Azure Cosmos DB

Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed NoSQL and vector database from Microsoft that runs on Azure. It supports document, key-value, graph and table models, with multi-region writes, autoscale and serverless throughput options. Its documentation separates it from Azure DocumentDB (vCore), a MongoDB-compatible service, so buyers who want MongoDB compatibility should compare the two products carefully.

Cosmos DB is a proprietary managed service. It is delivered on Azure, and a local emulator is available for development. There is no self-managed production edition, which means the choice commits an application to the Azure platform. The service is not versioned in the way that downloadable software is, so there is no latest release to track.

Pricing is published by Microsoft and is based on throughput measured in request units per second. A lifetime free tier provides 1,000 RU/s and 25 GB of storage. In addition, an Azure free account gives 400 RU/s with 25 GB for 12 months. Charges beyond those allowances depend on whether provisioned, autoscale or serverless throughput is chosen, and the rates are on the Microsoft pricing page.

Because one service covers several data models, teams can keep document and graph data together, although they should check that the particular API and feature they need is supported by the model they choose.