ScyllaDB alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 1, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave ScyllaDB: source-available licence, no longer open source, and free self-managed use is capped by storage and vCPUs. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces ScyllaDB, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Apache Cassandra currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Apache Cassandra	Open source	Yes	Linux, Self-hosted	4 of 4	66.5
2	Amazon DynamoDB	Free plan + paid	No	Web	7 of 7	64.8
3	Azure Cosmos DB	Free plan + paid	No	Web	8 of 8	61.8
4	Aiven	Free plan + paid	No	Web	3 of 3	59.4
5	MongoDB Atlas	Free plan + paid	No	Web	7 of 7	57.5

1. Apache CassandraTop pick
Best for: Teams that need a self-hosted database for very large, write-heavy data spread across several datacenters
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted
66.5
score / 100
Why switch from ScyllaDB
The fully open-source original under Apache 2.0, with the same CQL model and no usage caps.
Pros
Masterless design with no single point of failure
Multi-datacenter replication built in
Throughput grows as you add nodes, without downtime
Free under the Apache 2.0 licence
Cons
No joins; tables must be designed around specific queries
Running and repairing a cluster needs dedicated operations skill
Overkill for small apps that fit in one relational database
Visit Apache Cassandra Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.1585
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Apache Cassandra a good ScyllaDB alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
License
Apache-2.0
Checked Oct 29, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Latest major version
Cassandra 5.0
Checked Oct 29, 2026cassandra.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
Architecture
Masterless, no single point of failure
Checked Oct 29, 2026cassandra.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
Multi-datacenter replication
Yes
Checked Oct 29, 2026cassandra.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
2. Amazon DynamoDB
Best for: AWS-based teams building serverless apps that need predictable performance at scale
Free plan + paidWeb
64.8
score / 100
Why switch from ScyllaDB
Serverless and fully managed on AWS, with no instances to size, at the cost of per-request pricing.
Pros
Serverless scaling without capacity planning on on-demand mode
Multi-region global tables and point-in-time recovery
Integrates tightly with Lambda and other AWS services
Cons
Data model must be designed around access patterns in advance
Limited ad-hoc querying compared with SQL
Only available on AWS
Visit Amazon DynamoDB Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Amazon DynamoDB a good ScyllaDB alternative?
Verified facts
7 of 7 verified
Pricing options
On-demand and provisioned
Checked Oct 29, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free tier
Yes
Checked Oct 29, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Database type
NoSQL key-value
Checked Oct 29, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
On-demand writes
$0.625 per million write request units (US East example)
Checked Nov 1, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Storage
$0.25 per GB-month (US East example)
Checked Nov 1, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, 25 GB storage, 25 WCUs and 25 RCUs a month
Checked Nov 1, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
New-customer credits
Up to $200 in AWS Free Tier credits
Checked Nov 1, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Azure Cosmos DB
Best for: Azure-based teams that need a globally replicated NoSQL or vector database
Free plan + paidWeb
61.8
score / 100
Why switch from ScyllaDB
Managed multi-model database on Azure with a Cassandra-compatible API and global distribution.
Pros
Global replication with tunable consistency
MongoDB and Cassandra-compatible APIs ease migrations
Serverless mode for spiky workloads
Cons
Request-unit pricing is hard to predict
Costs grow quickly with multi-region writes
Only available on Azure
Visit Azure Cosmos DB Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Azure Cosmos DB a good ScyllaDB alternative?
Verified facts
8 of 8 verified
Database type
Serverless NoSQL and vector database
Checked Oct 29, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Vector search
Built in
Checked Oct 29, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free tier
First 1000 RU/s and 25 GB
Checked Oct 29, 2026learn.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
APIs
NoSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, Table
Checked Oct 29, 2026learn.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, 1,000 RU/s and 25 GB storage a month
Checked Nov 1, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
30 days, no Azure subscription needed
Checked Nov 1, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
New Azure account credit
$200 credit for 30 days
Checked Nov 1, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Data transfer out
$0.05 per GB from Europe or North America
Checked Nov 1, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
4. Aiven
Best for: Teams that want managed open-source databases on the cloud and region of their choice
Free plan + paidWeb
59.4
score / 100
Why switch from ScyllaDB
Hosts open-source Cassandra and other databases across clouds, if you want managed without a source-available licence.
Pros
Many open-source data services in one console
Runs on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure and others
Free tier for Postgres, MySQL and Valkey
Cons
Free tier is a single small node with no integrations
Costs add up when running many services
No built-in backend features such as auth or APIs
Visit Aiven Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Aiven a good ScyllaDB alternative?
Verified facts
3 of 3 verified
Free plan
$0/month
Checked Oct 29, 2026aiven.io(opens source in a new tab)
Developer plan
$5/month
Checked Oct 29, 2026aiven.io(opens source in a new tab)
Hobbyist plan
From $12/month
Checked Oct 29, 2026aiven.io(opens source in a new tab)
5. MongoDB Atlas
Best for: Teams building on MongoDB who want it managed on their preferred cloud
Free plan + paidWeb
57.5
score / 100
Why switch from ScyllaDB
Managed document database with richer ad-hoc queries, for workloads that do not need wide-column scale.
Pros
Run by the MongoDB company on AWS, Google Cloud or Azure
Built-in full-text and vector search
Free cluster for learning and prototypes
Cons
Dedicated clusters get expensive as data grows
Database only, with no end-user auth or storage layer
Document modelling can be awkward for heavily relational data
Visit MongoDB Atlas Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.363
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is MongoDB Atlas a good ScyllaDB alternative?
Verified facts
7 of 7 verified
Free cluster
512MB storage, free forever
Checked Oct 29, 2026mongodb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Flex cluster
Up to $30/month
Checked Oct 29, 2026mongodb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Dedicated cluster
From $56.94/month
Checked Oct 29, 2026mongodb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Search
Full-text and vector search built in
Checked Oct 29, 2026mongodb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, 512MB storage
Checked Nov 1, 2026mongodb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$0.011/hour on Flex, up to $30 a month
Checked Nov 1, 2026mongodb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Dedicated plan
From $56.94 a month ($0.08/hour)
Checked Nov 1, 2026mongodb.com(opens source in a new tab)