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 15.4% mindshare in MND, compared to Neo4j’s 5.1% 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 89 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 Apr 6, 2025

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB and Neo4j AuraDB are competitors in the database management sector, each showing unique advantages. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB leads in scalability and availability, suiting enterprises needing high data throughput, while Neo4j AuraDB excels in graph database functionalities beneficial for intricate relationship modeling and querying.

Features: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB boasts global distribution, low latency, support for multiple data models like NoSQL, SQL, and MongoDB. Neo4j AuraDB is recognized for its graph database strengths, managing interconnected data and supporting complex queries effectively.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB could improve in simplifying its configuration which can be complex due to its many models. Neo4j AuraDB might enhance its scalability options beyond graph-centric applications and expand its documentation for better onboarding.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Neo4j AuraDB is cloud-based, simplifying graph database deployments and offering responsive support. On the other hand, Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, with its extensive documentation, is robust but may have a steeper learning curve due to its comprehensive features.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's pricing scales with usage, being cost-efficient for large operations but potentially expensive with high data volumes. Neo4j AuraDB, focusing on graph capabilities, often provides higher ROI for businesses targeting complex relational data analysis.

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Neo4j AuraDB

April 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 May 2025, in the Managed NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 15.4%, down from 18.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Neo4j AuraDB is 5.1%, up from 5.1% 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.

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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

"Cosmos DB is a document database that stores data in JSON format for faster retrieval of unstructured data. I personally appreciate the speed, which is significantly better for unstructured data, especially since Cosmos DB had JSON as a data type early on."

"I would rate it a ten out of ten for stability."

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

"Cosmos DB is stable and easy to use."

"Big data, along with data analysis, is one of the valuable features."

"The solution is used because we get faster response times with large data sets than with SQL. It's essential for us because we have half a billion rows, and we need to return them quickly."

"It is a NoSQL database."

"The best features of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB include the speed to query data; as long as you index properly, retrieving data is fast and lightweight."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pros

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

"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."

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

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

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

"The tool is easy to use."

Cons

"Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL has a less developed interface and fewer SQL commands than MongoDB, and its community support is also smaller."

"What is missing in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is definitely cold storage. We know it's coming, but that's currently what is missing—the possibility to park older data in a cold tier."

"The biggest problem is the learning curve and other database services like RDS."

"I have to say technical support is not very good as it takes too long. Sometimes it can take them two or three days to respond to your ticket."

"The query searching functionality has some complexities and could be more user-friendly."

"Azure Cosmos DB could be better for business intelligence and analytical queries."

"The UI needs enhancement. Unlike SQL, Cosmos DB's UI is not as straightforward, making it a bit challenging to use efficiently."

"One of our biggest pain points is the backup and restore functionality needs improvement. They've gotten a little better in this area. SQL Server's long-term retention is amazing, and you can restore data from years ago. You need to open a support Microsoft ticket to restore your Cosmos DB backup, and it comes in on a different Cosmos account. It's just kind of a headache to restore data."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB cons

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

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

"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."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is very expensive."

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

"The pricing for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is good. Initially, it seemed like an expensive way to manage a NoSQL data store, but so many improvements that have been made to the platform have made it cost-effective."

"Cosmos DB is a managed offering, so its cost is understandably higher."

"The solution is a bit on the expensive side."

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

"It is expensive. The moment you have high availability options and they are mixed with the type of multitenant architecture you use, the pricing is on the higher end."

"The cost is the biggest limitation of this solution."

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."

"I used the free tier."

"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."

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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%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

11%

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 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. C...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

I had a challenging experience implementing the emulator with a Mac. I had to install the emulator in a Docker container because it is not natively compatible. A significant amount of time was spen...

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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

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Neo4j AuraDB

April 2025

Download Neo4j AuraDB product report

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

April 2025

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