Online restore may be performed between databases with different topologies while applying a custom data distribution. A request to restore a database into a different topology of nodes may be received. A plan to move different portions of the database from a current topology to the new topology made using a general distribution scheme. The plan may be performed to move the different portions of the database into the new topology and the database made available for access using the new topology. A background process may be applied to modify the distribution of the database at the new topology to match a custom distribution scheme that was implemented at the current topology.