About IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant is a managed document database on IBM Cloud, built on Apache CouchDB technology. It stores schema-free JSON documents, which suits applications that are developed iteratively and whose data structures change over time.
Its API and replication protocols are compatible with CouchDB. The vendor lists serverless operation, with throughput capacity and storage that can be scaled independently, encryption of all data with optional key management through IBM Key Protect, integration with IBM Identity and Access Management, distribution across availability zones and regions, and added full-text search and geospatial indexing. Use cases include serverless web apps and APIs, mobile apps and IoT data analysis.
Cloudant is a hosted commercial service on IBM Cloud and cannot be self-hosted. IBM has offered credits for new users, and plans are described on its site.
Key features
- Schema-free JSON document storage
- CouchDB-compatible API and replication
- Serverless with independent scaling
- Encryption and IBM IAM integration
- Full-text search and geospatial indexing
Good fit for
- →Mobile app backends
- →Serverless web apps and APIs
- →IoT data storage
- Tags
- document-database
- couchdb
- json
- ibm-cloud
- nosql
- serverless
- managed-database
IBM Cloudant: questions and answers
- What is IBM Cloudant used for?
- IBM Cloudant is a managed JSON document database on IBM Cloud, built on Apache CouchDB technology, for apps with flexible, changing data structures. It is a good fit for mobile app backends, serverless web apps and APIs, and IoT data storage.
- How much does IBM Cloudant cost?
- IBM Cloudant is a paid product with no free plan.
- Is IBM Cloudant open source?
- No. IBM Cloudant is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to IBM Cloudant include Apache CouchDB, MongoDB and RavenDB.
- What are some alternatives to IBM Cloudant?
- IBM Cloudant competes with MongoDB Atlas, Couchbase Capella and Azure Cosmos DB. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source IBM Cloudant alternatives.
Open-source alternatives to IBM Cloudant
See all
Apache CouchDB
Databases
Seamless multi-primary syncing database with an intuitive HTTP/JSON API, designed for reli
Apache-2.0vs Amazon DynamoDB★ 7k
MongoDB
Databases
The MongoDB Database
OSSvs Amazon DynamoDB★ 29k
RavenDB
Databases
ACID Document Database
OSSvs MongoDB Atlas★ 4k
ArangoDB
Databases
🥑 ArangoDB is a native multi-model database with flexible data models for documents, grap
OSSvs Azure Cosmos DB★ 14k
OrientDB
Databases
OrientDB is the most versatile DBMS supporting Graph, Document, Reactive, Full-Text and Ge
Apache-2.0vs Amazon Neptune★ 5k
FerretDB
Databases
A truly Open Source MongoDB alternative
Apache-2.0vs MongoDB Atlas★ 11k
SaaS alternatives to IBM Cloudant
See all
MongoDB Atlas
Databases
Managed MongoDB service across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
SaaS
Couchbase Capella
Databases
Managed document database service from Couchbase with SQL++ queries
SaaS
Azure Cosmos DB
Databases
Microsoft globally distributed multi-model NoSQL database
SaaS
Amazon DynamoDB
Databases
Serverless key-value and document database from AWS
SaaS
Google Cloud Firestore
Databases
Serverless NoSQL document database with real-time sync for web and mobile apps
SaaS
Amazon DocumentDB
Databases
Managed document database on AWS with a MongoDB-compatible API
SaaS

