Side by side
FoundationDB vs RocksDB
Both stand on key-value databases. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
Choose FoundationDB if you need an open-source distributed key-value database with cross-machine ACID transactions and fault handling. Look elsewhere if your workload requires transactions longer than five seconds or a query language in the core; a separate layer is needed for query languages.
Visit FoundationDB Free plan APIiPhoneLinux+3
RocksDB provides a configurable, persistent key-value engine for embedded storage and application workloads. Check its build requirements and value-size limit against your project before adopting it.
Visit RocksDBThe facts
| FoundationDB | RocksDB | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows | API, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Free or on request |
| Plans published | None | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | foundationdb.org | rocksdb.org |
| On key-value databases | #8 of 31 | #12 of 31 |
FoundationDB: what it does well
- ACID reads and writes can span multiple machines.
- Scale out by adding machines.
- Handles partitioning, redundancy, caching, and server failures.
- Scheduled snapshots can be stored on a remote file system.
- Client APIs include C, Go, Python, Ruby, Java, and Node.js.
What to know first
- Transactions lasting over five seconds cannot commit.
- The core does not include a separate query language.
- Cluster connections are unencrypted by default.
- The macOS server is intended for single-machine development.
RocksDB: what it does well
- Free and open source under two license options
- Configurable read, write, and space tradeoffs
- Supports multi-terabyte databases with multi-threaded compactions
- Java wrapper and optional compression libraries available
What to know first
- Each stored value must be smaller than 4 GB
- Building requires GCC 11 or later or Clang 10 or later
- Data synchronization is not supported
Alternatives to FoundationDB Alternatives to RocksDB The whole list