Kimberlite

Kimberlite
vs CockroachDB

Distributed scale vs. compliance depth.

Feature Comparison Architecture

CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database built for global scale and high availability. Kimberlite is a compliance-first database built for regulated industries. CockroachDB optimizes for horizontal scalability; Kimberlite optimizes for auditability and formal verification.

When to Use Each

CockroachDB

Geo-distributed applications, PostgreSQL compatibility at global scale, high availability

Global distribution — Multi-region with automatic conflict resolution
PostgreSQL compatibility — Drop-in replacement with existing tools and ORMs
Horizontal scaling — Add nodes to scale reads and writes linearly

Kimberlite

Regulated industries requiring immutable audit trails, formal compliance proofs, and cryptographic data integrity

Immutable audit trails — Hash-chained records that cannot be altered or deleted
Formal compliance proofs — 92 TLAPS proofs across 23 regulatory frameworks
True open source — Apache 2.0 with all features, including compliance

Feature Comparison

A side-by-side comparison of capabilities relevant to regulated data workloads.

Feature CockroachDB Kimberlite
Primary goal Global scale and high availability Compliance and auditability
Data model Mutable rows (PostgreSQL-compatible) Immutable append-only log
Compliance frameworks Manual configuration 23 frameworks formally verified (92 proofs)
Formal verification None 136+ proofs across 7 verification tools
Geo-distribution Multi-region with locality-aware routing Single-region (multi-region planned)
Wire protocol PostgreSQL wire protocol Custom protocol optimized for audit workloads
License Business Source License (BSL) Apache 2.0
Data integrity Raft consensus + checksums VSR consensus + dual hash chains + CRC32
Access control PostgreSQL RBAC RBAC + ABAC + field masking + consent management
Simulation testing Standard test suites VOPR deterministic simulation (46 scenarios)

Architecture

How each database approaches data storage and integrity.

CockroachDB: Distributed SQL

CockroachDB distributes data across nodes using Raft consensus. It prioritizes horizontal scalability and PostgreSQL compatibility. Compliance requires external tooling and manual configuration.

Kimberlite: Compliance-First

Kimberlite stores data in an immutable, hash-chained log with VSR consensus. Compliance is structural: 23 regulatory frameworks are formally verified with 92 mathematical proofs.

Other Comparisons

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Install Documentation