Best Document Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: MarkLogic is ranked #1 of 24 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Firestore and Oracle Autonomous AI Lakehouse. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Firestore. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Couchbase Capella at $0.15/mo.
When choosing a document database, start with the data your application stores and how it needs to be accessed. MarkLogic, Firestore and Oracle Autonomous AI Lakehouse are among the named options to compare. The entries are assessed on document formats, deployment model, managed cloud and maximum document size, as well as transactions and vector search. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing provide additional plan details. Weigh those listed capabilities against the documents, search needs and deployment arrangements that fit your application; the comparison can help clarify which requirements each option addresses.
24 document databases ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Document Databases, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 12 of the 24 on this page can be tried for free.
- 1 MarkLogicFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 2 FirestoreFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 3 Oracle Autonomous AI LakehouseFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 4 RavenDBFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 5 JasDBFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 6 LiteDBFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 7 Apache CouchDBFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 8 Percona Server for MongoDBFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 9 SurrealDBPaid from $0.19/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 10 Couchbase CapellaPaid from $0.15/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 11 Amazon DocumentDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 12 MongoDB Ops Manager
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 13 Couchbase Lite
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 14 eXist-db
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 15 BaseX
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 16 Couchbase Server
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 17 JayDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 18 RethinkDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 19 Apache AsterixDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 20 restdb.io
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 21 UnQLite
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 22 DocumentDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 23 PouchDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 24 TinyDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which document database is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
MarkLogic is ranked #1 of 24 with a score of 7.9. Firestore is second and Oracle Autonomous AI Lakehouse third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 24 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Couchbase Capella has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.15/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.