Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Redis comparison

Microsoft and RedisLabs are both solutions in the NoSQL Databases category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.2, while RedisLabs is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.8. Microsoft holds a 3.3% mindshare in ND, compared to RedisLabs’s 6.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of RedisLabs users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Read 89 Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reviews

448 Views
160 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Redis

Read 22 Redis reviews

374 Views
323 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Redis

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB and Redis are prominent competitors in the cloud database and cache management sectors. Azure Cosmos DB holds an advantage due to its versatility in supporting complex data models and scalability across global regions.

Features: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB offers scalability, flexibility in data models, and global distribution capabilities that minimize latency. It supports various APIs, including MongoDB, which enhances developer flexibility. Redis excels in performance, operating in-memory for high-speed data retrieval, and offers a simple setup process ideal for caching and real-time applications.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is often critiqued for its complex query language and higher costs. Users suggest better integration with other Microsoft tools, a simpler interface, and improving documentation. Redis could improve in handling clustered environments and enhance its GUI tools to offer better monitoring capabilities. It also needs to improve scalability documentation and handling of larger datasets.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is mainly available through public cloud deployments, receiving positive feedback for customer support, though technical specialist availability can be a challenge. Redis is available on both public clouds and on-premises, supporting hybrid solutions. Its easy setup and satisfactory technical support are notable, though a more robust support system could bring improvements.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is generally seen as expensive, with a complicated usage-based pricing model, though it offers scalability and ROI benefits through pay-as-you-go management. Redis, being open-source, is cost-effective for basic operations with rising costs linked to high RAM usage. Without licensing fees, it provides favorable ROI emphasizing performance and efficiency, with predictable costs in managed services making it an attractive option for those prioritizing performance.

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Redis

April 2025

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Helped 849,963 peers since 2012

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 NoSQL Databases

3rd

Ranking in Vector Databases

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Database as a Service (DBaaS) (6th), Managed NoSQL Databases (1st)

Redis

Ranking in NoSQL Databases

7th

Ranking in Vector Databases

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

In-Memory Data Store Services (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 3.3%. The mindshare of Redis is 6.6%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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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Yaseer Arafat

.Net Developer at Freelance

Unmatched Performance and Scalability for Modern Applications

Redis has room for improvement in a few areas. Enhanced tools for managing and monitoring clusters would be beneficial, as would built-in security mechanisms like advanced encryption and granular access controls. Simplifying setup and configuration could make Redis more accessible to new users. Introducing more enterprise-grade features, such as better multi-tenancy support and improved backup and restore capabilities, would also be advantageous. For the next release, it would be great to see enhanced cluster management tools, native multi-region supports for better data redundancy, integrated analytics for deeper insights, AI and ML integration features, and improved developer experience through enhanced SDKs and tools.

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

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB offers the response times needed for advanced analytics applications."

"The speed is impressive, and integrating our power-up database with Kafka was an improvement."

"Cosmos DB is stable and easy to use."

"Cosmos DB's greatest strengths are its easy setup and affordability, especially for those who understand its usage."

"I like the way you can create and delete records. You pass a JSON, and then it creates a record."

"Cosmos is preferred because of its speed, robustness, and utilization."

"Azure Cosmos DB helped improve the quality of our search results."

"Cosmos is a PaaS, so you don't need to worry about infrastructure and hosting. It has various APIs that allow it to integrate with other solutions. For example, we are using a MongoDB-compatible API for customers, which makes it easier for developers on the team who previously used MongoDB or are accustomed to the old document storage paradigm."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pros

"Redis is a simple service that does what it promises."

"The performance of Redis is very fast."

"Redis is better tested and is used by large companies. I haven't found a direct alternative to what Redis offers. Plus, there are a lot of support and learning resources available, which help you use Redis efficiently."

"Redis acts as an in-memory search tool that improves the speed of operations."

"The ability to fetch and save data quickly is valuable."

"I use Redis mostly to cache repeated data that is required."

"The online interface is very fast and easy to use."

"Redis is good for distributed caching management."

More Redis pros

Cons

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB can be improved by providing more fine-grained control over certain aspects, such as connections and threads. There could be more control over how many connections are made."

"The challenge for us is always scale."

"One area for improvement is the ease of writing SQL queries and stored procedures in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB."

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

"There are multiple approaches to implementing multitenant architecture on Azure Cosmos DB, but there is still no single or best-recommended approach when you have a big variance in the size of your tenants. That is something that still needs to be worked on."

