Best Document Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: Firestore is ranked #1 of 22 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of LiteDB and Couchbase Lite. The best-ranked option with a free plan is LiteDB. The lowest first paid tier on this page is SurrealDB at $0.19/mo.
Document databases store information in document form, with differences in supported formats, deployment, and data capabilities. Compare document formats and maximum document size alongside deployment model and managed cloud availability. Transaction support and vector search may matter for your application, while free-plan availability and paid-from pricing help clarify the options. The ranking begins with Firestore, LiteDB, and Couchbase Lite, followed by JasDB and MarkLogic. Consider the documents your application needs to store and query, then weigh the listed size, search, transaction, and operating-model details against those needs.
22 document databases ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Recognised 40% · Phone app 26% · Documented 20% · Free plan 14% of the score
- 1 Firestore iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.9Free Deployment model: cloudManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON
- 2 LiteDB iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.7Free Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: BSON, extended JSON
- 3 Couchbase Lite iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.0 Deployment model: cloudManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON, Binary, CSV, TSV, JSONL
- 4 JasDB Android only RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.5Free Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: JSON
- 5 MarkLogic No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4Free Deployment model: bothManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON, XML, binary, text
- 6 Oracle Autonomous AI Lakehouse No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4Free Deployment model: cloudManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON, OSON
- 7 RavenDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4Free Deployment model: bothManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON; binary attachments
- 8 SurrealDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3$0.19/mo Deployment model: bothManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON, JSON Lines, CSV
- 9 Apache CouchDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2Free Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: JSON documents; binary attachments
- 10 Amazon DocumentDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6 Deployment model: cloudManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON, BSON
- 11 MongoDB Ops Manager No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Deployment model: cloudManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: BSON, JSON
- 12 JayDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Deployment model: bothManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON, MsgPack, Raw
- 13 eXist-db No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: XML, binary
- 14 Percona Server for MongoDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3Free Deployment model: bothDocument formats: BSON
- 15 restdb.io No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Deployment model: cloudManaged cloud: YesDocument formats: JSON
- 16 Apache AsterixDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: ADM, JSON, delimited-text, binary
- 17 BaseX No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: XML, HTML, JSON, CSV
- 18 DocumentDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: bothDocument formats: BSON, JSON
- 19 PouchDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: JSON, base64, Blob
- 20 RethinkDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: bothDocument formats: JSON, CSV
- 21 TinyDB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: self_hostedManaged cloud: NoDocument formats: JSON, Pickle, YAML
- 22 UnQLite No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: self_hostedDocument formats: JSON objects, arrays, and strings
Is your app 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 Samsung Mobile US Press?
Firestore is ranked #1 of 22 with a score of 7.9. LiteDB is second and Couchbase Lite third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 of the 22 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, SurrealDB has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.19/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.