# Apache CouchDB vs Azure Cosmos DB

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Apache CouchDB

| Attribute | Apache CouchDB | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 54.4 (35% (low)) | 48.6 (31% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 26 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 6,942 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source document database built for distributed deployments with native replication capabilities. It enables offline-first applications to maintain data synchronization across servers, mobile devices, and browsers without manual configuration. | Azure Cosmos DB is a NoSQL database service on Azure that prioritizes minimal latency and the ability to handle massive scale. It includes built-in vector search capabilities for AI-driven applications and is managed fully by Microsoft with no infrastructure to operate. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","data_model":"document","consistency":"eventual","replication":"leaderless","multi_region":true,"partitioning":"automatic","license_class":"permissive","change_streams":true,"secondary_indexes":"yes"}` | `{"schema":"schemaless","hosting":"cloud","data_model":"multi_model","multi_region":true,"license_class":"proprietary","vector_search":true}` |
| language.primary | Erlang | - |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://couchdb.apache.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T11:09:10.445Z"}` | `{"type":"usage","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://azure.microsoft.com/acom/etc.clientlibs/onecloud/components/content/reimagine/atomic/carousel/v1/carousel/clientlibs/pricing-styles.ACSHASHbcdafd3e07059ae596973551430292fc.min.css","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T11:05:21.839Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 7.2 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=conda&package_name=couchdb&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (NoSQL Databases)

| Capability | Apache CouchDB | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Data model | Document | Multi-model |
| **Query** |  |  |
| Query language | - | - |
| **Consistency** |  |  |
| Consistency | Eventual | - |
| **Transactions** |  |  |
| Transactions | - | - |
| **Indexing** |  |  |
| Secondary indexes | Yes | - |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Partitioning / sharding | Automatic | - |
| Multi-region | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Replication** |  |  |
| Replication topology | Leaderless | - |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud only |
| **Schema** |  |  |
| Schema | - | Schemaless |
| **Features** |  |  |
| TTL / auto-expiry | - | - |
| Change streams / CDC | ✓ | - |
| Vector / search built-in | - | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Permissive OSS | Proprietary |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:27:01.995Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*