"The RUs still appear to be a black box for everyone. Even though they explain read and write RUs, it remains unclear for many users."

"Its stability can be further improved."

"Currently, it doesn't support cross-container joins, forcing developers to retrieve data from each container separately and combine it using methods like LINQ queries."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB cons

"In future releases, I would like Redis to provide its users with an option like schema validation. Currently, the solution lacks to offer such functionality."

"I would prefer it if there was more information available about Redis. That would make it easier for new beginners. Currently, there is a lack of resources."

"The initial setup took some time as our technical team needed to familiarize themselves with Redis."

"It's actually quite expensive."

"There are some features from MongoDB that I would like to see included in Redis to enhance its overall efficiency, such as the ability to perform remote behaviour. MongoDB is more efficient in handling updates than deletions and is quicker in processing updates, but it can be slower regarding deletions. This can sometimes pose a challenge, especially when dealing with large datasets or frequent data manipulations that involve deletions. In such cases, I often rewrite columns or update values instead of directly deleting data, as it can be more efficient."

"Redis could improve its efficiency in handling locally stored data, not just Amazon Cloud or Google Cloud."

"The development of clusters could improve. Additionally, it would be helpful if it was integrated with Amazon AWS or Google Cloud."

"If we use a lot of data, it will eventually cost us a lot."

More Redis cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is moderately priced, where it is neither expensive nor cheap."

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

"It seems to have helped significantly. We were using a different database system previously, and one of the reasons for acquiring Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB was cost."

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

"Right now, I have opted for the student subscription plan, for which Microsoft charges me around 100 USD. The pricing of the solution depends on the solution's usage."

"Its pricing is higher compared to solutions like Aerospike. However, it is justified because of the out-of-the-box features that are provided. The availability and resiliency that we have make it worth the price."

"Microsoft provides fair pricing."

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pricing is based on RUs. Reading 1 KB document costs one RU, whereas writing one document costs five RUs. Pricing for querying depends on the complexity of the query. If you increase the document size, it will automatically increase the RU cost."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pricing and cost advice

"Redis is not an overpriced solution."

"Redis is an open-source product."

"Redis is an open-source solution. There are not any hidden fees."

"We saw an ROI. It made the processing of our transactions faster."

"The tool is open-source. There are no additional costs."

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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

22%

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

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.

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Redis?

Redis is better tested and is used by large companies. I haven't found a direct alternative to what Redis offers. Plus, there are a lot of support and learning resources available, which help you u...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Redis?

There are a few areas where Redis could improve. The pub-sub capabilities could be optimized to handle network sessions better, as there are challenges with maintaining sessions between clients and...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Redis?

We use Redis ( /products/redis-reviews ) for several purposes, including ranking, counting, saving, sharing, caching, and setting time-to-live notifications. These functionalities are employed acro...

See all answers

Comparisons

Chroma vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 15% of the time

Pinecone vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 10% of the time

Amazon Neptune vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon DynamoDB vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 6% of the time

Milvus vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Competitors

Chroma vs Redis

Compared 12% of the time

Oracle Coherence vs Redis

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat Data Grid vs Redis

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon SQS vs Redis

Compared 8% of the time

Faiss vs Redis

Compared 5% of the time

More Redis Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

April 2025

Download Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB product report

Buyer's Guide

Redis

April 2025

Download Redis product report

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure DocumentDB, MS Azure Cosmos DB

Redis Enterprise

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

Redis is a high-performance, scalable, and easy-to-use caching solution that improves application performance. It is also used for session management, real-time analytics, and as a message broker.

Redis's valuable features include its ability to handle large amounts of data quickly, its simplicity and straightforward setup process, and its support for various data structures, providing flexibility for different use cases.

RedisLabs

Sample Customers

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

1. Twitter 2. GitHub 3. StackOverflow 4. Pinterest 5. Snapchat 6. Craigslist 7. Digg 8. Weibo 9. Airbnb 10. Uber 11. Slack 12. Trello 13. Shopify 14. Coursera 15. Medium 16. Twitch 17. Foursquare 18. Meetup 19. Kickstarter 20. Docker 21. Heroku 22. Bitbucket 23. Groupon 24. Flipboard 25. SoundCloud 26. BuzzFeed 27. Disqus 28. The New York Times 29. Walmart 30. Nike 31. Sony 32. Philips

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Redis

April 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Redis

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