DB-EnginesextremeDB - Data management wherever you need itEnglish
Deutsch
Knowledge Base of Relational and NoSQL Database Management Systemsprovided by Redgate Software

DBMS > Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Microsoft SQL Server vs. PostgreSQL

System Properties Comparison Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Microsoft SQL Server vs. PostgreSQL

Please select another system to include it in the comparison.

Editorial information provided by DB-Engines
NameMicrosoft Azure Cosmos DB infoformer name was Azure DocumentDB  Xexclude from comparisonMicrosoft SQL Server  Xexclude from comparisonPostgreSQL  Xexclude from comparison
DescriptionGlobally distributed, horizontally scalable, multi-model database serviceMicrosofts flagship relational DBMSWidely used open source RDBMS infoDeveloped as objectoriented DBMS (Postgres), gradually enhanced with 'standards' like SQL
Primary database modelDocument store
Graph DBMS
Key-value store
Wide column store
Relational DBMSRelational DBMS infowith object oriented extensions, e.g.: user defined types/functions and inheritance. Handling of key/value pairs with hstore module.
Secondary database modelsSpatial DBMSDocument store
Graph DBMS
Spatial DBMS
Document store
Graph DBMS infowith Apache Age
Spatial DBMS
Vector DBMS infowith pgvector extension
DB-Engines Ranking infomeasures the popularity of database management systemsranking trend
Trend Chart
Score24.50
Rank#27  Overall
#4  Document stores
#2  Graph DBMS
#3  Key-value stores
#3  Wide column stores
Score802.09
Rank#3  Overall
#3  Relational DBMS
Score652.16
Rank#4  Overall
#4  Relational DBMS
Websiteazure.microsoft.com/­services/­cosmos-dbwww.microsoft.com/­en-us/­sql-serverwww.postgresql.org
Technical documentationlearn.microsoft.com/­azure/­cosmos-dblearn.microsoft.com/­en-US/­sql/­sql-serverwww.postgresql.org/­docs
DeveloperMicrosoftMicrosoftPostgreSQL Global Development Group infowww.postgresql.org/­developer
Initial release201419891989 info1989: Postgres, 1996: PostgreSQL
Current releaseSQL Server 2022, November 202216.4, August 2024
License infoCommercial or Open Sourcecommercialcommercial inforestricted free version is availableOpen Source infoBSD
Cloud-based only infoOnly available as a cloud serviceyesnono
DBaaS offerings (sponsored links) infoDatabase as a Service

Providers of DBaaS offerings, please contact us to be listed.
SQLServer Flex @ STACKIT offers a managed version of SQL Server with adjustable CPU, RAM, storage amount and speed, in enterprise grade to perfectly match all application requirements. All services are 100% GDPR-compliant.PostgreSQL Flex @ STACKIT offers managed PostgreSQL Instances with adjustable CPU, RAM, storage amount and speed and several extensions available, in enterprise grade to perfectly match all application requirements. All 100% GDPR-compliant.
Implementation languageC++C
Server operating systemshostedLinux
Windows
FreeBSD
HP-UX
Linux
NetBSD
OpenBSD
OS X
Solaris
Unix
Windows
Data schemeschema-freeyesyes
Typing infopredefined data types such as float or dateyes infoJSON typesyesyes
XML support infoSome form of processing data in XML format, e.g. support for XML data structures, and/or support for XPath, XQuery or XSLT.yesyes infospecific XML-type available, but no XML query functionality.
Secondary indexesyes infoAll properties auto-indexed by defaultyesyes
SQL infoSupport of SQLSQL-like query languageyesyes infostandard with numerous extensions
APIs and other access methodsDocumentDB API
Graph API (Gremlin)
MongoDB API
RESTful HTTP API
Table API
ADO.NET
JDBC
ODBC
OLE DB
Tabular Data Stream (TDS)
ADO.NET
JDBC
native C library
ODBC
streaming API for large objects
Supported programming languages.Net
C#
Java
JavaScript
JavaScript (Node.js)
MongoDB client drivers written for various programming languages
Python
C#
C++
Delphi
Go
Java
JavaScript (Node.js)
PHP
Python
R
Ruby
Visual Basic
.Net
C
C++
Delphi
Java infoJDBC
JavaScript (Node.js)
Perl
PHP
Python
Tcl
Server-side scripts infoStored proceduresJavaScriptTransact SQL, .NET languages, R, Python and (with SQL Server 2019) Javauser defined functions inforealized in proprietary language PL/pgSQL or with common languages like Perl, Python, Tcl etc.
TriggersJavaScriptyesyes
Partitioning methods infoMethods for storing different data on different nodesSharding infoImplicit feature of the cloud servicetables can be distributed across several files (horizontal partitioning); sharding through federationpartitioning by range, list and (since PostgreSQL 11) by hash
Replication methods infoMethods for redundantly storing data on multiple nodesyes infoImplicit feature of the cloud serviceyes, but depending on the SQL-Server EditionSource-replica replication infoother methods possible by using 3rd party extensions
MapReduce infoOffers an API for user-defined Map/Reduce methodswith Hadoop integration infoIntegration with Hadoop/HDInsight on Azure*nono
Consistency concepts infoMethods to ensure consistency in a distributed systemBounded Staleness
Consistent Prefix
Eventual Consistency
Immediate Consistency infoConsistency level configurable on request level
Session Consistency
Immediate ConsistencyImmediate Consistency
Foreign keys infoReferential integritynoyesyes
Transaction concepts infoSupport to ensure data integrity after non-atomic manipulations of dataMulti-item ACID transactions with snapshot isolation within a partitionACIDACID
Concurrency infoSupport for concurrent manipulation of datayesyesyes
Durability infoSupport for making data persistentyesyesyes
In-memory capabilities infoIs there an option to define some or all structures to be held in-memory only.yesno
User concepts infoAccess controlAccess rights can be defined down to the item levelfine grained access rights according to SQL-standardfine grained access rights according to SQL-standard

