What users are saying about

Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft SQL Server

Azure Cosmos DB
36 Ratings
Microsoft SQL Server
Top Rated
1484 Ratings

Azure Cosmos DB

36 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>
Score 8.3 out of 100

Based on 36 reviews and ratings

Microsoft SQL Server

Top Rated
1484 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>
Score 8.9 out of 100

Based on 1484 reviews and ratings

Feature Set Ratings

    NoSQL Databases

    8.6

    Azure Cosmos DB

    86%

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Feature Set Not Supported
    N/A
    Azure Cosmos DB ranks higher in 7/7 features
    Azure Cosmos DB ranks higher in 7/7 features

    Performance

    8.2
    82%
    6 Ratings
    N/A
    0 Ratings

    Availability

    9.5
    95%
    6 Ratings
    N/A
    0 Ratings

    Concurrency

    8.1
    81%
    6 Ratings
    N/A
    0 Ratings

    Security

    9.4
    94%
    6 Ratings
    N/A
    0 Ratings

    Scalability

    8.6
    86%
    6 Ratings
    N/A
    0 Ratings

    Data model flexibility

    8.1
    81%
    6 Ratings
    N/A
    0 Ratings

    Deployment model flexibility

    8.5
    85%
    6 Ratings
    N/A
    0 Ratings

    Attribute Ratings

    • Azure Cosmos DB is rated higher in 1 area: Support Rating
    • Microsoft SQL Server is rated higher in 3 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Likelihood to Renew, Usability

    Likelihood to Recommend

    8.3

    Azure Cosmos DB

    83%
    6 Ratings
    9.1

    Microsoft SQL Server

    91%
    94 Ratings

    Likelihood to Renew

    7.7

    Azure Cosmos DB

    77%
    4 Ratings
    9.0

    Microsoft SQL Server

    90%
    6 Ratings

    Usability

    8.6

    Azure Cosmos DB

    86%
    2 Ratings
    9.8

    Microsoft SQL Server

    98%
    10 Ratings

    Availability

    Azure Cosmos DB

    N/A
    0 Ratings
    10.0

    Microsoft SQL Server

    100%
    2 Ratings

    Performance

    Azure Cosmos DB

    N/A
    0 Ratings
    9.0

    Microsoft SQL Server

    90%
    2 Ratings

    Support Rating

    9.4

    Azure Cosmos DB

    94%
    2 Ratings
    7.9

    Microsoft SQL Server

    79%
    49 Ratings

    In-Person Training

    Azure Cosmos DB

    N/A
    0 Ratings
    9.0

    Microsoft SQL Server

    90%
    1 Rating

    Online Training

    Azure Cosmos DB

    N/A
    0 Ratings
    9.0

    Microsoft SQL Server

    90%
    1 Rating

    Implementation Rating

    Azure Cosmos DB

    N/A
    0 Ratings
    9.0

    Microsoft SQL Server

    90%
    10 Ratings

    Product Scalability

    Azure Cosmos DB

    N/A
    0 Ratings
    9.0

    Microsoft SQL Server

    90%
    1 Rating

    Likelihood to Recommend

    Azure Cosmos DB

    NoSQL platforms are very useful when it comes to security, speed, accuracy, high accessibility with high read and write power. Everything is managed under the cloud and we have the various capabilities of Azure and support for Microsoft products with us. Flexibility in price and variety of features, as well as real-time results, are some of the popular [features] of this platform.

    Read full review

    Niloofar Keshvari Nia | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Niloofar Keshvari Nia
    View all 6 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server is a great RDBMS and meets all of our requirements. If you need a stable DB platform to support your line of a business application you'll be well served. Licensing costs are far cheaper, more portable and a lot more user friendly than Oracle. Product support and security patches from Microsoft are strong.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 94 answers on this topic

    Pros

    Azure Cosmos DB

    • Turn-key geo-redundancy with multi-master writes is unprecedented and unparalleled in the industry!
    • Guaranteed low latency makes Cosmos DB an excellent fit for most of our performance-intensive situations.
    • The tunable consistency model simplifies so many challenges in distributed systems engineering that otherwise require advanced knowledge of computer science topics. I continue to be impressed at how Cosmos DB has abstracted away so much complexity.

    Read full review

    Lars Kemmann | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Lars Kemmann
    View all 6 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    • Easy to configure and use with Visual Studio and Dot Net
    • Easy integration with MSBI to perform data analysis
    • Data Security
    • Easy to understand and use
    • Very easy to export database and tables in the form of SQL query or a script

    Read full review

    Shivani Pandey | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Shivani Pandey
    View all 94 answers on this topic

    Cons

    Azure Cosmos DB

    • Expensive, so be careful of the use case.
    • We had a thought time migrating from traditional DBs to Cosmos. Azure should provide a seamless platform for the migration of data from on-premises to cloud.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 6 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    • The import/export process can be tricky to follow with lots of steps and could be better for importing flat files
    • Obtaining help from Microsoft is cumbersome and often other internet sources are better and quicker
    • The documentation is not great and again it's generally better to obtain help elsewhere if needed

    Read full review

    Paul Nockolds | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Paul Nockolds
    View all 94 answers on this topic

    Pricing Details

    Azure Cosmos DB

    General

    Free Trial
    —
    Free/Freemium Version
    —
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    —
    Entry-level set up fee?
    No

    Starting Price

    —

    Azure Cosmos DB Editions & Modules

    —
    Additional Pricing Details
    —

    Microsoft SQL Server

    General

    Free Trial
    —
    Free/Freemium Version
    —
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    —
    Entry-level set up fee?
    No

    Starting Price

    $0 Per License

    Microsoft SQL Server Editions & Modules

    Edition
    Enterprise$13,748.001
    Subscription$1,418.001
    1. Per License
    Additional Pricing Details
    —

    Likelihood to Renew

    Azure Cosmos DB

    Azure Cosmos DB 7.7
    Based on 4 answers
    It's efficient, easy to scale, and works. We do have to do a bit of administration, but less now than when we started with this a couple of years ago. Microsoft continues to improve its self-management capability.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 4 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 9.0
    Based on 6 answers
    We understand that the Microsoft SQL Server will continue to advance, offering the same robust and reliable platform while adding new features that enable us, as a software center, to create a superior product. That provides excellent performance while reducing the hardware requirements and the total cost of ownership of our solution.

