Compare CockroachDB and MongoDB free tiers side by side. CockroachDB offers distributed SQL with PostgreSQL compatibility, while MongoDB is a NoSQL document database.
Side-by-side comparison of free tiers, pricing changes, and stability. Catalogue dates here run to 2026-08-31.
Quick Verdict: CockroachDB offers distributed SQL with PostgreSQL compatibility, while MongoDB is a NoSQL document database. Choose CockroachDB for relational data with horizontal scaling; choose MongoDB for flexible schemas and startup credits.
Distributed SQL database. No free plan for new deployments since 2026-09-15, when CockroachDB moved new clusters to Cockroach Continuum pricing. New Cloud organizations get a 30-day free trial with $400 in credit; Standard is $0.092 per vCPU-hour. Clusters created before 2026-09-15 stay on their existing plans during their current term.
$5,000 of Atlas credits for Brex startups. Access via: Free for Brex customersThe page we cite for this offer does not name it when we last looked, on 2026-09-15, so we cannot confirm these terms today.
Key Differences
Data model: CockroachDB is relational SQL (PostgreSQL-compatible wire protocol), MongoDB is document-oriented NoSQL (JSON/BSON). This is the fundamental architectural decision.
Free tier structure: CockroachDB closed its free Basic plan to new deployments on 2026-09-15; new Cloud organizations get a 30-day free trial with $400 in credit. MongoDB offers $5K Atlas credits for Brex startups — generous but time-limited.
Scaling model: CockroachDB scales horizontally with automatic sharding and strong consistency. MongoDB scales via replica sets and sharding but requires manual shard key selection.
Best for: CockroachDB excels at multi-region, ACID-compliant workloads. MongoDB excels at rapid prototyping with flexible schemas and rich query operators.
Pricing Change History
CockroachDB
removedeffective 2026-09-15high impact
CockroachDB stopped offering its free Basic plan (50 million RUs and 10 GiB of storage free per month) to new deployments on 2026-09-15, when it moved new clusters to Cockroach Continuum pricing. New Cloud organizations now get a 30-day free trial with $400 in credit. Clusters created before 2026-09-15 stay on their existing plans during their current term. Source ↗
MongoDB
No recorded pricing changes for MongoDB.
Our Recommendation
Choose CockroachDB if you need PostgreSQL compatibility, strong consistency across regions, or want to avoid NoSQL lock-in.
Choose MongoDB if you need flexible document schemas, have a Brex startup account for $5K credits, or your team already knows the MongoDB query language.
CockroachDB offers distributed SQL with PostgreSQL compatibility, while MongoDB is a NoSQL document database. Choose CockroachDB for relational data with horizontal scaling; choose MongoDB for flexible schemas and startup credits.
What is CockroachDB's free tier?
CockroachDB offers a Trial plan: Distributed SQL database. No free plan for new deployments since 2026-09-15, when CockroachDB moved new clusters to Cockroach Continuum pricing. New Cloud organizations get a 30-day free trial with $4...
What is MongoDB's free tier?
MongoDB offers a Startup Program plan: $5,000 of Atlas credits for Brex startups. Access via: Free for Brex customers
Should I choose CockroachDB or MongoDB?
Choose CockroachDB if you need PostgreSQL compatibility, strong consistency across regions, or want to avoid NoSQL lock-in. Choose MongoDB if you need flexible document schemas, have a Brex startup account for $5K credits, or your team already knows the MongoDB query language.
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