What is RavenDB used for?

RavenDB is a fully ACID NoSQL document database for .NET and other platforms, with built-in full-text, vector and time series features. It is a good fit for document storage for .NET applications, and combining search and transactions in one database.

Is RavenDB open source?

Yes. RavenDB is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at ravendb/ravendb and is written mainly in C#.

Yes. RavenDB is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host RavenDB?

Yes. RavenDB can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is RavenDB an alternative to?

RavenDB is an open-source alternative to MongoDB Atlas, Azure Cosmos DB, Amazon DynamoDB and Couchbase Capella. Other open-source alternatives to MongoDB Atlas include MongoDB, Apache CouchDB and SurrealDB.

Is RavenDB actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to RavenDB was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 7.2.6, published on 1 September 2026. The project has 4k stars on GitHub.

RavenDB: open-source alternative to MongoDB Atlas

About RavenDB

RavenDB is a NoSQL document database that is fully ACID and secure by default. Its makers, frustrated with the state of the database industry, aim to combine strong performance with ease of use so developers can concentrate on their application instead of managing data infrastructure. It is built on .NET.

Repository topics list full-text search, indexing, sharding, spatial queries, time series, vector search and IoT use, and the README links to documentation, articles, a book and a try-from-your-browser option. It describes itself as completely open source under AGPLv3 and mentions a free developer license, while GitHub reports the license as 'Other', so confirm the terms for production use.

RavenDB can be run on your own servers or consumed as a managed cloud service from the vendor, which also sells commercial licenses. It suits .NET teams that want a document store with transactions, indexing and search built in.

Key features

Fully ACID document database
Secure by default
Full-text and vector search
Time series and spatial support
Sharding for scale
Free developer license

Good fit for

→Document storage for .NET applications
→Combining search and transactions in one database

Built with: C#; .NET
Tags: nosql; document-database; acid; dotnet; full-text-search; vector-search; time-series; database

RavenDB: questions and answers

What is RavenDB used for?: RavenDB is a fully ACID NoSQL document database for .NET and other platforms, with built-in full-text, vector and time series features. It is a good fit for document storage for .NET applications, and combining search and transactions in one database.
Is RavenDB open source?: Yes. RavenDB is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at ravendb/ravendb and is written mainly in C#.
Is RavenDB free?: Yes. RavenDB is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host RavenDB?: Yes. RavenDB can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is RavenDB an alternative to?: RavenDB is an open-source alternative to MongoDB Atlas, Azure Cosmos DB, Amazon DynamoDB and Couchbase Capella. Other open-source alternatives to MongoDB Atlas include MongoDB, Apache CouchDB and SurrealDB.
Is RavenDB actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to RavenDB was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 7.2.6, published on 1 September 2026. The project has 4k stars on GitHub.