What al­ter­na­tives to SQL are there?

Re­la­tion­al databases are still a great solution for struc­tured data, but when more flexible storage is needed, the NoSQL approach is usually a better fit. We’ll explain which SQL al­ter­na­tives might be par­tic­u­lar­ly well-suited for your needs.

What is SQL and what al­ter­na­tives are there?

For several decades, the re­la­tion­al approach was the standard for all databases. Data was, and in some cases, still is stored and managed in tables. Database man­age­ment systems such as MySQL and Post­greSQL rely on the common query language SQL (Struc­tured Query Language), which offer users numerous ad­van­tages. The SQL approach is user-friendly and clear and the databases are secure and scalable. Many SQL databases are also based on ACID prop­er­ties (Atomicity, Con­sis­ten­cy, Isolation, Dura­bil­i­ty), guar­an­tee­ing the reliable transfer of data. If you need to structure data in tabular form, the ad­van­tages of SQL make a strong case for the database.

Many large companies and platforms still partially rely on a re­la­tion­al solution. But when it comes to storing semi-struc­tured and un­struc­tured data, tables either aren’t ideal or simply aren’t possible. The in­creas­ing need for larger, het­ero­ge­neous data volumes has caused users to rethink their approach. NoSQL databases (Not only SQL) store data in the form of documents, making them often more flexible. However, you don’t have to com­plete­ly do away with your re­la­tion­al database. You can also combine it with a document-oriented solution. However, if you’re looking for an SQL al­ter­na­tive, and not just an add-on, a NoSQL database is rec­om­mend­ed.

MongoDB—Ideal for large amounts of data

The NoSQL approach has numerous ad­van­tages. A prime example of a great NoSQL database is MongoDB. This SQL al­ter­na­tive has been available since 2009 and owes its name to the word “huMONGOus”. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that MongoDB is primarily designed for large amounts of data. The database can be scaled hor­i­zon­tal­ly, which makes it ideal for in­creas­ing data volumes and is one of the reasons it’s popular among small and large companies alike. MongoDB stores data in binary JSON documents, which are then sum­ma­rized into col­lec­tions. The stored data can be struc­tured, semi-struc­tured or un­struc­tured, making MongoDB one of the most flexible solutions out there.

The ad­van­tages of MongoDB at a glance

• Limitless hor­i­zon­tal scal­a­bil­i­ty
• Almost all data types can be saved and managed
• High avail­abil­i­ty and re­li­a­bil­i­ty due to storage on multiple nodes
• User-friendly
• Repli­ca­tions possible
• Com­pat­i­ble with numerous other systems, languages and platforms
• Large and dedicated community and extensive doc­u­men­ta­tion
• Can be combined with SQL

MariaDB—The free and powerful NoSQL al­ter­na­tive

MariaDB isn’t strictly a tra­di­tion­al NoSQL database, but rather an open-source re­la­tion­al solution and a direct fork of MySQL. However, it offers many modern ex­ten­sions that make it suitable for various projects. It’s par­tic­u­lar­ly in­ter­est­ing for de­vel­op­ers who want to work with re­la­tion­al struc­tures while seeking more flex­i­bil­i­ty and in­de­pen­dence from large cor­po­ra­tions. MariaDB is already included by default in many dis­tri­b­u­tions and, thanks to a variety of storage engines, high per­for­mance, and scal­a­bil­i­ty, it’s also a great fit for complex ap­pli­ca­tions. Hybrid scenarios are also possible: MariaDB supports JSON functions and can partially work with document-oriented data—making it closer to modern NoSQL solutions.

