Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs SingleStore comparison

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

SingleStore and Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB compete in the database management category. Based on the comparison, SingleStore seems to have the upper hand in scalability and data compression features.

Features: SingleStore offers scalability and high concurrency, supports seamless integration with existing development environments through MySQL compatibility, and has features like replication and data compression which are beneficial for analytical applications. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB provides extensive API support, global distribution, and multi-model capabilities, making it versatile for diverse application needs.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's pricing model is complex and costly with limited parameter support in SQL queries, raising potential security concerns. Improvements in documentation, query support, and detailed pricing are needed. SingleStore needs to expand its SQL features and enhance documentation to aid novice users, indicating a need for growth in user accessibility and support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, primarily used in public cloud environments, benefits from integration with Microsoft's Azure suite, aiding deployment for existing users. Customer support experiences vary; some users praise responsiveness, while others note issues with resolution speed and quality. SingleStore offers flexibility with on-premises and cloud availability but faces deployment challenges, especially for new users needing comprehensive documentation and training.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB uses a request unit-based pricing model, seen as complex and costly for high-demand applications. Despite its scalable, pay-as-you-go nature, users express concerns about cost unpredictability. SingleStore, though considered expensive, provides clear pricing tiers and is cost-effective for analytical workloads over the long term. Both solutions offer attractive ROI with mindful usage and configuration, though initial learning curves and budgeting are necessary to achieve potential savings.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. SingleStore Report (Updated: September 2025).

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. SingleStore

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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 Database as a Service (DBaaS)

4th

Ranking in Vector Databases

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

NoSQL Databases (2nd), Managed NoSQL Databases (1st)

SingleStore

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

12th

Ranking in Vector Databases

15th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 3.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SingleStore is 2.7%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB	3.4%
SingleStore	2.7%
Other	93.9%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

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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Yasin Sarı

Senior Data Analyst at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

High-speed data processing, seamless scalability, and excellent high availability making it an optimal choice for those prioritizing performance and efficiency in a database solution

There's a noteworthy consideration when it comes to collecting massive amounts of data. It is not the optimal choice for direct data collection through queries, and it's more suited for aggregation tasks. Attempting to use it for direct extraction, for instance, might lead to memory-related challenges. While MySQL version five might lack extensive SQL capabilities, SingleStore also has its constraints, requiring simpler SQL writing. This becomes evident when seeking advanced functionalities like window functions or JSON functions, where SingleStore doesn't offer an extensive toolkit, necessitating a more straightforward approach to SQL.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable."

"I would recommend Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB to other users without hesitation."

"It is a NoSQL database."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Cosmos DB is its scalability. That is the biggest reason I use Azure Cosmos DB."

"The solution is user friendly and Microsoft's technical support is good."

"Our customer is very satisfied with it."

"I would recommend Cosmos. It made our lives a lot easier. There's not a big learning curve in order to understand the structure and how to use it."

"From a global distribution perspective, Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is good and easy to handle."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pros

"It's a distributed relational database, so it does not have a single server, it has multiple servers. Its architecture itself is fast because it has multiple nodes to distribute the workload and process large amounts of data."

"The ability to store data in memory is a standout feature, enhanced by robust failover mechanisms."

"The product can automatically reinstall and reconfigure in case of a shutdown."

"MemSQL supports the MySQL protocol, and many functions are similar, so the learning curve is very short."

"The paramount advantage is the exceptional speed."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to create pipelines, streamline and extract data from the pipelines."

Cons

"I would give a low rating to Microsoft support, as whenever I talked to them, I never got a solution. I had to guide them."

"Because there is no local way of doing things, Azure Cosmos DB will always be considered expensive."

"I would like the speed of transferring data to be improved."

"It is easy to use, but optimization has been a mixed experience. It has been more of trying to figure out how to do so. We have not found much support there, so we have to come up with our own way of optimizing it in different ways. That is one area of improvement."

"An improvement would be a more robust functionality around updating elements on a document, or some type of procedural updates that don't require pulling the entire document."

"We are at the beginning of production, and everything is working very well. The price can always be lower, but currently, it's not a problem."

"It doesn't support all databases."

"Our use case was a failure with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, and we do not have any other opportunity to use Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB cons

"Poor key distribution can significantly impact performance, requiring a backward approach in design rather than adding tables incrementally."

"It is not the optimal choice for direct data collection through queries, and it's more suited for aggregation tasks."

"Having the ability to migrate servers using a single command would be extremely beneficial."

