Apache Cassandra vs Apache HBase
Apache Cassandra
cassandra.apache.orgApache HBase
hbase.apache.orgSide by side
| Figure | Apache Cassandra | Apache HBase |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Wide-Column Databases | 8.9 (#1) | 8.7 (#2) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 8.9 (#12) | 8.3 (#36) |
| Spec score · NoSQL Databases | 8.9 (#7) | 8.6 (#9) |
| Architecture | Cassandra has a masterless architecture in which every node can provide the same functionality. | HBase provides Bigtable-like capabilities on Hadoop and HDFS with automatic failover and sharding. |
| License | The Cassandra repository identifies Apache-2.0 as its license, and ASF lists Apache License 2.0 as its current software license. | HBase is distributed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. |
| Limit: operational complexity | GetApp reviewers describe Cassandra as complex to set up and maintain and requiring substantial expertise. | TrustRadius reviewers mention cluster-management overhead, many moving parts, difficult setup, schema sensitivity and compatibility work across Hadoop and HBase versions. |
| Limit: relational features | TrustRadius reviewers say Cassandra lacks joins, referential integrity and convenient ad-hoc aggregation queries. | TrustRadius reviewers repeatedly identify missing transactions, joins, triggers, complex queries and multiple secondary indexes. |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.2 out of 5 from 33 reviews. | 0.0 out of 5 from 0 user reviews. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.1 out of 5 from 35 reviews. | 4.2 out of 5 from 114 reviews. |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 9 out of 10 from 95 reviews and ratings. | 7.3 out of 10 from 32 reviews and ratings. |
| Security controls | Cassandra provides TLS/SSL encryption, client authentication and authorization, but these protections are disabled in the default configuration. | Security guidance covers Kerberos authentication, SASL, ACLs and visibility labels. |
| What it does | Apache Cassandra is an open-source distributed NoSQL database using a partitioned wide-column model with eventual consistency. | Apache HBase is a distributed, scalable big data store for random, real-time read and write access. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache Cassandra
Apache Cassandra is a free, open-source NoSQL distributed database for mission-critical data and large active datasets. Its masterless architecture gives each node the same functionality. The project says read and write throughput can grow linearly as machines are added, without downtime or application interruption. Cassandra can run on premises, with one cloud provider, across multiple providers, or in a combination of those environments. It supports replication across data centers and configurable consistency levels for queries, along with CQL, transactions, and horizontal scaling. The project lists audit logging for DML, DDL, and DCL activity, and fqltool for recording and replaying production workloads. Drivers are available for Java, Go, Python, and Node.js; downloads include tarballs and packages, and installation guidance covers Debian and RPM. The ecosystem includes tools and connectors for Apache Kafka, Apache Flink, Apache Spark, and Kubernetes. The project identifies version 5.0 as the latest GA release and says it is maintained until the 8.0 release. Cassandra is self-managed, and listed third-party ecosystem projects are not supported by its community.
Apache HBase
Apache HBase is a distributed data store for applications that need random, real-time reads and writes with strict consistency. It runs on Hadoop and HDFS, with automatic failover and sharding, and is designed to scale across commodity clusters. The project describes hosting tables with billions of rows and millions of columns. Clients can connect through a Java API or REST and Thrift gateways. Highlighted workloads include time-series and metrics, IoT telemetry, ad tech and personalization, message and audit logs, security analytics, and genomics and research. HBase is free and self-hosted, with Linux and API platforms listed; version 3.0.0 is listed as a release artifact. Operators must configure authentication and authorization because the default configuration does not enable them. Security guidance covers Kerberos, SASL, access control lists, visibility labels, and optional TLS, and recommends keeping services within a trusted network perimeter rather than exposing them to the public internet. Operating a distributed deployment requires systems, software, and networking skills.