Distributed SQL in 2026 — CockroachDB, Spanner, Yugabyte, and When You Actually Need One

A practical 2026 guide to distributed SQL. The architecture behind CockroachDB / Spanner / Yugabyte / TiDB, when distributed SQL earns its cost, when Postgres + read replicas is enough, and the migration realities.

April 30, 2026 · 6 min · 1147 words · Manvendra Rajpoot