Redis vs CockroachDB for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Redis Overview

Redis handles the fast, transient data layer that every production application needs. Session storage, query caching, rate limiting, background job queues, and pub/sub messaging. All at sub-millisecond latency because everything lives in memory. It's not competing to be your primary database. It's the tool that makes your primary database perform better.

I've never shipped a production app without Redis. The value is immediate and measurable. Cache your most frequent database queries, and response times drop by an order of magnitude. Store sessions in Redis instead of your database, and auth checks become instant. Add a job queue with BullMQ or Celery backed by Redis, and background processing just works.

The ecosystem is mature and universal. Every language has a Redis client. Every cloud provider offers managed Redis. Self-hosting is trivial. The cost ranges from free (self-hosted) to a few dollars per month (managed), making it accessible to any solo developer.

CockroachDB Overview

CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database built for applications that need data consistency across multiple regions. It's PostgreSQL-compatible, automatically shards data across nodes, survives node failures without downtime, and provides serializable isolation (the strongest consistency guarantee available). It's engineered for enterprise-scale resilience.

The Serverless free tier gives solo developers a way to experiment. 10GB storage, 50M request units per month, and PostgreSQL wire protocol compatibility. You can connect with psql, use Prisma, Drizzle, or any PostgreSQL ORM, and write standard SQL. The experience feels like PostgreSQL until you look under the hood and see the distributed architecture.

But here's the honest truth: CockroachDB solves problems that solo developers don't have. Multi-region consistency, automatic failover, distributed transactions across data centers. These are enterprise concerns. If you're one person building a SaaS product, a single PostgreSQL instance on Neon or Supabase handles your workload for a fraction of the complexity.

Key Differences

Scale of problem they solve. CockroachDB is designed for distributed, globally consistent data at massive scale. Redis is designed for fast, in-memory data access and utility operations. Neither replaces the other. They don't even operate in the same architectural tier.

Complexity. CockroachDB introduces distributed systems complexity: consistency models, multi-region topology, shard rebalancing, and distributed query planning. Redis is simple: connect, set a key, get a key. For a solo developer, Redis is something you add in an afternoon. CockroachDB is something that requires significant learning investment.

Performance profile. Redis delivers sub-millisecond reads from memory. CockroachDB delivers consistent reads across distributed nodes, but with higher latency than a single-node database. CockroachDB trades raw speed for consistency guarantees across regions. For solo developers with users in one region, this tradeoff provides no benefit.

Cost at the solo developer level. Redis is free to self-host and costs a few dollars per month managed. CockroachDB's free tier works for testing, but the Dedicated plan starts at $295/month. That price makes sense for companies with distributed infrastructure requirements. For solo developers, it's overkill in both complexity and cost.

Use case overlap. There is almost none. CockroachDB stores persistent relational data. Redis caches data and provides real-time utilities. You'd use CockroachDB as your primary database (though I'd recommend simpler alternatives) and Redis as your caching layer. They work in completely different parts of your architecture.

PostgreSQL compatibility. CockroachDB speaks PostgreSQL wire protocol, so your existing PostgreSQL tools and ORMs work. But it's not identical to PostgreSQL. Some features behave differently under distributed execution. Redis doesn't try to be PostgreSQL compatible because it's an entirely different type of data store.

When to Choose Redis

• You need caching, sessions, rate limiting, or job queues
• Sub-millisecond data access is important for specific hot paths
• Real-time pub/sub messaging between services is a requirement
• You want a simple, cheap tool that improves any application's performance
• Your application needs versatile data structures beyond key-value

When to Choose CockroachDB

• Your application absolutely requires multi-region data consistency
• Surviving regional outages without downtime is a business requirement
• You need distributed SQL with automatic sharding at massive scale
• Enterprise compliance requires strong consistency across geographic regions
• You have the budget and team to manage distributed database complexity

The Verdict

For solo developers, this isn't even a close comparison.

Redis is practical, affordable, and solves problems that every web application faces. Caching, sessions, queues, rate limiting, pub/sub. You'll use it in every project.

CockroachDB is impressive engineering that solves problems solo developers don't have. Multi-region consistency, distributed transactions, and automatic sharding are enterprise features for enterprise budgets and enterprise teams. The 4/10 solo developer rating reflects this mismatch, not the quality of the database.

If you need a primary database, use PostgreSQL through Neon, Supabase, or self-hosted. If you need a caching and utility layer, use Redis. Together they handle everything a solo developer needs at a fraction of CockroachDB's cost and complexity.

CockroachDB becomes relevant when your application grows to the point where a single PostgreSQL instance can't handle the load and you need global distribution. That's a good problem to have, and most solo developers will never reach it. Focus on shipping your product first. Distributed databases can wait.