Best Distributed SQL Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: CockroachDB Cloud is ranked #1 of 17 as of 2 October 2026, ahead of TiDB Cloud and Google Cloud Spanner. The best-ranked option with a free plan is TiDB Cloud. The lowest first paid tier on this page is CockroachDB Cloud at $0.06/mo.
17 distributed sql databases ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CockroachDB Cloud | 8.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.06/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 2 | TiDB Cloud | 8.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 3 | Google Cloud Spanner | 8.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | both | View |
| 4 |  SingleStore Helios | 8.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.99/mo | Yes | — | — | View |
| 5 |  OceanBase Database | 8.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | both | View |
| 6 |  CrateDB | 8.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | both | View |
| 7 | YugabyteDB Anywhere | 7.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 8 | MySQL | 7.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | both | View |
| 9 |  VoltDB | 7.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | No | — | both | View |
| 10 | PrestoDB | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 11 | MatrixOne | 6.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | both | View |
| 12 |  YDB | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | both | View |
| 13 | Amazon Aurora | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | — | View |
| 14 | IBM Db2 | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $630/mo | — | — | — | View |
| 15 | Apache Ignite | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 16 |  ActorDB | 4.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | self_hosted | View |
| 17 |  TBase | 4.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | self_hosted | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which distributed sql database is ranked first on Inferse?
CockroachDB Cloud is ranked #1 of 17 with a score of 8.7. TiDB Cloud is second and Google Cloud Spanner third.
How many of these have a free plan?
11 of the 17 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, CockroachDB Cloud has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.06/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.