FeatureEventual ConsistencyStrong Consistency
LatencyLower latency, faster responsesHigher latency due to synchronization requirements
AvailabilityHigh availability, tolerant to partitionsPotentially lower availability during partitions
ConsistencyEventually consistent, may be temporarily staleImmediate and strong consistency, always up-to-date
Use CasesSocial media, DNS, cachingFinancial transactions, inventory systems
ExamplesCassandra, DynamoDB, CouchbaseMySQL, PostgreSQL (ACID), Google Spanner

Summary:

  • Eventual Consistency: Prioritizes availability and partition tolerance. Suitable for applications where temporary inconsistencies are acceptable.
  • Strong Consistency: Prioritizes immediate accuracy and correctness. Suitable for applications where data consistency is critical at all times.