DBMS > Cassandra vs. Datastax Enterprise vs. FoundationDB vs. PostgreSQL
System Properties Comparison Cassandra vs. Datastax Enterprise vs. FoundationDB vs. PostgreSQL
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| Name | Cassandra Xexclude from comparison | Datastax Enterprise Xexclude from comparison | FoundationDB Xexclude from comparison | PostgreSQL Xexclude from comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created as commercial project in 2013, FoundationDB has been acquired by Apple in March 2015 and was withdrawn from the market. As a consequence, the product was removed from the DB-Engines ranking. In April 2018, Apple open-sourced FoundationDB and it therefore reappears in the ranking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description | Wide-column store based on ideas of BigTable and DynamoDB  Optimized for write access | DataStax Enterprise (DSE) is the always-on, scalable data platform built on Apache Cassandra and designed for hybrid Cloud. DSE integrates graph, search, analytics, administration, developer tooling, and monitoring into a unified platform. | Ordered key-value store. Core features are complimented by layers. | Widely used open source RDBMS Developed as objectoriented DBMS (Postgres), gradually enhanced with 'standards' like SQL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary database model | Wide column store | Wide column store | Document store supported via specific layer Key-value store Relational DBMS supported via specific SQL-layer | Relational DBMS with object oriented extensions, e.g.: user defined types/functions and inheritance. Handling of key/value pairs with hstore module. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secondary database models | Vector DBMS starting with release V5 | Document store Graph DBMS Spatial DBMS Search engine Vector DBMS | Document store Graph DBMS with Apache AgeSpatial DBMS Vector DBMS with pgvector extension | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Website | cassandra.apache.org | www.datastax.com/products/datastax-enterprise | github.com/apple/foundationdb | www.postgresql.org | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical documentation | cassandra.apache.org/doc/latest | docs.datastax.com | apple.github.io/foundationdb | www.postgresql.org/docs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer | Apache Software Foundation Apache top level project, originally developped by Facebook | DataStax | FoundationDB | PostgreSQL Global Development Group www.postgresql.org/developer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial release | 2008 | 2011 | 2013 | 1989 1989: Postgres, 1996: PostgreSQL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current release | 4.1.3, July 2023 | 6.8, April 2020 | 6.2.28, November 2020 | 16.2, February 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| License Commercial or Open Source | Open Source Apache version 2 | commercial | Open Source Apache 2.0 | Open Source BSD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cloud-based only Only available as a cloud service | no | no | no | no | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DBaaS offerings (sponsored links) Database as a Service Providers of DBaaS offerings, please contact us to be listed. | Astra DB: Multi-cloud DBaaS built on Apache Cassandra. | Datastax Astra DB: Astra DB simplifies cloud-native Cassandra application development for your apps, microservices and functions. Deploy in minutes on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and have it managed for you by the experts, with serverless, pay-as-you-go pricing. | Aiven for PostgreSQL: Fully managed PostgreSQL for developers with 70+ extensions and flexible orchestration tools. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Implementation language | Java | Java | C++ | C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Server operating systems | BSD Linux OS X Windows | Linux OS X | Linux OS X Windows | FreeBSD HP-UX Linux NetBSD OpenBSD OS X Solaris Unix Windows | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data scheme | schema-free | schema-free | schema-free some layers support schemas | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Typing predefined data types such as float or date | yes | yes | no some layers support typing | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| XML support Some form of processing data in XML format, e.g. support for XML data structures, and/or support for XPath, XQuery or XSLT. | no | no | yes specific XML-type available, but no XML query functionality. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secondary indexes | restricted only equality queries, not always the best performing solution | yes | no | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SQL Support of SQL | SQL-like SELECT, DML and DDL statements (CQL) | SQL-like DML and DDL statements (CQL); Spark SQL | supported in specific SQL layer only | yes standard with numerous extensions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| APIs and other access methods | Proprietary protocol CQL (Cassandra Query Language, an SQL-like language) Thrift | Proprietary protocol CQL (Cassandra Query Language) TinkerPop Gremlin with DSE Graph | ADO.NET JDBC native C library ODBC streaming API for large objects | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supported programming languages | C# C++ Clojure Erlang Go Haskell Java JavaScript Node.jsPerl PHP Python Ruby Scala | C C# C++ Java JavaScript (Node.js) PHP Python Ruby | .Net C C++ Go Java JavaScript Node.jsPHP Python Ruby Swift | .Net C C++ Delphi Java JDBCJavaScript (Node.js) Perl PHP Python Tcl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Server-side scripts Stored procedures | no | no | in SQL-layer only | user defined functions realized in proprietary language PL/pgSQL or with common languages like Perl, Python, Tcl etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Triggers | yes | yes | no | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partitioning methods Methods for storing different data on different nodes | Sharding no "single point of failure" | Sharding no "single point of failure" | Sharding | partitioning by range, list and (since PostgreSQL 11) by hash | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Replication methods Methods for redundantly storing data on multiple nodes | selectable replication factor Representation of geographical distribution of servers is possible | configurable replication factor, datacenter aware, advanced replication for edge computing | yes | Source-replica replication other methods possible by using 3rd party extensions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MapReduce Offers an API for user-defined Map/Reduce methods | yes | yes | no | no | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consistency concepts Methods to ensure consistency in a distributed system | Eventual Consistency Immediate Consistency can be individually decided for each write operation | Immediate Consistency Tunable Consistency