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Apache CouchDB vs SurrealDB: catalog facts
Apache CouchDB	SurrealDB
Free Free and open source Apache project.	Freemium The database can be run yourself; a fully managed cloud service is also offered.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted	Windows, Self-hosted, Command line
Multi-primary replication between many nodes and devices Plain HTTP/JSON API	Documents, graphs, vectors and relational data in one engine One query language for SQL, graph and vector search
Document model is not a fit for relational workloads Running a cluster takes server administration	Business Source License rather than an OSI open-source license SurrealQL is its own language to learn
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app, Self-hosted, Hosted service
Open source	Closed source
License: Apache-2.0	License: BUSL-1.1
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.