a little bit of support for Azure Cosmos DB in Azure Data Studio, but it is not heavily advertised or it does not feel like first-class citizen support. Developer experience or developer tooling is missing in terms of interacting with the database. Better developer tools or an IDE for interacting with Azure Cosmos DB would enhance the developer experience. Lastly, there is some mixed messaging about what Azure Cosmos DB is, given its multiple APIs. There are so many Azure Cosmos DB APIs available. There is NoSQL. There are MongoDB, Gremlin, and others. There is still some mixed messaging for others who are new to Azure Cosmos DB about what Azure Cosmos DB is. Is this like MongoDB, but then there is also MongoDB in Azure Cosmos DB? I know it well, and I know that the default one is just NoSQL, but others I have interacted with over the last ten years or so get confused.

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Erle Pereira

Founder & Creator at RRADD Strategy

A graph database, purpose built to leverage relationships in data, enabling lightning-fast queries for real-time analytics and insights

There’s room for improvement in Neo4j AuraDB, especially on the developer side. The learning curve can be steep, and the interface for developing and pushing code can be unnecessarily complex. It might be beneficial to simplify this process to help developers ramp up more quickly. Working with graph databases like Neo4j can be more challenging than standard databases, particularly for juniors and those new to graph technology. Streamlining the development process could make it easier for new users to get up to speed. This would be particularly useful for teams with less experience in graph databases. If I could add a feature to Neo4j AuraDB, I’d focus on improving the Bloom interface. It’s excellent for visualizing smaller datasets, but navigating through it becomes challenging as the data grows—say, past 100,000nodes. The interface works well for beginners but doesn’t scale effectively for more advanced users of large datasets. I want a UI that bridges the gap between the easy-to-use Bloom interface and more complex, text-based tools. This would help manage larger datasets more efficiently and improve performance.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cosmos is preferred because of its speed, robustness, and utilization. We have all the merchandising information in Cosmos DB, which provides concrete and optimized data when searching for new products on the site. It is faster than other relational databases."

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is very fast. Data retrieval and data storage are very quick."

"The solution's read capacity and write access functions are very fast so users don't have to wait when fetching or displaying data on a screen."

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB simplifies the process of saving and retrieving data."

"Azure Cosmos DB's graph queries are its most valuable feature. Although I have not yet explored vector search, it's coming to Cosmos DB, and I plan to look into it. Having data in a flat file format in a document database speeds up processes, which is the primary purpose. Additionally, Cosmos DB's use of the Mongo platform makes it intuitive and cost-effective."

"The solution is highly scalable."

"With Azure you can start small and grow as you need."

"Cosmos DB is a pretty stable solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pros

"Integrating the front-end language with Neo4j AuraDB is a very easy process."

"From my experience, I particularly like the professional version. Initially, developers often start with the free variant. Once the project grows, we switch to the professional version, which offers multiple databases, expanded memory, and better scalability. This allows us to handle more data and use cloud scaling features."

"The most valuable features of Neo4j AuraDB include its flexible data model and broad language support."

"The most beneficial things in terms of AuraDB are its speed, its good pricing, the multi-cloud availability."

"The tool is easy to use."

"I like the idea of graphs and nodes and the possibilities Neo4j AuraDB offers."

Cons

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's pricing model is complicated, which people don't understand."

"From about half a billion rows, we're returning maybe 20,000 in two or three minutes. We don't know why, but we are working with Microsoft and a third party to figure that out."

"While Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is generally easy to use, it has some limitations."

"It's still new, and good training resources are harder to find. Even the most recent books on Cosmos DB are several years old, which is ancient in IT terms."

"The auto-scaling feature adjusts hourly. We have many processes that write stuff in batches, so we must ensure that the load is spread evenly throughout the hour. It would be much easier if it were done by the minute. I'm looking forward to the vector database search that they are adding. It's a pretty cool new feature."

"One area that could be improved is indexing. Some of the developers struggle with the way the indexing works. We are exploring vector indexing, which we haven't examined fully yet. Indexing is an aspect we're looking to improve upon potentially."

"In Microsoft manufacturing, managers really need to know about the product."

"Continuing to educate customers on how they can take better advantage of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB without having to completely rewrite their entire application paradigm would be beneficial. They can help them understand that there are multiple options to interact with it. They do not necessarily have to start from scratch. They can refactor their existing application to be able to use it better."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB cons

"There’s room for improvement in Neo4j AuraDB, especially on the developer side. The learning curve can be steep, and the interface for developing and pushing code can be unnecessarily complex. It might be beneficial to simplify this process to help developers ramp up more quickly. Working with graph databases like Neo4j can be more challenging than standard databases, particularly for juniors and those new to graph technology. Streamlining the development process could make it easier for new users to get up to speed. This would be particularly useful for teams with less experience in graph databases. If I could add a feature to Neo4j AuraDB, I’d focus on improving the Bloom interface. It’s excellent for visualizing smaller datasets, but navigating through it becomes challenging as the data grows—say, past 100,000nodes. The interface works well for beginners but doesn’t scale effectively for more advanced users of large datasets. I want a UI that bridges the gap between the easy-to-use Bloom interface and more complex, text-based tools. This would help manage larger datasets more efficiently and improve performance."

"In terms of AuraDB, the conversations have always been around scalability."

"During the product's initial setup phase, there were some issues due to disconnections in the tool's network."

"I've experienced it crashing a few times, so stability could be better."

"Some features can help if they can visualize graphs better."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its cost is transparent. Pricing depends on the transaction and data size, but overall, it is cheaper compared to hosting it on your corporate network due to other factors like power consumption."

