Compare various solutions to deploy MongoDB in Kubernetes¶

There are multiple ways to deploy and manage MongoDB in Kubernetes. Here we will focus on comparing the following open source solutions:

Generic¶

Here is the review of generic features, such as supported MongoDB versions, open source models and more.

Feature/Product	Percona Operator for MongoDB	Bitnami Helm Chart	KubeDB for MongoDB	MongoDB Community Operator	MongoDB Enterprise Operator
Open source model	Apache 2.0	Apache 2.0	Open core	Open core	Open core
MongoDB versions	MongoDB 5.0, 6.0, 7.0 *	MongoDB 5.0	MongoDB 3.4, 3.6. 4.0, 4.1, 4.2	MongoDB 4.2, 4.4, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0	MongoDB 4.2, 4.4, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0
Kubernetes conformance	Various versions are tested	No guarantee	No guarantee	No guarantee	No guarantee
Cluster-wide mode	Yes	Not an operator	Enterprise only	Yes	Yes
Network exposure	Yes	Yes	No, only through manual config	No	Yes
Web-based GUI	Percona Everest		kubedb-ui		Ops Manager

* Percona Operator relies on Percona Server for MongoDB - a free, enhanced, fully compatible MongoDB software alternative for MongoDB Community Server with enterprise-grade features.

Maintenance¶

Upgrade and scaling are the two most common maintenance tasks that are executed by database administrators and developers.

Feature/Product	Percona Operator for MongoDB	Bitnami Helm Chart	KubeDB for MongoDB	MongoDB Community Operator	MongoDB Enterprise Operator
Operator upgrade	Yes	Helm upgrade	Image change	Yes	Yes
Database upgrade	Automated minor, manual major	No	Manual minor	Manual minor and major	Yes
Compute scaling	Horizontal and vertical	Horizontal and vertical	Enterprise only	Horizontal only	Yes
Storage scaling	Yes	Manual	Enterprise only	No	Yes

MongoDB topologies¶

The next comparison is focused on replica sets, arbiters, sharding and other node types.

Feature/Product	Percona Operator for MongoDB	Bitnami Helm Chart	KubeDB for MongoDB	MongoDB Community Operator	MongoDB Enterprise Operator
Multi-cluster deployment	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Sharding	Yes	Yes, another chart	Yes	No	Yes
Arbiter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Non-voting nodes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Hidden nodes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Network exposure	Yes	Yes	Manual	No	Yes
Split Horizon	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes

Backups¶

Here are the backup and restore capabilities of each solution.

Feature/Product	Percona Operator for MongoDB	Bitnami Helm Chart	KubeDB for MongoDB	MongoDB Community Operator	MongoDB Enterprise Operator
Scheduled backups	Yes	No	Enterprise only	No	Yes
Incremental backups	No	No	Enterprise only	No	No
Point-in-time recovery	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Logical backups	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Physical backups	Yes	No	No	No	Yes

Monitoring¶

Monitoring is crucial for any operations team.

Feature/Product	Percona Operator for MongoDB	Bitnami Helm Chart	KubeDB for MongoDB	MongoDB Community Operator	MongoDB Enterprise Operator
Custom exporters	Yes, through sidecars	mongodb-exporter as a sidecar	mongodb-exporter as a sidecar	Integrate with prometheus operator	Integrate with prometheus operator
Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM)	Yes	No	No	No	No

Miscellaneous¶

Finally, let’s compare various features that are not a good fit for other categories.

Feature/Product	Percona Operator for MongoDB	Bitnami Helm Chart	KubeDB for MongoDB	MongoDB Community Operator	MongoDB Enterprise Operator
Customize MongoDB configuration	Yes	Yes	Yes	No, only some params	No, only some params
Helm	Yes	Yes	Yes, for operator only	Yes, for operator only	Yes, for operator only
SSL/TLS	Yes	Yes	Enterprise only	Yes	Yes
Create users/roles	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

Last update: 2025-04-16