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MongoDB Atlas Comparison

Comparing MongoDB as a Service Offerings

MongoDB Atlas is delivered by the same team that builds MongoDB. But it’s not the only MongoDB service available to you. The chart below shows how the different options stack up.*

*as of March 2021

Overview

MongoDB AtlasAmazon DocumentDBCosmos DB Emulation API
Choice of cloud providersNoNo
Integrated text search, geospatial processing

Limited Data must be replicated to multiple adjacent AWS services for text search, only basic geospatial operators, driving up cost and complexity

Limited Some support for geospatial data, but with limited indexing

Supports all MongoDB features with full application compatibility

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, which is only partially true. No MongoDB server side code

Fails 64% of compatibility tests.

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, actually closer to 3.6. No MongoDB server side code.

Fails 66% of compatibility tests.

Access to the latest MongoDB version

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, which is only partially true.

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, actually closer to 3.6.

Free TierNo

Limited

Just for the first 400 RU/s. Not sandboxed, so no way to avoid cost if usage increases beyond the 400RU limit

Live migration

Yes

Available as separate paid service

Yes

Only for eligible accounts

Choice of instance configuration

Limited

Around a dozen instances only, all of a single AWS class, limiting flexibility in accommodating different workload profiles

No

Configuration based on provisioned throughput. No way to independently select underlying hardware configurations

Support for MongoDB multi-document ACID transactions

Limited

Missing features, fail over half of transaction tests in standard MongoDB test suite

Limited

Multi-document transactions are supported only within a single, unsharded collection; almost all of MongoDB's transaction tests fail

JSON data type support

Primitive JSON

and some advanced data types, but does not support decimal

BSON

Some data types have restrictions, including the inability to modify them once set

Maximum document size16MB2MB
JSON schema for data governance controls

No

All schema controls must be written in the app tier

No

All schema controls must be written in the app tier

Integrated text search and graph queries

Partial

No integrated text search

Partial

No integrated text search

Integrated querying of data in cloud object storageNoNo

Online Archive

Automatically tier data out from database to cloud object storage

NoNo
Blend data with joins and unions for analytics queriesNoNo
Automatic Performance RecommendationsNoNo
Replica Set Configuration

Up to 15 replicas

Replicas are not data-bearing. DocumentDB maintains 6 copies of data at the storage layer

3 data-bearing nodes
Automatic Sharding Support

No sharding support

All writes must be made to a single primary node only.

Yes

However, no support to refine the chosen shard key, forcing a full database migration should the shard key need to change in any way.

Hedged Reads

Queries submitted to multiple replicas for consistent low latency

NoNo
Pause and resume clustersYesNo
Data ExplorerNoYes
SQL-based BI ConnectivityNo

Yes

Power BI and Qlik Sense only

Native data visualization without 3rd party BI toolsNoNo
Database supported in on-premise and hybrid deploymentsNoNo
Embeddable database with sync for mobile, edge and IoT devicesNoNo
MongoDB Atlas
Choice of cloud providers

Yes

AWS, Azure & Google Cloud, including multi-cloud clusters spanning all three cloud platforms

Integrated text search, geospatial processingYes
Supports all MongoDB features with full application compatibility

Yes

Runs native MongoDB

Access to the latest MongoDB version

Yes

Run v7.0, 6.0, 5.0 or v4.4.

Free Tier

Yes

Storage: 512 MB, RAM: Variable

Live migration

Yes

Resistant to initial interruptions, filterable, topology agnostic.

Choice of instance configuration

Yes

Multiple instance sizes and classes

Support for MongoDB multi-document ACID transactionsYes
JSON data type support

BSON

(Binary JSON) Regular JSON + longs, doubles, floats, decimal, dates, and times

Maximum document size16MB
JSON schema for data governance controlsYes
Integrated text search and graph queries

Yes

MongoDB aggregation pipeline and Atlas Search

Integrated querying of data in cloud object storage

Online Archive

Automatically tier data out from database to cloud object storage

Blend data with joins and unions for analytics queriesYes
Automatic Performance Recommendations

Yes

Performance Advisor with schema and index recommendations

Replica Set Configuration

Up to 50 replicas

All replicas configured as data-bearing nodes

Automatic Sharding Support

Yes

Scale writes horizontally across multiple nodes. Store multiple TB of data on a single shard.

Ability to refine shard key as application requirements evolve.

Since 7.0, shard key advisor commands provide metrics that facilitate shard key refining.

Hedged Reads

Queries submitted to multiple replicas for consistent low latency

Yes
Pause and resume clustersYes
Data Explorer

Yes

Directly in Atlas UI, or via MongoDB Compass

SQL-based BI Connectivity
Native data visualization without 3rd party BI tools
Database supported in on-premise and hybrid deployments
Embeddable database with sync for mobile, edge and IoT devices
Amazon DocumentDB
Choice of cloud providersNo
Integrated text search, geospatial processing

Limited Data must be replicated to multiple adjacent AWS services for text search, only basic geospatial operators, driving up cost and complexity

Supports all MongoDB features with full application compatibility

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, which is only partially true. No MongoDB server side code

Fails 64% of compatibility tests.
Access to the latest MongoDB version

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, which is only partially true.