More information provided by the system vendor

We invite representatives of system vendors to contact us for updating and extending the system information,
and for displaying vendor-provided information such as key customers, competitive advantages and market metrics.

Related products and services
3rd partiesCData: Connect to Big Data & NoSQL through standard Drivers.
» more
CYBERTEC is a premier consulting company that provides open-source database PostgreSQL management and data science solutions. By offering PostgreSQL migrations, administration, design, and more, CYBERTEC provides an all-in-one catalog of powerful PostgreSQL support. It's through this exceptional service, equipped with a team of experts, that the company has established a proven reputation. When it comes to Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data, CYBERTEC offers services customized for you.
» more

SharePlex is the reliable and affordable data replication solution for PostgreSQL migrations, high availability and more.
» more

pgDash: In-Depth PostgreSQL Monitoring.
» more

We invite representatives of vendors of related products to contact us for presenting information about their offerings here.

More resources
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB infoformer name was Azure DocumentDBMicrosoft SQL ServerPostgreSQL
DB-Engines blog posts

MySQL is the DBMS of the Year 2019
3 January 2020, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

The struggle for the hegemony in Oracle's database empire
2 May 2017, Paul Andlinger

Microsoft SQL Server is the DBMS of the Year
4 January 2017, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

show all

PostgreSQL is the DBMS of the Year 2023
2 January 2024, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

Snowflake is the DBMS of the Year 2022, defending the title from last year
3 January 2023, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

Snowflake is the DBMS of the Year 2021
3 January 2022, Paul Andlinger, Matthias Gelbmann

show all

Conferences, events and webinars

PASS Data Community Summit
Seattle, Washington, 4-8 November 2024

PASS Data Community Summit
Seattle, Washington, 4-8 November 2024

Recent citations in the news

Start your AI journey with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB—compete for $10K
9 May 2024, azure.microsoft.com

Public Preview: DiskANN vector indexing and search in Azure Cosmos DB NoSQL
21 May 2024, azure.microsoft.com

Public preview: Filtered vector search in vCore-based Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB
24 April 2024, azure.microsoft.com

Public Preview: vCore-based Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB cross-region disaster recovery (DR)
21 May 2024, azure.microsoft.com

General availability: Azure Cosmos DB API for MongoDB RU supports version 5.0 and 6.0
8 May 2024, azure.microsoft.com

provided by Google News

Load balancing strategies for Amazon RDS for SQL Server read replicas to scale read workloads and reduce latency
7 October 2024, AWS Blog

SAP offers different way to move SQL Server-based software to the cloud
7 October 2024, The Register

A haunting Patch Tuesday for October: 117 updates (and 5 zero-day flaws)
11 October 2024, Computerworld

Getting started with delivering generative AI capabilities in SQL Server and Azure SQL
26 June 2024, microsoft.com

How to check your SQL Server version
21 August 2024, ITPro

provided by Google News

EDB Enhancements in PostgreSQL 17 Support Modern Enterprise Needs
11 October 2024, SDxCentral

Failing to connect Commento with PostgreSQL
1 October 2024, SitePoint

PostgreSQL 17 accelerates open source database with replication and JSON tables
26 September 2024, VentureBeat

PostgreSQL 17 Gets Incremental Backup, SQL Queries for JSON
26 September 2024, The New Stack

PostgreSQL 17 packs big performance and feature enhancements
26 September 2024, ZDNet

provided by Google News



Share this page

Featured Products

SingleStore logo

The data platform to build your intelligent applications.
Try it free.

Datastax Astra logo

Bring all your data to Generative AI applications with vector search enabled by the most scalable
vector database available.
Try for Free

RaimaDB logo

RaimaDB, embedded database for mission-critical applications. When performance, footprint and reliability matters.
Try RaimaDB for free.

Milvus logo

Vector database designed for GenAI, fully equipped for enterprise implementation.
Try Managed Milvus for Free

Neo4j logo

See for yourself how a graph database can make your life easier.
Use Neo4j online for free.

Present your product here