"There should be more pipelines available because I think that if MemSQL can connect to other services, that would be great."

"We don't get good discounts in Pakistan."

"For new customers, it's very tough to start. Their documentation isn't organized, and there's no online training available. SingleStore is working on it, but that's a major drawback."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Cosmos DB pricing model, initially quite complicated, became clear after consulting with Azure Advisor, allowing us to proceed with confidence."

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

"From a startup point of view, it appears to be expensive. If I were to create my startup, it would not have the pricing appeal compared to the competition, such as Supabase. All those other databases are well-advertised by communities. I know there is a free tier with Azure Cosmos DB. It is just not well advertised."

"Cosmos DB's pricing structure has significantly improved in recent months, both in terms of its pricing model and how charges are calculated."

"Cost isn’t a big hurdle for us right now. The solution is not costly."

"The pricing and licensing model was initially difficult to understand, but as soon as I learned what was going on and how it was priced, it was pretty easy."

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

"If you are a small organization or startup building from scratch without the Microsoft Startup Founder Club support, it could be expensive."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pricing and cost advice

"I would advise users to try the free 128GB version."

"The product's licensing is not expensive. It is comparable."

"SingleStore is a bit expensive."

"Using it for analytical purposes can be cost-effective in the long run, especially in terms of infrastructure."

"They have two main options: cloud installation and bare-metal installation, each with different pricing models."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Legal Firm

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

32%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	31
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	55

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Large Enterprise	3

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.

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

The pricing for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is good, but there is a developer factor to consider. It could be economical or expensive depending on usage. Guidance about query consumption of Request U...

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

In terms of improvement for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, while it eliminates the burden of managing database infrastructure, we realized it might not be possible to use various models simultaneously ...

What do you like most about SingleStore DB?

The paramount advantage is the exceptional speed.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SingleStore DB?

Using it for analytical purposes can be cost-effective in the long run, especially in terms of infrastructure. While building an on-premise cluster incurs an initial cost for servers with ample RAM...

What needs improvement with SingleStore DB?

Chroma vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

Amazon DynamoDB vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

SQL Server vs SingleStore

Compared 9% of the time

Supabase Vector vs SingleStore

Compared 8% of the time

CockroachDB vs SingleStore

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Database vs SingleStore

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

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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

SingleStore delivers the performance you need for enterprise AI, providing the most performant data platform for apps and analytics at scale. SingleStore enables organizations to scale from one to one million customers in one unified platform. SingleStore offers transparent pricing as shown here https://www.singlestore.com/pricing/

SingleStore caters to over 400 customers globally, including major banks and tech companies in 50+ countries and 40+ verticals. It offers seamless scaling for both transactional and analytical workloads, simplifying data management with its MySQL compatibility and real-time processing capabilities. SingleStore's distributed architecture ensures speed and reliability, efficiently handling large data volumes.

What are the key features of SingleStore?

MySQL Compatibility: Eases the learning curve for users.
Built-in Pipelines: Connects to S3, Kafka, and more.
High Concurrency: Processes billions of records swiftly.
Replication & Failover: Enhances speed and reliability.
In-memory Storage: Ensures data safety and quick access.

What benefits can users find in SingleStore reviews?

Automatic Reconfiguration: Simplifies management tasks.
Impressive SQL Performance: Supports complex queries efficiently.
Scalability: Handles large datasets with a multi-node setup.

Top banks and fintech companies leverage SingleStore for efficient management of financial data, while media and telecom industries use it for scalable metadata management and improved data processing. Retail and eCommerce sectors benefit from enhanced transactional capabilities, reducing the need for separate databases and optimizing reporting processes. SingleStore's capacity to unite diverse workloads makes it a strategic choice across many sectors.

Sample Customers

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

400+ customers including: 6sense, Adobe, Akamai, Ant Money, Arcules, CARFAX, Cigna, Cisco, Comcast, DELL, DBS Bank, Dentsu, DirectlyApply, EY, Factors.AI, Fathom Analytics, FirstEnergy, GE, Goldman Sachs, Heap, Hulu, IMAX, impact.com, Kroger, LG, LiveRamp, Lumana, Nvidia, OpenDialog, Outreach, Palo Alto Networks, PicPay, RBC, Samsung, SegMetrics, Siemens, SiteImprove, SiriusXM, SK Telecom, SKAI, SONY, STC, SunRun, TATA, Thorn, ZoomInfo.

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. SingleStore