Best Distributed SQL Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: MySQL is ranked #1 of 25 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of CrateDB and VoltDB. The best-ranked option with a free plan is CrateDB. The lowest first paid tier on this page is CockroachDB Cloud at $0.06/mo.
For distributed SQL workloads, compare the database capabilities and deployment details each entry lists. Horizontal scaling, multi-region deployment, and geo-partitioning provide ways to assess distribution, while HTAP workloads and MySQL or PostgreSQL compatibility help frame technical fit. Deployment model, free-plan availability, and paid-from pricing add operational and cost context. MySQL, CrateDB, and VoltDB are among the entries shown. Consider the workload and compatibility requirements you need to support, then compare the listed scaling and deployment characteristics against your environment.
25 distributed SQL databases ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
25ranked
11free plans on this page
$0.06/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Distributed SQL Databases 25 channels on this page · 89 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromDeployment modelPostgreSQL compatibilityMySQL compatibilityHorizontal scalingMulti-region deploymentGeo-partitioning Spec sheet Score
01 MySQL Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.8
02 CrateDB Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilityYesMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.4
03 VoltDB Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 7.4
04 CockroachDB Cloud Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelnot statedPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.3
05 TBase Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelself hostedPostgreSQL compatibilityYesMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 7.3
06 OceanBase Database Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 7.2
07 TiDB Cloud Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelcloudPostgreSQL compatibilityNoMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.2
08 YugabyteDB Anywhere Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelnot statedPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.1
09 Amazon RDS Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelcloudPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.0
10 PrestoDB Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelself hostedPostgreSQL compatibilityYesMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 6.9
11 Google Cloud Spanner Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilityYesMySQL compatibilityNoHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningYes 7/8spec lines stated 6.8
12 SingleStore Helios Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelnot statedPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
13 YDB Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 6.7
14 ActorDB Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelself hostedPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 6.4
15 Oracle Database Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.2
16 MariaDB Enterprise Analytics Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelnot statedPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.1
17 Oracle Globally Distributed AI Database Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningYes 4/8spec lines stated 6.1
18 Tencent Cloud CDN Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilityYesMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 6.1
19 PolarDB-X Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 5.9
20 TDSQL Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilityYesMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 5.7
21 BigchainDB Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelself hostedPostgreSQL compatibilityNoMySQL compatibilityNoHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 5.6
22 Huawei CloudTable ClickHouse Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelcloudPostgreSQL compatibilityYesMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 5.6
23 MatrixOne Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilityNoMySQL compatibilityYesHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentYesGeo-partitioningnot stated 6/8spec lines stated 5.6
24 Oracle Real Application Clusters Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelbothPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingYesMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 5.6
25 Apache Ignite Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeployment modelself hostedPostgreSQL compatibilitynot statedMySQL compatibilitynot statedHorizontal scalingnot statedMulti-region deploymentnot statedGeo-partitioningnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 5.0
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | PostgreSQL compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MySQL | 7.8 | Free plan | — | Yes | — | both | — |
| 2 | CrateDB | 7.4 | Free plan | — | Yes | — | both | Yes |
| 3 | VoltDB | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | No | — | both | — |
| 4 | CockroachDB Cloud | 7.3 | Free plan | $0.06/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 5 | TBase | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 6 | OceanBase Database | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | both | — |
| 7 | TiDB Cloud | 7.2 | Free plan | — | Yes | — | cloud | No |
| 8 | YugabyteDB Anywhere | 7.1 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 9 | Amazon RDS | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | No | — | cloud | — |
| 10 | PrestoDB | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 11 | Google Cloud Spanner | 6.8 | No | — | No | — | both | Yes |
| 12 | SingleStore Helios | 6.7 | Free plan | $0.99/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 13 | YDB | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | — | — | both | — |
| 14 | ActorDB | 6.4 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | — |
| 15 | Oracle Database | 6.2 | No | — | No | — | both | — |
| 16 | MariaDB Enterprise Analytics | 6.1 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 17 | Oracle Globally Distributed AI Database | 6.1 | No | — | — | — | both | — |
| 18 | Tencent Cloud CDN | 6.1 | No | CNY 21/mo | — | — | both | Yes |
| 19 | PolarDB-X | 5.9 | No | — | — | — | both | — |
| 20 | TDSQL | 5.7 | No | — | — | — | both | Yes |
| 21 | BigchainDB | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | No |
| 22 | Huawei CloudTable ClickHouse | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | cloud | Yes |
| 23 | MatrixOne | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | both | No |
| 24 | Oracle Real Application Clusters | 5.6 | No | — | No | — | both | — |
| 25 | Apache Ignite | 5.0 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | — |
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which distributed SQL database is ranked first on Specifiction?
MySQL is ranked #1 of 25 with a score of 7.8. CrateDB is second and VoltDB third.
How many of these have a free plan?
11 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, CockroachDB Cloud has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.06/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.
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