Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

MongoDB VS Apache Arrow

Compare MongoDB VS Apache Arrow and see what are their differences

MongoDB logo MongoDB

MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.

Apache Arrow logo Apache Arrow

Apache Arrow is a cross-language development platform for in-memory data.
  • MongoDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-21
  • Apache Arrow Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-03

MongoDB features and specs

  • Scalability
    MongoDB offers horizontal scaling through sharding, allowing it to handle large volumes of data and enabling distributed computing.
  • Flexible Schema
    It allows for a flexible schema design using BSON (Binary JSON), making it easier to iterate and change application data models.
  • High Performance
    MongoDB is optimized for read and write throughput, making it suitable for real-time applications.
  • Rich Query Language
    Supports a rich and expressive query language that allows for efficient querying and analytics.
  • Built-in Replication
    Provides robust replication mechanisms for high availability and redundancy.
  • Geospatial Indexing
    Offers powerful geospatial indexing capabilities, useful for location-based applications.
  • Aggregation Framework
    Enables complex data manipulations and transformations using the aggregation pipeline framework.
  • Cross-Platform
    Works on multiple operating systems, enhancing its versatility and deployment options.

Possible disadvantages of MongoDB

  • Memory Usage
    MongoDB can consume a large amount of memory due to its use of memory-mapped files, which may be a concern for some applications.
  • Complex Transactions
    While MongoDB supports ACID transactions, they can be more complex to implement and less efficient compared to traditional relational databases.
  • Data Redundancy
    The flexible schema design can lead to data redundancy and increased storage costs if not managed carefully.
  • Limited Joins
    Joins are supported but can be less efficient and more limited compared to relational databases, affecting complex relational data querying.
  • Indexing Overhead
    Extensive indexing can introduce overhead and impact performance, especially during write operations.
  • Learning Curve
    Requires a different mindset and understanding compared to traditional relational databases, which can present a learning curve for new users.
  • Lacks Mature Analytical Tools
    The ecosystem for analytical tools around MongoDB is not as mature as those for traditional relational databases, which might limit advanced analytics capabilities.
  • Cost
    The cost of using MongoDB's cloud services (MongoDB Atlas) can be high, especially for large-scale deployments.

Apache Arrow features and specs

  • In-Memory Columnar Format
    Apache Arrow stores data in a columnar format in memory which allows for efficient data processing and analytics by enabling operations on entire columns at a time.
  • Language Agnostic
    Arrow provides libraries in multiple languages such as C++, Java, Python, R, and more, facilitating cross-language development and enabling data interchange between ecosystems.
  • Interoperability
    Arrow's ability to act as a data transfer protocol allows easy interoperability between different systems or applications without the need for serialization or deserialization.
  • Performance
    Designed for high performance, Arrow can handle large data volumes efficiently due to its zero-copy reads and SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) operations.
  • Ecosystem Integration
    Arrow integrates well with various data processing systems like Apache Spark, Pandas, and more, making it a versatile choice for data applications.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Arrow

  • Complexity
    The use of Apache Arrow can introduce additional complexity, especially for smaller projects or those which do not require high-performance data interchange.
  • Learning Curve
    Getting accustomed to Apache Arrow can take time due to its unique in-memory format and APIs, especially for developers who are new to columnar data processing.
  • Memory Usage
    While Arrow excels in speed and performance, the memory consumption can be higher compared to row-based storage formats, potentially becoming a bottleneck.
  • Maturity
    Although rapidly evolving, some Arrow components or language implementations may not be as mature or feature-complete, potentially leading to limitations in certain use cases.
  • Integration Challenges
    While Arrow aims for broad compatibility, integrating it into existing systems may require substantial effort, affecting development timelines.

MongoDB videos

MySQL vs MongoDB

More videos:

  • Review - The Good and Bad of MongoDB
  • Review - what is mongoDB

Apache Arrow videos

Wes McKinney - Apache Arrow: Leveling Up the Data Science Stack

More videos:

  • Review - "Apache Arrow and the Future of Data Frames" with Wes McKinney
  • Review - Apache Arrow Flight: Accelerating Columnar Dataset Transport (Wes McKinney, Ursa Labs)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MongoDB and Apache Arrow)
Databases
90 90%
10% 10
NoSQL Databases
93 93%
7% 7
Relational Databases
91 91%
9% 9
Graph Databases
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MongoDB and Apache Arrow