    Read full review

    Lisandro Fernigrini | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Lisandro Fernigrini
    View all 6 answers on this topic

    Usability

    Azure Cosmos DB

    Azure Cosmos DB 8.6
    Based on 2 answers
    It has very good compatibility and adaptability with other APIs and developers can safely create new apps because it is compatible with various tools and can be easily managed and run under the cloud, and in terms of security, it is one of the best of its kind, which is very powerful and excellent.

    Read full review

    Niloofar Keshvari Nia | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Niloofar Keshvari Nia
    View all 2 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 9.8
    Based on 10 answers
    SQL Server mostly 'just works' or generates error messages to help you sort out the trouble. You can usually count on the product to get the job done and keep an eye on your potential mistakes. Interaction with other Microsoft products makes operating as a Windows user pretty straight forward. Digging through the multitude of dialogs and wizards can be a pain, but the answer is usually there somewhere.

    Read full review

    Andy Erickson | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Andy Erickson
    View all 10 answers on this topic

    Reliability and Availability

    Azure Cosmos DB

    No score
    No answers yet
    No answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 10.0
    Based on 2 answers
    Its does not have outages.

    Read full review

    Srikanth S | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Srikanth S
    View all 2 answers on this topic

    Performance

    Azure Cosmos DB

    No score
    No answers yet
    No answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 9.0
    Based on 2 answers
    SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.

    Read full review

    Srikanth S | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Srikanth S
    View all 2 answers on this topic

    Support Rating

    Azure Cosmos DB

    Azure Cosmos DB 9.4
    Based on 2 answers
    Microsoft is the best when it comes to after-sales support. They have a well-structured training and knowledge base portal that anyone can use. They are usually quick to respond to cases and are on point for on-call support. I have no complaints from a support standpoint. Pretty happy with the support.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 2 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 7.9
    Based on 49 answers
    We managed to handle most of our problems by looking into Microsoft's official documentation that has everything explained and almost every function has an example that illustrates in detail how a particular functionality works. Just like PowerShell has the ability to show you an example of how some cmdlet works, that is the case also here, and in my opinion, it is a very good practice and I like it.

    Read full review

    luka horvat | TrustRadius Reviewer
    luka horvat
    View all 49 answers on this topic

    In-Person Training

    Azure Cosmos DB

    No score
    No answers yet
    No answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 9.0
    Based on 1 answer
    It was good

    Read full review

    Srikanth S | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Srikanth S
    View all 1 answers on this topic

    Online Training

    Azure Cosmos DB

    No score
    No answers yet
    No answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 9.0
    Based on 1 answer
    very hands on and detailed training

    Read full review

    Srikanth S | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Srikanth S
    View all 1 answers on this topic

    Implementation Rating

    Azure Cosmos DB

    No score
    No answers yet
    No answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 9.0
    Based on 10 answers
    Other than SQL taking quite a bit of time to actually install there are no problems with installation. Even on hardware that has good performance SQL can still take close to an hour to install a typical server with management and reporting services.

    Read full review

    Bill Starling | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Bill Starling
    View all 10 answers on this topic

    Alternatives Considered

    Azure Cosmos DB

    Azure Cosmos DB has the benefit of having multi-master key tenancy compared to Redis and Mongo. Reads are just as fast, if not faster than Mongo. However, the distribution of writes (i.e. ACID transactions) isn't as high as Google Cloud Spanner or CouchDB. Azure Cosmos DB writes slower than Cassandra, but with Cosmos, we do not have to worry about replication or tools like Zookeeper to handle it. Azure Cosmos DB has it built-in.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 6 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    [Microsoft] SQL Server has a much better community and professional support and is overall just a more reliable system with Microsoft behind it. I've used MySQL in the past and SQL Server has just become more comfortable for me and is my go to RDBMS.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 94 answers on this topic

    Scalability

    Azure Cosmos DB

    No score
    No answers yet
    No answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Microsoft SQL Server 9.0
    Based on 1 answer
    SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.

    Read full review

    Srikanth S | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Srikanth S
    View all 1 answers on this topic

    Return on Investment

    Azure Cosmos DB

    • Azure Cosmos DB may be expensive on its own, but it was cheaper than increasing the size/power of our VMs running SQL Server instances enough to keep up with the volume and velocity of the unstructured data.
    • We got the JSON data out of our SQL Servers and they quit tipping over.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 6 answers on this topic

    Microsoft SQL Server

    • Increased accuracy - We went from multiple users having different versions of an Excel spreadsheet to a single source of truth for our reporting.
    • Increased Efficiency - We can now generate reports at any time from a single source rather than multiple users spending their time collating data and generating reports.
    • Improved Security - Enterprise level security on a dedicated server rather than financial files on multiple laptop hard drives.

    Read full review

    Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
    Verified User
    View all 94 answers on this topic

    Add comparison