# NoSQL databases for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "NoSQL database" and as "document or key-value database service", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/it-data/nosql-databases/smb

**Standing:** MongoDB leads with 81% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 53 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [MongoDB](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/mongodb/index.md) | 81% | 12% | 89 |
| 2 | [Amazon DynamoDB](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/amazon-dynamodb/index.md) | 8% | 19% | 74 |
| 3 | [Google Cloud Firestore](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/google-cloud-firestore/index.md) | 8% | 5% | 43 |
| 4 | [PostgreSQL](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/postgresql/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 34 |
| 6 | [Redis](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/redis/index.md) | 0% | 22% | 54 |
| 8 | [Couchbase](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/couchbase/index.md) | 0% | 17% | 23 |
| 9 | [Apache CouchDB](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/apache-couchdb/index.md) | 0% | 15% | 13 |
| 11 | [Neo4j](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/neo4j/index.md) | 0% | 35% | 20 |
| 49 | [Azure Cosmos DB](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/azure-cosmos-db/index.md) | 0% | 47% | 19 |
| 52 | [ScyllaDB](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/scylladb/index.md) | 0% | 53% | 19 |
| 53 | [Apache HBase](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/apache-hbase/index.md) | 0% | 82% | 11 |
| 54 | [Apache Cassandra](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/apache-cassandra/index.md) | 0% | 65% | 46 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 54 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Google Cloud Firestore, MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB
- GPT-5.4 mini: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Google Cloud Firestore
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Google Firebase Firestore, Neon, PostgreSQL
- Perplexity Sonar: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Google Cloud Firestore, PostgreSQL
- Grok 4.20: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL, RavenDB
- Mistral Small: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB, Redis
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Apache CouchDB, Google Cloud Firestore
- Llama 4 Maverick: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB, Google Cloud Firestore
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Firebase, Google Cloud Firestore
- Kimi K2: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Google Cloud Firestore
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Couchbase
- MiniMax M2.5: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Apache Cassandra, RavenDB, ScyllaDB
- GPT-6 Luna: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Google Cloud Firestore, PostgreSQL
- Muse Glimmer 30B: MongoDB; alternatives Amazon DynamoDB, Google Cloud Firestore, Redis

## Sources the answers cite

65 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 13 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- aws.amazon.com: 28 answers, 29 citations
- gane.ai/index: 25 answers, 25 citations
- mongodb.com: 23 answers, 43 citations
- g2.com: 19 answers, 29 citations
- github.com: 19 answers, 25 citations
- aerospike.com: 19 answers, 21 citations
- couchbase.com: 14 answers, 30 citations
- docs.aws.amazon.com: 14 answers, 21 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://gane.ai/index/it/it-data/nosql-databases/smb (25 answers)
- https://github.com/quanpan302/KB-engineering-handbook/blob/main/content/hld/part-2-building-blocks/05-nosql-databases.md (15 answers)
- https://guideflow.com/blog/nosql-database-software (13 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.com/nosqul-databases (13 answers)
- https://aws.amazon.com/smart-business/resources-for-smb/sql-vs-nosql (12 answers)
- https://aws.amazon.com/nosql (10 answers)
- https://thectoclub.com/tools/best-nosql-database (10 answers)
- https://aerospike.com/blog/ten-best-nosql-cloud-databases (9 answers)
- https://aerospike.com/blog/the-best-distributed-nosql-database (9 answers)
- https://ones.com/blog/top-10-free-nosql-database-software-worth-trying-now (9 answers)

## Warned against

- Apache Cassandra: 30 of 46 labels negative. "Avoid Apache Cassandra, MongoDB (enterprise/managed), DynamoDB/Cosmos DB, and Redis Enterprise unless you have a specific, high-impact use case" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Amazon DynamoDB: 14 of 74 labels negative. "AI models specifically recommend avoiding as a "paid enterprise platform" for small businesses" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt)
- MongoDB: 11 of 89 labels negative. "Avoid Apache Cassandra, MongoDB (enterprise/managed), DynamoDB/Cosmos DB, and Redis Enterprise" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Azure Cosmos DB: 9 of 19 labels negative. "Cosmos is a multi-model service that inherits the same pricing model and lock-in issues as DynamoDB." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: MongoDB at 81%.

- MongoDB: 69% to 81%, +12. Cleared the floor by 1 point · rank 1 of 54, unchanged.
- Amazon DynamoDB: 11% to 8%, −3. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 2 of 54, unchanged.
- PostgreSQL: 5% to 2%, −3. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 4 of 54, unchanged.
- Google Cloud Firestore: 6% to 8%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 3 of 54, unchanged.
- Couchbase: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 → 8 of 54.
- Apache CouchDB: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 6 → 9 of 54.
- Azure Cosmos DB: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 7 → 49 of 54.
- Redis: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 10 → 6 of 54.
- Neo4j: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 45 → 11 of 54.
- ScyllaDB: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 58 → 52 of 54.
- Apache HBase: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 59 → 53 of 54.
- Apache Cassandra: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 60 → 54 of 54.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.