Database Compass
Compare 12 database models across 8 dimensions.
An opinionated guide by a cloud-native architect.
Complexity Spectrum
Database Models
Score Breakdown
Click any column header to sort
| 1 | Document Database Database Compass profile | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 61 |
| 2 | Key-Value Store Database Compass profile | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 59 |
| 3 | Relational (SQL) Database Database Compass profile | 5 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 55 |
| 4 | Search Engine Database Compass profile | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 53 |
| 5 | In-Memory Database Database Compass profile | 7 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 52 |
| 6 | Time-Series Database Database Compass profile | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 50 |
| 7 | Wide-Column Store Database Compass profile | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 50 |
| 8 | NewSQL Database Database Compass profile | 8 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 50 |
| 9 | Graph Database Database Compass profile | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 47 |
| 10 | Multi-Model Database Database Compass profile | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 45 |
| 11 | Vector Database Database Compass profile | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 40 |
| 12 | Object-Oriented Database Database Compass profile | 2 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 36 |
Scoring Dimensions
Each database model is scored from 1 to 10 across 8 dimensions. Higher is better.
Ability to handle growing data and traffic; 1 = single-node only, 10 = near-linear horizontal scale across clusters.
Raw speed for typical operations; 1 = high-latency even for simple reads, 10 = sub-millisecond reads and writes at scale.
Data durability and consistency guarantees; 1 = risk of data loss or corruption, 10 = ACID-grade durability with proven replication.
Ease of deployment, monitoring, and maintenance; 1 = requires dedicated DBA team, 10 = fully managed or trivial to self-host.
Expressiveness of query capabilities; 1 = key lookup only, 10 = full SQL with joins, aggregations, and window functions.
Ability to evolve data structures over time; 1 = rigid predefined schema, 10 = fully schemaless with dynamic fields.
Tooling, community, and production track record; 1 = niche or experimental, 10 = decades of battle-tested usage with rich tooling.
Ease of getting started and becoming productive; 1 = steep learning cliff, 10 = intuitive API with excellent documentation.
Database Compass top 5 by total score: 1. Document Database (61/80), 2. Key-Value Store (59/80), 3. Relational (SQL) Database (55/80), 4. Search Engine (53/80), 5. In-Memory Database (52/80). Scored across Scalability, Performance, Reliability, Operational Simplicity, Query Flexibility, Schema Flexibility, Ecosystem Maturity, and Learning Curve.