This is generally described as SQL vs NoSQL.
| Property | Structured DBs | Unstructured DBs |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Helps with complex queries, but is hard to modify to fit new data | Helps with semi-structured data, and is easy to modify |
| Scaling | Designed with vertical scaling in mind (adding RAM, Storage, CPUs) | Designed with horizontal scaling (sharding) in mind (adding more machines side by side) |
| Cost | Requires a lot of performance | Can adapt to any machine system, easy-going |
| Security | They are not designed to be as secure as unstructured databases | Since they are designed to be sharded, they were designed with security and self-healing in mind |
| Flexibility |