The ad­van­tages of MariaDB at a glance

• Open-source and in­de­pen­dent from large cor­po­ra­tions
• Fully com­pat­i­ble with MySQL
• High per­for­mance and stability
• Supports complex queries and trans­ac­tions
• Flexible storage with various storage engines
• Advanced JSON functions
• Active community and regular updates
• Ideal for hybrid database ar­chi­tec­tures

Apache Cassandra—The column-oriented NoSQL database

Apache Cassandra follows a similar approach. However, this NoSQL database is column-oriented and uses CQL, a query language similar to SQL. This makes things a little easier for users tran­si­tion­ing from a re­la­tion­al method. Apache Cassandra scores points for its capacity to store large amounts of data. The open-source solution is hor­i­zon­tal­ly and ver­ti­cal­ly scalable and also stores data on multiple nodes as key-value pairs. Companies and platforms like Apple and Netflix use Apache Cassandra for their data streams. The system offers high speeds and is con­sid­ered to be fail-safe, which makes it a great al­ter­na­tive to SQL.

The ad­van­tages of Apache Cassandra at a glance

• Open source
• Hor­i­zon­tal­ly and ver­ti­cal­ly scalable
• CQL is similar to SQL
• Storage in columns
• Strong per­for­mance
• High re­li­a­bil­i­ty and avail­abil­i­ty of data
• Repli­ca­tions possible
• High fault tolerance
• Committed community

DynamoDB—The fully managed al­ter­na­tive to SQL

DynamoDB, on the other hand, works com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent­ly. The solution from the AWS ecosystem (Amazon Web Services) also follows the NoSQL approach but has a com­plete­ly different focus. Where other databases guarantee flex­i­bil­i­ty through different data types and a high level of com­pat­i­bil­i­ty, DynamoDB focuses on user-friend­li­ness. It also offers ex­ceed­ing­ly high levels of security. The system is embedded in the AWS ecosystem and cannot be separated from it. This server­less option comes fully managed. That means users don’t have to worry about security updates or upgrades but can im­me­di­ate­ly get working with the database instead. Payment is based on the user’s in­di­vid­ual re­quire­ments and the resources they use.

The ad­van­tages of DynamoDB at a glance

• Com­plete­ly managed
• Secure solution
• High avail­abil­i­ty
• Un­re­strict­ed scaling as required
• High read and write speed
• Embedding in the AWS ecosystem
• Always up to date

Firebase—The de­vel­op­ment platform from Google

Google’s SQL al­ter­na­tive, Firebase, has been extremely suc­cess­ful. Firebase is a complete de­vel­op­ment platform that consists of a total of 18 services (some of which are subject to a fee). This includes a database that is capable of real-time syn­chro­niza­tion, making it perfect for mobile and web ap­pli­ca­tions. Gaming apps, chat programs and social networks benefit par­tic­u­lar­ly well from this solution. Firebase stores data in JSON documents and is very secure. It offers close links to various Google services. This con­nec­tion to the Google ecosystem, however, limits migration options. Firebase is still worth con­sid­er­ing though if you are looking for a powerful database for de­vel­op­ment.

The ad­van­tages of Firebase at a glance

• Part of a complete de­vel­op­ment platform
• Ideal for mobile and web ap­pli­ca­tions
• Clever in­te­gra­tion of Google services
• High avail­abil­i­ty and re­li­a­bil­i­ty
• Real-time syn­chro­niza­tion
• Strong cloud con­nec­tion
• Good support

Redis—The best choice for fast response times

If you want to store and retrieve large, struc­tured amounts of data there are lots of good SQL solutions. However, if you have a project that requires par­tic­u­lar­ly high speeds, an in-memory database such as Redis might be a better option. Redis sorts data into key-value pairs and stores it directly in the main memory. This is what enables its response times of less than one mil­lisec­ond. Although this means large volumes of data use up a huge amount of storage space, the free solution offers out­stand­ing results for caches, real-time analyses, games and streaming. Redis isn’t just a good al­ter­na­tive to SQL, it can also be used in com­bi­na­tion with a re­la­tion­al database.

The ad­van­tages of Redis at a glance

• Open source
• High speed due to storage in the working memory
• Hor­i­zon­tal and vertical scaling
• Very user-friendly
• High com­pat­i­bil­i­ty with several pro­gram­ming languages
• Can be used with SQL solutions
• High avail­abil­i­ty