Side by side
Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL vs Elasticsearch
Both stand on ai databases. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Choose Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL if your application needs a managed cloud database with JSON documents, transactions, scaling, or multi-region support. Its free and usage-based options provide different capacity approaches, while the free tier has account and storage limits to consider.
Visit Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL
Choose Elasticsearch for real-time search and analytics across varied data types, with deployment choices ranging from self-managed to serverless. Teams should compare the plan models carefully: self-managed costs depend on nodes and RAM, while hosted and serverless costs depend on resources or usage.
Visit ElasticsearchThe facts
| Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL | Elasticsearch | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Self-hosted | API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | See the plans |
| Plans published | 10 | 8 |
| Maker | Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL | Not published |
| Website | azure.microsoft.com | elastic.co |
| On ai databases | #8 of 40 | #4 of 40 |
Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL: what it does well
- Free tier includes 1,000 RU/s and 25 GB of storage.
- Supports transactions and configurable consistency controls.
- Supports multi-region deployment and horizontal scaling.
- Lists vector search as a capability.
- Serverless has no minimum operations or capacity.
What to know first
- Free tier is limited to one account per Azure subscription.
- Free tier storage is limited to 25 GB.
- Maximum document size is 2.0 MB.
Elasticsearch: what it does well
- Searches full-text, semantic, and hybrid queries.
- Stores structured, unstructured, and vector data in real time.
- Supports geospatial analysis with distances, polygons, and hexagons.
- Offers on-premises, cloud, multicloud, and serverless deployment.
- Lists more than 350 integrations.
What to know first
- Self-managed pricing depends on node count and RAM.
- Hosted and serverless plans use usage- or resource-based pricing.
- The 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is limited to Platinum and Enterprise tiers.
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