consistency level can be individually decided with each write operation | Linearizable consistency | Immediate Consistency | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign keys Referential integrity | no | no | in SQL-layer only | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transaction concepts Support to ensure data integrity after non-atomic manipulations of data | no Atomicity and isolation are supported for single operations | no Atomicity and isolation are supported for single operations | ACID | ACID | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concurrency Support for concurrent manipulation of data | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Durability Support for making data persistent | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In-memory capabilities Is there an option to define some or all structures to be held in-memory only. | no | yes | no | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User concepts Access control | Access rights for users can be defined per object | Access rights for users can be defined per object | no | fine grained access rights according to SQL-standard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| More information provided by the system vendor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cassandra | Datastax Enterprise | FoundationDB | PostgreSQL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specific characteristics | Apache Cassandra is the leading NoSQL, distributed database management system, well... » more | DataStax Enterprise is scale-out data infrastructure for enterprises that need to... » more | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competitive advantages | No single point of failure ensures 100% availability . Operational simplicity for... » more | Supporting the following application requirements: Zero downtime - Built on Apache... » more | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Typical application scenarios | Internet of Things (IOT), fraud detection applications, recommendation engines, product... » more | Applications that must be massively and linearly scalable with 100% uptime and able... » more | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key customers | Apple, Netflix, Uber, ING,, Intuit,Fidelity, NY Times, Outbrain, BazaarVoice, Best... » more | Capital One, Cisco, Comcast, eBay, McDonald's, Microsoft, Safeway, Sony, UBS, and... » more | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Market metrics | Cassandra is used by 40% of the Fortune 100. » more | Among the Forbes 100 Most Innovative Companies, DataStax is trusted by 5 of the top... » more | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Licensing and pricing models | Apache license Pricing for commercial distributions provided by DataStax and available... » more | Annual subscription » more | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| News | How to Build a Crystal Image Search App with Vector Search Knowledge Graphs for RAG without a GraphDB How Winweb Built its AI Assistant with DataStax Astra DB and LangChain Vercel + Astra DB: Get Data into Your GenAI Apps Fast Simplifying Agent Development with Astra DB Connector for Vertex AI Search | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 3rd parties | CData: Connect to Big Data & NoSQL through standard Drivers. » more Cassandra Forward event: Want to level up your Cassandra game? Watch now replays of the March 2023 sessions. » more | pgDash: In-Depth PostgreSQL Monitoring. » more Timescale: Calling all PostgreSQL users – the 2023 State of PostgreSQL survey is now open! Share your favorite extensions, preferred frameworks, community experiences, and more. Take the survey today! » more CYBERTEC is your professional partner in PostgreSQL topics for over 20 years. As our main aim is to be your single-source all-in-one IT service provider, we offer a wide range of products and services. Visit our website for more details. » more Fujitsu Enterprise Postgres: An Enterprise Grade PostgreSQL with the flexibility of a hybrid cloud solution combined with industry leading security, availability and performance. » more Navicat for PostgreSQL is an easy-to-use graphical tool for PostgreSQL database development. » more Redgate webinars: A series of key topics for new PostgreSQL users. » more SharePlex is the reliable and affordable data replication solution for PostgreSQL migrations, high availability and more. » more Navicat Monitor is a safe, simple and agentless remote server monitoring tool for PostgreSQL and many other database management systems. » more Instaclustr: Fully Hosted & Managed PostgreSQL » more Aiven for PostgreSQL: Fully managed PostgreSQL for developers with 70+ extensions and flexible orchestration tools. » more | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| More resources | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cassandra | Datastax Enterprise | FoundationDB | PostgreSQL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DB-Engines blog posts | Cassandra keeps climbing the ranks of the DB-Engines Ranking Oracle is the DBMS of the Year Winners, losers and an attractive newcomer in Novembers DB-Engines ranking | PostgreSQL is the DBMS of the Year 2023 Snowflake is the DBMS of the Year 2022, defending the title from last year Snowflake is the DBMS of the Year 2021 Monitoring PostgreSQL with Redgate Monitor What Is Cassandra? Working, Features, and Uses - Spiceworks Here's What to Know About Apache Cassandra 5.0 How Uber Optimized Cassandra Operations At Scale Microsoft extends life support for aging Apache Cassandra 3.11 database Cassandra is the “best f*cking database for gen AI,” says DataStax CEO provided by Google News DataStax and LlamaIndex Partner to Make Building RAG Applications Easier than Ever for GenAI Developers DataStax Introduces Enhanced RAG Capabilities Through Astra DB and NVIDIA Tech DataStax Rolls Out Vector Search for Astra DB to Support Gen AI DataStax goes vector searching with Astra DB – Blocks and Files DataStax delivers HIPAA-enabled, PCI compliant vector database to fuel enterprise-wide generative AI applications provided by Google News FoundationDB team's new venture, Antithesis, raises $47M to enhance software testing Antithesis Launches Out Of Stealth To Revolutionize Software Reliability Antithesis raises $47M to launch an automated testing platform for software Deno adds scaleable messaging with new Queues feature, sparks debate about proprietary services • DEVCLASS FoundationDB, a very interesting NoSQL database owned by Apple, is now an open-source project provided by Google News Why PostgreSQL Is the Bedrock for the Future of Data Introducing OCI Database with PostgreSQL: Completing Our Cloud Database Suite for Every Need Amazon Aurora Global Database for PostgreSQL now supports write forwarding PeerDB raises $3.6M to accelerate PostgreSQL data movement Did One Guy Just Stop a Huge Cyberattack? provided by Google News | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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