MongoDB Reviews

10 Top Firebase Alternatives to Ignite Your Development in 2024
MongoDB’s superpower lies in its flexibility. Its document-based model lets you store data in a free-form, schema-less way, making it adaptable to evolving application needs. Need to add a new field or change the structure of your data? No problem, MongoDB handles it with ease.
Source: genezio.com
Top 7 Firebase Alternatives for App Development in 2024
MongoDB Realm provides a robust alternative to Firebase, especially for apps requiring a flexible data model. Key features include:
Source: signoz.io
Announcing FerretDB 1.0 GA - a truly Open Source MongoDB alternative
MongoDB is no longer open source. We want to bring MongoDB database workloads back to its open source roots. We are enabling PostgreSQL and other database backends to run MongoDB workloads, retaining the opportunities provided by the existing ecosystem around MongoDB.
16 Top Big Data Analytics Tools You Should Know About
The database added a new feature to its list of attributes called MongoDB Atlas. It is a global cloud database technology that allows to deploy a fully managed MongoDB across AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure with its built-in automation for resource, workload optimization and to reduce the time required to handle the database.
9 Best MongoDB alternatives in 2019
MongoDB is an open source NoSQL DBMS which uses a document-oriented database model. It supports various forms of data. However, in MongoDB data consumption is high due to de-normalization.
Source: www.guru99.com

Apache Arrow Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache Arrow yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Arrow should be more popular than MongoDB. It has been mentiond 38 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

MongoDB mentions (18)

  • Creating AI Memories using Rig & MongoDB
    In this article, we’ll build a CLI tool using the Rig AI framework and MongoDB for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). This tool will store summarized conversations in a database and retrieve them when needed, enabling the AI to maintain context over time. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • The Adventures of Blink S2e2: Database, Contained
    Have a Mongo database holding the various phrases we're going to use and potentially configuration data for the frontend as well. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Introducing Perseid: The Product-oriented JS framework
    It's also worth mentioning that Perseid provides out-of-the-box support for React, VueJS, Svelte, MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Express and Fastify. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • DocumentDB Elastic Cluster Pricing
    Does anyone know if the most basic Elastic Cluster instance of DocumentDB carries any monthly fixed cost or is it just on-demand cost? Another words if I run like 10,000 queries against the DB per month, what kind of bill would I expect? This is for a super small app. I am currently using mongodb free tier , but want to migrate everything to AWS. Can't seem to find a straight answer to the pricing question. Source: over 2 years ago
  • I wrote some scripts for converting the UTZOO Usenet archive to a Mongo Database
    You can use either MongoDB.com's dashboard (if you host a remote database) or Mongo Compass to run queries on the data or you can modify the express middleware with your own queries. I'm still working on the API, so it's not very robust yet. I will update this when it is. Source: over 2 years ago
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Apache Arrow mentions (38)

  • Unlocking DuckDB from Anywhere - A Guide to Remote Access with Apache Arrow and Flight RPC (gRPC)
    Apache Arrow : It contains a set of technologies that enable big data systems to process and move data fast. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Using Polars in Rust for high-performance data analysis
    One of the main selling points of Polars over similar solutions such as Pandas is performance. Polars is written in highly optimized Rust and uses the Apache Arrow container format. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Kotlin DataFrame ❤️ Arrow
    Kotlin DataFrame v0.14 comes with improvements for reading Apache Arrow format, especially loading a DataFrame from any ArrowReader. This improvement can be used to easily load results from analytical databases (such as DuckDB, ClickHouse) directly into Kotlin DataFrame. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Shades of Open Source - Understanding The Many Meanings of "Open"
    It's this kind of certainty that underscores the vital role of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). Many first encounter Apache through its pioneering project, the open-source web server framework that remains ubiquitous in web operations today. The ASF was initially created to hold the intellectual property and assets of the Apache project, and it has since evolved into a cornerstone for open-source projects... - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Arrow Flight SQL in Apache Doris for 10X faster data transfer
    Apache Doris 2.1 has a data transmission channel built on Arrow Flight SQL. (Apache Arrow is a software development platform designed for high data movement efficiency across systems and languages, and the Arrow format aims for high-performance, lossless data exchange.) It allows high-speed, large-scale data reading from Doris via SQL in various mainstream programming languages. For target clients that also... - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing MongoDB and Apache Arrow, you can also consider the following products

Redis - Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

Apache Parquet - Apache Parquet is a columnar storage format available to any project in the Hadoop ecosystem.

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Apache Ignite - high-performance, integrated and distributed in-memory platform for computing and transacting on...

ArangoDB - A distributed open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values.