Couchbase Lite vs Realm

Couchbase Lite9.4Visit Realm8.3Visit

Higher score Couchbase Lite #1 in Mobile Databases 9.4/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 1 features Visit Couchbase

vs

Realm #8 in Mobile Databases 8.3/10 Open source ✓ 0 of 1 features Explore Realm

• Couchbase Lite fits best

  Broad cross-platform offline NoSQL apps

• Realm fits best

  Legacy object-oriented mobile apps with cloud sync

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Side by side

Feature	Couchbase Lite 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Realm 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.3
Ranking	#1 in Mobile Databases	#8 in Mobile Databases
Best for	Broad cross-platform offline NoSQL apps	Legacy object-oriented mobile apps with cloud sync
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	—	Open source
Free plan	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted, Mobile, Browser extension	Self-hosted, Mobile, Desktop
Platforms	Web, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android	iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs, Tickets	Community, Docs
Integrations	3 integrations	1 integrations
Features Couchbase Lite 0/1 · Realm 0/1
Offline mode	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Data synchronization	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Mobile platforms	Not checked yet	iOS, Android, Xamarin
Conflict resolution	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
SDK languages	Not checked yet	Java, Objective-C, JavaScript, Swift, Xamarin
Monthly sync limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Offline local reads and writes with cloud-to-edge synchronization SQL++ queries, full-text search, and on-device vector search SDK coverage across web, desktop, iOS, and Android	Local persistence with reactive, object-oriented data access Device-to-cloud synchronization with MongoDB Atlas integration SDK coverage across iOS, Android, Xamarin and multiple languages
Cons	Pricing is quote-based for Couchbase Mobile Several advanced capabilities require Enterprise Edition Self-hosted deployment does not include managed cloud service	Atlas Device Sync and Atlas Device SDKs reached end-of-life Not suitable for new projects requiring ongoing platform support Realm branding and documentation now point to legacy technology
Our verdict	Couchbase Lite is an embedded NoSQL JSON document database for mobile, desktop, IoT, and browser-based applications. It stores data locally for offline access and supports SQL++ and QueryBuilder queries, indexing, full-text search, and… Read the review →	Realm was an open-source mobile database and synchronization technology for reactive applications. It provided local mobile data persistence, object-oriented database access, reactive application data access, and device-to-cloud… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Couchbase Lite — where it wins

  • Offline local reads and writes with cloud-to-edge synchronization
  • SQL++ queries, full-text search, and on-device vector search
  • SDK coverage across web, desktop, iOS, and Android

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is quote-based for Couchbase Mobile
  • Several advanced capabilities require Enterprise Edition
  • Self-hosted deployment does not include managed cloud service

• Realm — where it wins

  • Local persistence with reactive, object-oriented data access
  • Device-to-cloud synchronization with MongoDB Atlas integration
  • SDK coverage across iOS, Android, Xamarin and multiple languages

  Where it doesn't

  • Atlas Device Sync and Atlas Device SDKs reached end-of-life
  • Not suitable for new projects requiring ongoing platform support
  • Realm branding and documentation now point to legacy technology

• Couchbase Lite9.4/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad offline NoSQL option with local storage, synchronization, search, and cross-platform SDKs.

  Visit CouchbaseFull verdict →
• Realm8.3/10 · Open source

  A capable object-oriented mobile database now discontinued after Atlas Device SDK end-of-life.

  Explore RealmFull verdict →