whichdb
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Amazon RDS vs Azure SQL Database

Amazon RDS: AWS's managed service for six relational engines: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server and Db2. Azure SQL Database: Microsoft's always-current managed SQL Server engine, from free serverless databases to 128 TB Hyperscale.

key differences

  • Azure SQL Database is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Amazon RDS (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is none in Amazon RDS and manual in Azure SQL Database.
  • Only Azure SQL Database has columnar storage, in-memory, compression, time travel, online schema changes.
  • Azure SQL Database has a serverless option; Amazon RDS does not.

choose amazon-rds for

  • +Lift-and-shift of existing PostgreSQL, MySQL or Oracle apps to AWS
  • +Standard web and line-of-business application backends
  • +Licensed commercial databases without managing servers
  • +Cost-sensitive workloads where Aurora is overkill

best at · OLTP, Content, Metadata

choose azure-sql-database for

  • +Lift-and-modernize of SQL Server applications
  • +.NET SaaS backends with elastic pools per tenant
  • +Large OLTP databases on Hyperscale
  • +Intermittent dev/test workloads on serverless auto-pause

best at · OLTP, HTAP, Content

Amazon RDSAWS's managed service for six relational engines: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server and Db2.
Azure SQL DatabaseMicrosoft's always-current managed SQL Server engine, from free serverless databases to 128 TB Hyperscale.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Document, Spatial, Graph, Vector, Ledger
Type
Managed service
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Microsoft
First release
2009
2010
Latest version
–
–
License
ProprietaryProprietary (AWS service; engine licenses vary)
ProprietaryProprietary (Azure service)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
27.1
33.9
Rank
#107
#61
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
7K
10.1K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Manual
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Primary replica, Client server
Primary replica, Shared storage, Serverless
deployment
Self-hosted
—
—
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
✓
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
Azure
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
✓
✓
Vector search
✓
✓
Geospatial
✓
✓
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
✓
✓
Triggers
✓
✓
Stored procedures
✓
✓
Materialized views
✓
✓
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
—
✓
In-memory
—
✓
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
—
✓
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
✓
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
✓
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
SQL, PL/pgSQL, T-SQL, PL/SQL
T-SQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, PHP, Ruby
C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, Ruby, C++
Best for
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Geo
OLTP, HTAP, Content, Ledger
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon RDS vs Azure SQL Database: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon RDS and Azure SQL Database?

Amazon RDS: AWS's managed service for six relational engines: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server and Db2. Azure SQL Database: Microsoft's always-current managed SQL Server engine, from free serverless databases to 128 TB Hyperscale. Azure SQL Database is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Amazon RDS (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is none in Amazon RDS and manual in Azure SQL Database. Only Azure SQL Database has columnar storage, in-memory, compression, time travel, online schema changes.

When should I choose Amazon RDS over Azure SQL Database?

Choose Amazon RDS for lift-and-shift of existing PostgreSQL, MySQL or Oracle apps to AWS; standard web and line-of-business application backends; and licensed commercial databases without managing servers. Choose Azure SQL Database for lift-and-modernize of SQL Server applications, .NET SaaS backends with elastic pools per tenant and large OLTP databases on Hyperscale.

Is Amazon RDS or Azure SQL Database more popular?

Azure SQL Database ranks #61 on the WhichDB Score (33.9/100) and Amazon RDS ranks #107 (27.1/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon RDS and Azure SQL Database open source?

No. Amazon RDS is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Azure SQL Database is proprietary, closed-source software.