Cosmos DB vs Gaffer
Cosmos DB is a multiple database; Gaffer is a other database. Cosmos DB (2014-08, Proprietary, C++) ranks #29 this month; Gaffer (2015-12, Apache-2.0, Java) ranks #66. They differ on 29 of 46 surveyed features.
| Attribute | Cosmos DB | Gaffer |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Rank | #29 | #66 |
| Score | 54.1 | 44.4 |
| GitHub stars | — | 1.8k |
| Popularity | 53.8 | 57.9 |
| Activity | 49.9 | 42.8 |
| Community | 39.1 | 30.3 |
| Research | 87.7 | — |
| Fundamentals | ||
| Description | A globally distributed multi-model database service on Microsoft Azure with property graph support through the Apache Gremlin API. Offers multi-region replication and multiple consistency models. | A graph database framework with pluggable storage backends (Accumulo, HBase, Parquet). Developed by GCHQ for large-scale graph analysis with built-in timestamp management. |
| Vendor | Microsoft | GCHQ |
| Model | Multiple | Other |
| Kind | database | query-engine |
| Category | Enterprise | Established |
| First released | 2014-08 | 2015-12 |
| Status | active | deprecated — Repository archived by GCHQ; last change June 2025. |
| License | Proprietary | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Java |
| Query languages | Gremlin, SQL | Custom API |
| gdotv support | yes | no |
Feature scores 29 of 46 rows differ
| Feature | Cosmos DB | Gaffer |
|---|---|---|
| Community & Business | ||
| Active development | ✓ | ✓ |
| Commercial support | ✓ | · |
| Live community | 0.5 | · |
| Open Source | · | ✓ |
| Pricing | ✓ | · |
| Trendiness | ✓ | · |
| Deployment | ||
| Containerization | 0.5 | · |
| Work as dedicated instance | ✓ | · |
| Work as embedded | · | · |
| Testing in-memory version | ✓ | · |
| Platform | ||
| Operating on Linux | · | ✓ |
| Operating on Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| SaaS offering | ✓ | · |
| Operations | ||
| Automatic updates | ✓ | · |
| Client side caching | · | · |
| Data versioning support | · | · |
| Live backups | ✓ | · |
| Distribution | ||
| Cluster Re-balancing | 0.5 | · |
| Data Distribution | ✓ | ✓ |
| High-Availability | ✓ | · |
| Query Distribution | ✓ | ✓ |
| Replication support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Developer Experience | ||
| Data types defined | · | 0.5 |
| Logging/Auditing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Object-Graph Mapper | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reactive programming | ✓ | · |
| Documentation up-to-date | ✓ | ✓ |
| Binary protocol | · | · |
| CLI | ✓ | · |
| GUI | ✓ | · |
| Data Model | ||
| Multi-database | ✓ | · |
| Graph-native data | · | ✓ |
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Query Language | ✓ | · |
| Transactions | ||
| Granular locking | · | · |
| Multiple isolation levels | ✓ | · |
| Read committed transaction | ✓ | · |
| Transaction support | 0.5 | ✓ |
| Schema & Security | ||
| Constraints | · | · |
| Schema support | · | ✓ |
| Secondary indexes | ✓ | · |
| Server side procedures | ✓ | · |
| Triggers | ✓ | · |
| Authentication | ✓ | ✓ |
| Authorization | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data encryption | ✓ | · |
Links
- Cosmos DB · website · full profile
- Gaffer · website · github · full profile