Free TierNo
Live migration

Yes

Available as separate paid service

Choice of instance configuration

Limited

Around a dozen instances only, all of a single AWS class, limiting flexibility in accommodating different workload profiles

Support for MongoDB multi-document ACID transactions

Limited

Missing features, fail over half of transaction tests in standard MongoDB test suite

JSON data type support

Primitive JSON

and some advanced data types, but does not support decimal

Maximum document size16MB
JSON schema for data governance controls

No

All schema controls must be written in the app tier

Integrated text search and graph queries

Partial

No integrated text search

Integrated querying of data in cloud object storageNo

Online Archive

Automatically tier data out from database to cloud object storage

No
Blend data with joins and unions for analytics queriesNo
Automatic Performance RecommendationsNo
Replica Set Configuration

Up to 15 replicas

Replicas are not data-bearing. DocumentDB maintains 6 copies of data at the storage layer

Automatic Sharding Support

No sharding support

All writes must be made to a single primary node only.

Hedged Reads

Queries submitted to multiple replicas for consistent low latency

No
Pause and resume clustersYes
Data ExplorerNo
SQL-based BI ConnectivityNo
Native data visualization without 3rd party BI toolsNo
Database supported in on-premise and hybrid deploymentsNo
Embeddable database with sync for mobile, edge and IoT devicesNo
Cosmos DB Emulation API
Choice of cloud providersNo
Integrated text search, geospatial processing

Limited Some support for geospatial data, but with limited indexing

Supports all MongoDB features with full application compatibility

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, actually closer to 3.6. No MongoDB server side code.

Fails 66% of compatibility tests.

Access to the latest MongoDB version

No

Claims compatibility with v4.0 API, actually closer to 3.6.

Free Tier

Limited

Just for the first 400 RU/s. Not sandboxed, so no way to avoid cost if usage increases beyond the 400RU limit

Live migration

Yes

Only for eligible accounts

Choice of instance configuration

No

Configuration based on provisioned throughput. No way to independently select underlying hardware configurations

Support for MongoDB multi-document ACID transactions

Limited

Multi-document transactions are supported only within a single, unsharded collection; almost all of MongoDB's transaction tests fail

JSON data type support

BSON

Some data types have restrictions, including the inability to modify them once set

Maximum document size2MB
JSON schema for data governance controls

No

All schema controls must be written in the app tier

Integrated text search and graph queries

Partial

No integrated text search

Integrated querying of data in cloud object storageNo

Online Archive

Automatically tier data out from database to cloud object storage

No
Blend data with joins and unions for analytics queriesNo
Automatic Performance RecommendationsNo
Replica Set Configuration3 data-bearing nodes
Automatic Sharding Support

Yes

However, no support to refine the chosen shard key, forcing a full database migration should the shard key need to change in any way.

Hedged Reads

Queries submitted to multiple replicas for consistent low latency

No
Pause and resume clustersNo
Data ExplorerYes
SQL-based BI Connectivity

Yes

Power BI and Qlik Sense only

Native data visualization without 3rd party BI toolsNo
Database supported in on-premise and hybrid deploymentsNo
Embeddable database with sync for mobile, edge and IoT devicesNo

Global Clusters

MongoDB AtlasAmazon DocumentDBCosmos DB Emulation API

Active-active clusters supporting global writes

Low-latency writes from anywhere in the world

No

Single AWS region only, only one writeable node

Yes

Risk of data loss due to conflict resolution. Reads can be eventually consistent (returning stale or deleted data)

Cross-region replication

Distribute data around the world for multi-region fault tolerance and local reads

Limited

Read operations only. Writes locked to primary only

Yes

Reads can be eventually consistent (returning stale or deleted data)

MongoDB Atlas

Active-active clusters supporting global writes

Low-latency writes from anywhere in the world

Yes

Cross-region replication

Distribute data around the world for multi-region fault tolerance and local reads

Yes
Amazon DocumentDB

Active-active clusters supporting global writes

Low-latency writes from anywhere in the world

No

Single AWS region only, only one writeable node

Cross-region replication

Distribute data around the world for multi-region fault tolerance and local reads

Limited

Read operations only. Writes locked to primary only

Cosmos DB Emulation API

Active-active clusters supporting global writes

Low-latency writes from anywhere in the world

Yes

Risk of data loss due to conflict resolution. Reads can be eventually consistent (returning stale or deleted data)

Cross-region replication

Distribute data around the world for multi-region fault tolerance and local reads

Yes

Reads can be eventually consistent (returning stale or deleted data)

Monitoring and Disaster Recovery

MongoDB AtlasAmazon DocumentDBCosmos DB Emulation API
Automatic scaling of compute and storage

No.

