CouchDB vs MongoDB: Ultimate Database Comparison Guide

In this guide, I will discuss the ultimate difference between CouchDB vs MongoDB.

You may be reading this blog today because you are a rookie who has heard of these two databases but is unsure how they vary. Perhaps, you are a seasoned developer who wishes to investigate or discover the differences between CouchDB vs MongoDB as databases. Whatever the case may be, this guide is designed exclusively for you.

Let us get started with the ultimate guide on CouchDB vs MongoDB.

Also read: Monk vs Mongoose for MongoDB: Instant Comparative Guide

MongoDB	CouchDB
Data is presented in BSON	Data is presented in JSON
Supports multiple drivers	Limited driver support
Made for web application data storage	Can store both web and mobile application data
Faster read speeds and highly scalable	Comparatively less speedy and scalability
Written in C++	Written in Erlang

What Is A Database?

Now that you’ve finally finished all of that pep talk it’s time to quickly learn what databases are in their true meaning before knowing the difference between CouchDB vs MongoDB.

A database is a centralized storage system for application data that can be managed by an administrator. A database can be connected with several users, each with its own set of rights.

SQL and NoSQL databases are the two types of databases. Both of these will be covered in the section that follows. For the time being, we can only assume that SQL-type databases store data in tabulated form, whereas NoSQL-type databases store data in tree-like structures. Because they are both NoSQL databases, we are examining CouchDB vs MongoDB.

A database’s distinctive features include the ability for users to access, write, update, and remove data. They must, however, be granted certain powers to do so. Database administration services, in addition to data storage, offer a variety of other services. Regular backups, access restrictions, partitioning, and security are just a few instances of services.

What is a SQL and NoSQL Database?

Databases are useful and popular for a variety of reasons. The majority of these characteristics will be considered in our CouchDB vs MongoDB comparison today.

SQL Database

An SQL database, often known as a relational database, is a type of database that stores data in tabular structures and allows for the storage of structured data. Consider it as an Excel spreadsheet. SQL databases may be used to store data for both small and large-scale applications.

MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, PostgreSQL, OracleDB, and many other SQL databases are popular.

NoSQL Database

A NoSQL database, often known as a non-relational database, permits the storing and manipulation of unstructured data. NoSQL databases are ideal for real-time web applications and large amounts of data.

MongoDB, CouchDB, Redis, Cassandra, Firebase, Couchbase, and other NoSQL databases are popular.

MongoDB vs Firebase: Ultimate Comparison of 2021

There a multiple set of factors that makes a comparison accurate. We will take into consideration quite a few ones to compare MongoDB vs Firebase to get a better understanding of what the two are good at and what at not.

So, let us get started with a short synopsis of CouchDB vs MongoDB.

Synopsis

MongoDB was founded in 2009 by MongoDB Inc. It was originally released in 2007 by the name, 10gen by the original owners and creators, DoubleClick. It is a source-available cross-platform database service. It is a NoSQL document-oriented database that stores JSON-like documents with optional schemas. It has multiple drivers support for a variety of programming languages.

CouchDB is also a No-SQL database that is open-source and document-oriented and is written and implemented in Erlang. It is also known as Apache CouchDB and was founded by the Apache Software foundation back in 2005.

CouchDB also supports several programming languages support like JavaScript, C, C++, and more.

Now let us start with the factors for comparing CouchDB vs MongoDB.

Scalability/Performance

This aspect of the CouchDB vs MongoDB guide focuses on how well both databases perform.

MongoDB always has an edge over almost every database when it comes to scalability and performance as it can handle huge datasets. It has faster read speeds and can perform well in heavy-duty operations.

CouchDB comes with flexible replication systems and makes room for automatic failover systems. However, it is not as scalable when compared to MongoDB.

Winner: MongoDB

Replication

CouchDB offers a multi-master that is master-master and master-slave replication. In a multi-master replication protocol, any node can act as a master and accept read and/or write requests.

On the flip side, MongoDB only offers a master-slave replication and makes use of a replica set. A replica set in MongoDB refers to a group of mongod instances that contain the same datasets. It also offers automatic failover systems; however, one must undergo a long list of configuration steps.

Winner: CouchDB

Userbase/Popularity

MongoDB has gained a wider range of popularity among developers majorly because of its higher scalability. They’re also a large community that this database service backs and are brimmed with smart developers. MongoDB has maintained its 5^th position from last year among the top database engines.

CouchDB on the other hand has received a relatively lesser userbase mainly because of the minimal drivers or programming language support it offers. The database lost 5 positions down to number 40 on the list of the top database engines of 2021.

Winner: MongoDB

Drivers/Programming Language Support

MongoDB offers a huge list of drivers or programming languages support some of which are Nodejs (JavaScript), Python, Java, Scala, PHP, Ruby, C, C#, C++, Perl, and many more.

The database is written in C++.

CouchDB only supports Erlang, C, C++, and JavaScript. The database is written in Erlang.

Both databases acquire the document-oriented data model. However, data in CouchDB is presented in JSON, and data in MongoDB is presented in BSON.

Winner: MongoDB