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Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Oracle Database as a Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 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

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
NoSQL Databases (3rd), Managed NoSQL Databases (1st), Vector Databases (3rd)
Oracle Database as a Service
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 1.6%. The mindshare of Oracle Database as a Service is 8.8%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

MichaelJohn - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Duy AnhMai - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers security and good performance
Price-wise, the tool is expensive, and I feel it is an area where improvements are needed. Oracle Database as a Service is not as popular as other tools because we use AWS and GCP. Oracle is okay in terms of performance for banking businesses and some big companies. As I use the tool in Heineken, I know Oracle is an okay security solution. We use and deploy some applications and features from Oracle that are better than what others offer. The data in the tool is actually stored in the production part, so it is always kept a secret. I don't think that AI has been integrated into the tool. The AI used by Oracle is not as strong as that used by AWS. I recommend the tool to others, especially banking, finance, and insurance companies where the security needs to be better. There is maintenance for the tool required, but I don't know which company does it for our organization. I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I appreciate most are the latency and the access, which are guaranteed by the tool, which is really impressive."
"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."
"The solution is used because we get faster response times with large data sets than with SQL."
"We have both our SaaS app and the analytical side running without throttling issues."
"Our team has found the vCore index to be one of the most valuable features. We have tokenized and vectorized our entire database and stored this data in MongoDB collections with a vCore index, which works like magic for keyword selection."
"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is fast, and its performance is good compared to normal SQL DB."
"Overall, I would rate Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB a nine out of ten."
"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."
"Data Guard is the best solution for Disaster Recovery."
"Scalability is very easy. If you want to, you can make it onto two or three servers, racks, or whatever you want. It's easy."
"The most valuable aspects of the solution are the general database system resilience and security."
"The scalability and high availability are the most valuable features of Oracle DaaS."
"The Oracle Multitenant feature of 12c is awesome. This feature enables us to consolidate disparate databases under one container database and eases manageability of the databases. It also allows us to scale."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"The solution is scalable, has support & right incident, and allows easy data recovery."
"Oracle is the best database in the world."
 

Cons

"Areas of improvement for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB include indexing. While it makes data retrieval easier, it also increases costs."
"I am disappointed with the lack of compatibility of the Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB emulator with Mac."
"If you want to bring the data from AWS, you must pay data egress costs. That's a pain point."
"Cosmos DB should continue evolving in AI features. We expect Cosmos DB to lead on that. There is potential for improved security features, which is important for data storage, especially for Dell Technologies. We must ensure data security remains the top priority."
"In the long run, there should be an addition of more features, especially because this space is evolving quickly. It all boils down to how many more features you are adding, how many integrations you are supporting, and how many more APIs you have that are standard APIs."
"The customer service is lacking. We have a premier support agreement, but support is hit and miss."
"The cost can sometimes be high, especially during cross-partition queries with large data amounts."
"Overall, it works very well and fits the purpose regardless of the target application. However, by default, there is a threshold to accommodate bulk or large requests."
"Oracle Database as a Service could improve by having ETL for larger data."
"Oracle DBaaS could be compatible with more platforms."
"The price of the solution is an area of concern. From an improvement perspective, the price of the solution should be lowered."
"In the next release, I would like to see a framework for memory management."
"The ROI has not been good."
"The installation process requires improvement as it can be quite complex."
"It would be better if we could have a little bit of automation or a chance for autoscaling with Oracle Database as a Service."
"The interface can be difficult and there may be so many features that users and even vendors are unaware that they exist."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cost isn’t a big hurdle for us right now. The solution is not costly."
"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."
"Azure is a pay as you go subscription."
"Cosmos DB is a managed offering, so its cost is understandably higher."
"Cosmos DB's pricing structure has significantly improved in recent months, both in terms of its pricing model and how charges are calculated."
"The Cosmos DB pricing model, initially quite complicated, became clear after consulting with Azure Advisor, allowing us to proceed with confidence."
"Cosmos DB is cost-effective when starting but requires careful management."
"Microsoft provides fair pricing."
"Customers need to pay extra costs for the solution based on their scope and business."
"The solution is on the expensive side, but I recommend it because it's a good database."
"Oracle Database as a Service's pricing is good."
"The price of Oracle Database as a Service is reasonable."
"What has been done is that an annual subscription model has been launched, which includes the payment of both the AML (Annual Maintenance Fee) and the subscription fee, paid on a yearly basis."
"It is a very expensive tool."
"Pricing for Oracle Database as a Service is expensive."
"For on-premises, a perpetual license is a standard $17,500 plus 22% for one year of support."
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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%
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
15%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
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...
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...
What do you like most about Oracle Database as a Service?
It has significantly enhanced our application development process by introducing substantial time savings and streamlining routine tasks.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Database as a Service?
Prices are high. Technical support from Oracle tends to be high in quality.
What needs improvement with Oracle Database as a Service?
It would be beneficial if Oracle could offer features similar to those provided by open-source platforms like Postgres, such as a multi-core-based platform and a shared node database. While Oracle ...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure DocumentDB, MS Azure Cosmos DB
Oracle DBaaS, Oracle Database Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TomTom, KPMG Australia, Bosch, ASOS, Mercedes Benz, NBA, Zero Friction, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Kinectify
Solution-Soft, DX Marketing, Suredell and Partners, Frontiers, SettleOurEstate.com, Demand Analysis Ltd, endlich IT & Projekt Service OHG
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Oracle Database as a Service and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.