Storage only

Yes

50% upcharge for autoscaling, can only scale within a certain tier

Monitoring of database health with automated alerting

Partial

Only a limited number of account-level metrics are exposed

Partial

Only a limited number of account-level metrics are exposed

Backup snapshots with on-demand Point in Time restoreYes

No

Snapshots taken every 4 hours. Service ticket must be raised for Cosmos DB support to restore the backup. Must be completed within 8 hours or snapshots are overwritten and data is lost

Queryable backupsNoNo
Automated & consistent snapshots of sharded clusters

N/a

Sharding not supported

Yes
MongoDB Atlas
Automatic scaling of compute and storageYes
Monitoring of database health with automated alerting

Yes

MongoDB Atlas UI & support for APM platforms (i.e., New Relic)

Backup snapshots with on-demand Point in Time restoreYes
Queryable backupsYes
Automated & consistent snapshots of sharded clustersYes
Amazon DocumentDB
Automatic scaling of compute and storage

No.

Storage only

Monitoring of database health with automated alerting

Partial

Only a limited number of account-level metrics are exposed

Backup snapshots with on-demand Point in Time restoreYes
Queryable backupsNo
Automated & consistent snapshots of sharded clusters

N/a

Sharding not supported

Cosmos DB Emulation API
Automatic scaling of compute and storage

Yes

50% upcharge for autoscaling, can only scale within a certain tier

Monitoring of database health with automated alerting

Partial

Only a limited number of account-level metrics are exposed

Backup snapshots with on-demand Point in Time restore

No

Snapshots taken every 4 hours. Service ticket must be raised for Cosmos DB support to restore the backup. Must be completed within 8 hours or snapshots are overwritten and data is lost

Queryable backupsNo
Automated & consistent snapshots of sharded clustersYes

Security Control

MongoDB AtlasAmazon DocumentDBCosmos DB Emulation API

Queryable encryption

Run expressive queries against encrypted data without decryption

NoNo

Client-side field level encryption

Encryption of data in-use. Data not readable by service provider

No

Partial

Preview only and limited capabilities

Bring your own KMS

No

AWS KMS only

No

Azure key vault only

Granular role-based access control

Partial

Limited coarse-grained roles only

Partial

Limited coarse-grained roles only

AWS VPC PeeringYesN/A
Encryption of data in-flightYesYes
Encryption of data at-restYesYes
LDAP IntegrationNoYes

Database-level auditing

Track DDL, DML, DCL operations

NoYes
MongoDB Atlas

Queryable encryption

Run expressive queries against encrypted data without decryption

Yes

Client-side field level encryption

Encryption of data in-use. Data not readable by service provider

Yes
Bring your own KMSYes
Granular role-based access controlYes
AWS VPC PeeringYes
Encryption of data in-flight

Yes

TLS/SSL as standard

Encryption of data at-restYes
LDAP IntegrationYes

Database-level auditing

Track DDL, DML, DCL operations

Yes
Amazon DocumentDB

Queryable encryption

Run expressive queries against encrypted data without decryption

No

Client-side field level encryption

Encryption of data in-use. Data not readable by service provider

No
Bring your own KMS

No

AWS KMS only

Granular role-based access control

Partial

Limited coarse-grained roles only

AWS VPC PeeringYes
Encryption of data in-flightYes
Encryption of data at-restYes
LDAP IntegrationNo

Database-level auditing

Track DDL, DML, DCL operations

No
Cosmos DB Emulation API

Queryable encryption

Run expressive queries against encrypted data without decryption

No

Client-side field level encryption

Encryption of data in-use. Data not readable by service provider

Partial

Preview only and limited capabilities

Bring your own KMS

No

Azure key vault only

Granular role-based access control

Partial

Limited coarse-grained roles only

AWS VPC PeeringN/A
Encryption of data in-flightYes
Encryption of data at-restYes
LDAP IntegrationYes

Database-level auditing

Track DDL, DML, DCL operations

Yes

Support & Services

MongoDB AtlasAmazon DocumentDBCosmos DB Emulation API
Database support delivered directly by MongoDB engineersNoNo
Consulting services from engineers with multiple years of MongoDB expertiseNoNo
MongoDB Atlas
Database support delivered directly by MongoDB engineers

Yes

Available with an optional support contract

Consulting services from engineers with multiple years of MongoDB expertise
Amazon DocumentDB
Database support delivered directly by MongoDB engineersNo
Consulting services from engineers with multiple years of MongoDB expertiseNo
Cosmos DB Emulation API
Database support delivered directly by MongoDB engineersNo
Consulting services from engineers with multiple years of MongoDB expertiseNo

Get started with MongoDB Atlas today