What is ScyllaDB used for?

ScyllaDB is a high-throughput C++ NoSQL database on the Seastar framework that speaks the Apache Cassandra and Amazon DynamoDB APIs. It is a good fit for replacing Cassandra with lower hardware cost, high-throughput real-time data stores and self-hosted DynamoDB-compatible workloads.

Is ScyllaDB open source?

Yes. ScyllaDB is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at scylladb/scylladb and is written mainly in C++.

Yes. ScyllaDB 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 ScyllaDB?

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

What is ScyllaDB an alternative to?

ScyllaDB is an open-source alternative to Amazon DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB, Amazon Keyspaces and Google Cloud Bigtable. Other open-source alternatives to Amazon DynamoDB include Apache Cassandra, MongoDB and RavenDB.

Is ScyllaDB actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to ScyllaDB was on 2 October 2026. The project has 16k stars on GitHub.

ScyllaDB: open-source alternative to Amazon DynamoDB

About ScyllaDB

ScyllaDB is a NoSQL database that implements the Apache Cassandra and Amazon DynamoDB APIs, so existing applications and drivers for those systems can talk to it. It is written in C++ on the Seastar framework and is aimed at real-time big data workloads that need high throughput and predictable latency.

The project describes a shared-nothing approach in which each CPU core manages its own slice of data, which it says increases throughput and storage capacity per machine and cuts hardware costs. Building the database is demanding: it needs a very recent C++23 compiler and many up-to-date libraries, so the project offers a frozen toolchain as a pre-configured Docker image that includes everything required. You then only need Docker or Podman to compile it.

The repository's license is listed as 'Other' on GitHub, so confirm the current terms before using it commercially. You can run ScyllaDB on your own servers or consume it as a managed cloud service from the company. It suits teams that have outgrown Cassandra's resource footprint or want a DynamoDB-compatible database they can run themselves.

Key features

Compatible with the Cassandra API
Compatible with the DynamoDB API
Shared-nothing architecture on Seastar
C++ implementation for high throughput
Frozen Docker toolchain for building
Self-hosted or managed cloud

Good fit for

→Replacing Cassandra with lower hardware cost
→High-throughput real-time data stores
→Self-hosted DynamoDB-compatible workloads

Built with: C++
Tags: nosql; database; cassandra-compatible; dynamodb; cpp; seastar; distributed; big-data

ScyllaDB: questions and answers

What is ScyllaDB used for?: ScyllaDB is a high-throughput C++ NoSQL database on the Seastar framework that speaks the Apache Cassandra and Amazon DynamoDB APIs. It is a good fit for replacing Cassandra with lower hardware cost, high-throughput real-time data stores and self-hosted DynamoDB-compatible workloads.
Is ScyllaDB open source?: Yes. ScyllaDB is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at scylladb/scylladb and is written mainly in C++.
Is ScyllaDB free?: Yes. ScyllaDB 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 ScyllaDB?: Yes. ScyllaDB can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is ScyllaDB an alternative to?: ScyllaDB is an open-source alternative to Amazon DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB, Amazon Keyspaces and Google Cloud Bigtable. Other open-source alternatives to Amazon DynamoDB include Apache Cassandra, MongoDB and RavenDB.
Is ScyllaDB actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to ScyllaDB was on 2 October 2026. The project has 16k stars on GitHub.