Apache CouchDB vs Couchbase Lite
Apache CouchDB
couchdb.apache.orgCouchbase Lite
couchbase.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache CouchDB | Couchbase Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Document Databases | 8.5 (#6) | 7.9 (#13) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 8.0 (#49) | 7.4 (#70) |
| Founded | 2008 | 2011 |
| Querying | CouchDB includes a query engine and supports views built with JavaScript map functions and optional reduce functions. | SQL++ extends SQL to JSON and supports local joins, aggregations and complex filters. |
| Security | CouchDB provides administrator accounts, basic and cookie authentication, reader access controls, and JavaScript document-update validation that can enforce custom security rules. | Couchbase Lite supports AES-256, TLS, bring-your-own keys, field-level encryption and automatic purge after access revocation. |
| What it does | Apache CouchDB is a document database that stores named documents and provides a RESTful HTTP API for reading and updating them. | Couchbase Lite embeds a NoSQL database in applications, synchronizes cloud-to-edge and peer-to-peer, and keeps working when the network is unavailable. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache CouchDB
Apache CouchDB is a free document database that stores named documents and lets applications read and update them through a RESTful HTTP API. Documents can contain fields and binary attachments without following a fixed schema. Its query engine supports views made with JavaScript map functions and optional reduce functions. Incremental replication synchronizes databases in both directions between peers, including after disconnections; the project describes this as useful for offline-first applications across servers, phones, and browsers. PouchDB can replicate with CouchDB from mobile devices and web browsers. A cluster can present one logical database across multiple servers or virtual machines for added capacity and high availability. CouchDB uses an append-only file design, and its documentation describes document updates as ACID and all-or-nothing. Security features include administrator accounts, basic and cookie authentication, reader access controls, and JavaScript validation of document updates. Replicas may retain conflicting revisions for manual or automated resolution. CouchDB is self-hosted on servers or virtual machines, as a single node or cluster, and is licensed under Apache License 2.0.
Couchbase Lite
Couchbase Lite has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.