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Citus Data vs CockroachDB 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

Citus Data
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
25th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
CockroachDB
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Vector Databases (16th), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Citus Data is 2.6%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CockroachDB is 4.0%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
CockroachDB4.0%
Citus Data2.6%
Other93.4%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Arucy Lionel - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder at Afriziki
Efficiently handles high-traffic scenarios and compatible with PostgreSQL extensions, offering flexibility in database management
There are many areas of improvement , especially in terms of DDL query routing. Even though it's masterless, DDL queries need to be sent to the coordinator node. Also, setting up a multi-node environment could be more straightforward. Currently, setting up a multi-node environment is challenging. It's a bit tricky. Installation on each PostgreSQL node can lead to communication issues between nodes. An automatic rebalancing feature would be a significant improvement. Currently, I have to manually command the rebalance. It would be more convenient if it was rebalanced automatically. The dashboard and monitoring capabilities are good, but it would be helpful to have an integrated availability dashboard.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its distributed processing capabilities are a standout feature. It requires minimal changes to get up and running if you already have a system on PostgreSQL. Citus can run in its natural state."
"It's very straightforward to implement the solution. It took us two days to set up everything."
"You can use Citus Data to write complex scripts. I like its version upgrades and disaster recovery as well."
"The availability and the easy to use feature is the most valuable. The documentation is also good."
"The product has valuable security features."
"The initial setup and deployment are simple."
"The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported."
"CockroachDB is highly reliable."
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"There are many areas of improvement , especially in terms of DDL query routing. Even though it's masterless, DDL queries need to be sent to the coordinator node. Also, setting up a multi-node environment could be more straightforward."
"Citus Data needs to improve its stability. Do not consider this product if you have the budget. It is still developing and has a lot of issues."
"More features in monitoring and the reporting could make it better."
"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."
"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."
"The platform could be more extensible."
"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."
"Cockroach does not support all types of protocols. I need to improve it myself to support a CouchDB on my network."
"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."
"The initial setup and pricing could be improved."
"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Citus Data is an open-source product."
"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."
"The platform is affordable even for the enterprise version. It provides value for investment in terms of performance."
"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 solution's pricing is not cheap. However, the good thing is that customers are willing to pay for it if they want it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Consumer Goods Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
24%
Educational Organization
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

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

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cloud Flare, Agari, Mix Rank, Heap
Baidu, Kindred, Tierion, Heroic Labs, Gorgias
Find out what your peers are saying about Citus Data vs. CockroachDB and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.