"The price of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB could be a bit lower."

"Pricing, at times, is not super clear because they use the request unit (RU) model. To manage not just Azure Cosmos DB but what you are receiving for the dollars paid is not easy. It is very abstract. They could do a better job of connecting Azure Cosmos DB with the value or some variation of that."

"Its pricing is not bad. It is good."

"For the cloud, we don't pay for the license, but for the on-prem versions, we do pay."

"The pricing model of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a bit complex."

"Its price is in the middle, neither too low nor too high."

"Cosmos should be cheaper. We actually intend to stop using it in the near future because the price is too high."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pricing and cost advice

"The tool's enterprise edition is very expensive."

"I am using an open-source version of Neo4j AuraDB."

"Neo4j AuraDB is reasonably priced, especially considering it removes the need for cloud administration and associated costs. It's a good deal for the professional version, as it includes managed services, which reduces the overhead compared to setting up your own infrastructure. The cost can be higher for enterprise-scale projects, but that's often due to the scale and complexity of the project rather than the product itself. Startups sometimes overestimate their needs and jump to enterprise pricing too quickly, leading to higher costs than necessary."

"I used the free tier."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Legal Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

30%

Educational Organization

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

The initial setup is simple and straightforward. You can set up a Cosmos DB in a day, even configuring things like availability zones around the world.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

Its pricing is not bad. It is good. We have a contract with Microsoft to use their technology. In my opinion, Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a good option for the total cost of ownership.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

I think Cosmos DB enhanced the benefits of NoSQL databases, offering query flexibility, partition management, and backup and restore options. These aspects are crucial, and perhaps improving the co...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Neo4j AuraDB?

It has fair pricing.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Neo4j AuraDB?

I worked on a project focused on the quality of public menus, using Neo4j AuraDB to connect and create relationships between food items. This allowed us to visualize data in interesting ways and id...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Neo4j AuraDB?

Neo4j AuraDB is a powerful graph database that enables us to accomplish impressive tasks. Specifically, as a cloud-based service, it eliminates the need for a high-performance computer to use it. S...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Neo4j AuraDB

March 2025

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Also Known As

Microsoft Azure DocumentDB, MS Azure Cosmos DB

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database service providing scalability, user-friendliness, and seamless integration, suitable for managing large volumes of structured and unstructured data across diverse applications.

Azure Cosmos DB is renowned for its scalability, stability, and ease of integration, offering robust support for multiple data models and APIs. Its capacity for handling unstructured data efficiently and providing real-time analytics makes it ideal for applications requiring high performance and global distribution. With features like automatic failover and integration with Microsoft products, users benefit from cost optimization and secure data handling. Enhancement opportunities include simplifying queries, improving documentation, and expanding backup and analytics functionalities.

What are the most important features of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

Scalability and Autoscaling: Efficiently handles growing data and user demands.
Multi-Model Support: Adapts to different data models seamlessly.
Global Distribution: Provides low-latency access across multiple regions.
Automatic Failover: Ensures high availability and reliability.
Integration with Microsoft Products: Offers seamless connectivity with Azure services.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reviews?

Performance and Speed: Exceptionally fast processing for real-time data analytics.
Cost Optimization: Tools for managing expenses effectively.
Secure Data Handling: Implements strong data security measures.
Flexible Data Ingestion: Supports diverse data ingestion methods.

Azure Cosmos DB is frequently used in sectors like web, mobile, IoT, and analytics. It supports applications as a key-value store, processes real-time data, and enables global scalability with low-latency access. Its big data management capabilities and integration with Azure services enhance its utility across industries.

Microsoft

Neo4j AuraDB offers seamless integration with Python, Java, and Go, efficiently handles real-time data, and is hosted on AWS Cloud for reliable, scalable, and multi-cloud support across GCP, Azure, and Amazon.

Neo4j AuraDB is appreciated for its flexible data models and dedicated query language, ideal for network correlation and graph analysis. It provides scalability with expanded memory and supports multiple databases. While users enjoy its speed and AI data handling capabilities, challenges include stability, with occasional crashes and a need for a more intuitive cloud interface. Enhancements in simplifying the development process and improving the Bloom interface for large datasets are desired. Although documentation is positive, it could be streamlined. Scalability in large projects is a recurring concern alongside a more user-friendly setup for less experienced teams.

What are Neo4j AuraDB's standout features?

Seamless language integration: Works well with Python, Java, and Go.
Cloud hosting: Reliable hosting on AWS with GCP and Azure compatibility.
Scalability: Offers expanded memory and support for multiple databases.
Real-time data handling: Efficient for AI and analytics projects.
Flexible data model: Supports network correlation and relationship-centric modeling.

What benefits should users expect?

Cost-effective pricing: Multi-cloud availability ensures competitive rates.
Rapid analysis: Swiftly handles data point relationships.
Graph visualization: Enables effective illustration of graph schemas.
Project scalability: Supports resource aggregation and AI applications.

Research teams use Neo4j AuraDB to learn cipher language and gather data from platforms like Hacker News. It is vital for graph data access, participant engagement, and projects like connecting food data or investment insights. Companies needing scalable cloud interfaces and swift data analysis in generative AI contexts benefit significantly, achieving effective data point connection with robust documentation.

Neo4j

Sample Customers

TomTom, KPMG Australia, Bosch, ASOS, Mercedes Benz, NBA, Zero Friction, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Kinectify

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Neo4j AuraDB

March 2025

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