# RethinkDB

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/rethinkdb/

5 people recommended RethinkDB in Hacker News comments and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend RethinkDB as a document store that didn't lose data. Its company shut down, so critics warn that the engine is no longer officially maintained.

Summary written by Claude from 7 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Seen as superior, data-safe document store (2 comments in the sample): "RethinkDB was a great document store that didn't eat your data." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46212812)) "RethinkDB, a superior product was shut down" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46639727))
- Fans wish it had succeeded (2 comments in the sample): "I wish that RethinkDB had seen more attention and success" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47781687)) "falling in love with a dead database (RIP RethinkDB" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48453673))

## What people warn about

- Stranded without active maintenance (2 comments in the sample): "now defunct RethinkDB mean if the primary company went under you're stuck with a dead DB engine" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46128375)) "projects I thought would really become essential to my work but slowly faded away" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50115175))

## What people recommend instead

- [MongoDB](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mongodb/): 23 recommend, 24 mixed, 126 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "RethinkDB", https://hackerapproved.com/p/rethinkdb/ (5 recommend, 0 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.