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CockroachDB vs Powersync

CockroachDB scores higher on the AgentReady, 51/100 against 50/100. They differ on 7 of the 41 signals. Which ones decides whether an agent can adopt them without a person watching.

What each one is

CockroachDB. CockroachDB is a cloud-agnostic, PostgreSQL compatible database built for modern applications delivering unmatched uptime, scale and compliance anywhere in the world.

Powersync. PowerSync is a sync engine that consists of two components: a service that enables high-scalability partial data syncing and a set of client SDKs that manage client-side persistence, consistency, reactivity and syncing write operations back.

Where CockroachDB is ahead

CockroachDB passes mcp discoverable, and Powersync does not. That is discover, whether an agent can find the product at all without being told it exists.

It also holds adopt: fast time to first request, copyable quickstart and mcp integration available. Powersync misses those.

Where Powersync is ahead

Powersync passes search discoverable, and CockroachDB does not. That is discover, whether an agent can find the product at all without being told it exists.

It also holds adopt: agent-compatible signup flow. CockroachDB misses it.

And on operate, observable execution. CockroachDB misses it.

What neither does

Both fail structured api reference, openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, limits / constraints documented, programmatic credential creation, official python sdk, structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable, agent compatibility verified. If your agent needs any of those, you will be building it yourself either way.

Score, pillar by pillar

The AgentReady splits into four pillars, scored separately, because a product can be easy to find and still impossible to adopt.

Discover. Both sit at 87/100 here. CockroachDB misses search discoverable; Powersync misses mcp discoverable.

Understand. Both sit at 23/100 here. CockroachDB misses structured api reference, openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, limits / constraints documented; Powersync misses structured api reference, openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, limits / constraints documented.

Adopt is whether an agent can get a key and make its first successful call without a human in the loop. CockroachDB leads 71 to 55. CockroachDB misses agent-compatible signup flow, programmatic credential creation, official python sdk; Powersync misses programmatic credential creation, fast time to first request, copyable quickstart, official python sdk, mcp integration available.

Operate. Powersync leads 35 to 24. CockroachDB misses structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable, observable execution, agent compatibility verified; Powersync misses structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable, agent compatibility verified.

Pricing

CockroachDB does not publish a machine-readable starting price and has a free tier. Powersync starts at $0/month and has a free tier.

Signal by signal

Which to pick

CockroachDB clears more of the signals an agent needs, so it is the safer default for unattended use. Full profiles: CockroachDB and Powersync. Alternatives to each: CockroachDB, Powersync.

An agent can fetch this as data: POST /v1/compare {"slugs": ["cockroachlabs", "powersync"]}