Amazon RDS Reviews

Name: Amazon RDS
Brand: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Rating: 4.2 (56 reviews)

Vendor: Amazon Web Services (AWS)

4.2 out of 5

56 reviews
98% willing to recommend

375 followers

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What is Amazon RDS?

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) is a web service that makes it easier to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. It provides cost-efficient, resizeable capacity for an industry-standard relational database and manages common database administration tasks.

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Amazon RDS is the #2 ranked solution in top Database as a Service vendors. PeerSpot users give Amazon RDS an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. Amazon RDS is most commonly compared to Microsoft Azure SQL Database: Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database. Amazon RDS is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 59% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 15% of all views.

Helped 854,618 peers since 2012

Featured Amazon RDS reviews

Samuel Ebite

AICE Graduate at alx_africa

Amazon RDS provides data encryption using services like KMS, crucial for securing high-sensitive data and meeting compliance requirements such as HIPAA or PCI DSS. The best practices we've employed with RDS help design a well-architected framework, encompassing security, encryption, scalability with multi-availability zone deployment, and operational excellence with automated backups. RDS features, such as reserved instances, storage auto-scaling, monitoring with technologies like CloudWatch, and proxies, contribute to cost optimization. The solution enhances security with IAM authentication and offers high availability to end users.

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Karthikeyan Katkam

AWS Engineer at Neurolov.ai

I am using Amazon RDS and CDMS clients for monitoring databases. I have set up multi-level servers for data collection and application development Amazon RDS makes it easier for me to manage databases compared to traditional databases like MongoDB or local host servers. It offers an easy-to-use…

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Pankaj-Kankar

Seasoned CTO at Multiple Companies

The response time and the number of iterations required for the product's technical support could be improved. It could benefit from features that provide easier visibility into stale data and better recommendations for database optimization. Additionally, more seamless scalability, similar to what Google BigQuery offers, would be a valuable addition.

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Amazon RDS mindshare

As of June 2025, the mindshare of Amazon RDS in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category stands at 24.0%, down from 27.5% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

PeerResearch reports based on Amazon RDS reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Database as a Service (DBaaS)	Jun 5, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jun 5, 2025	Download
Comparison	Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database	Jun 5, 2025	Download
Comparison	Amazon RDS vs MongoDB Atlas	Jun 5, 2025	Download
Comparison	Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL	Jun 5, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Microsoft Azure SQL Database	4.3	15.7%	96%	117 interviews Add to research
MongoDB Atlas	4.2	14.1%	96%	49 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Amazon RDS offers valuable features, including fully managed databases, automated maintenance, scalability, and easy deployment. Users highlight its multi-availability zone support, which ensures high availability and disaster recovery. The ability to work with multiple databases such as MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL is appreciated. Its automated backup and snapshot capabilities save time. Users find RDS secure, stable, and suitable for various application needs, enhancing performance while reducing administrative overhead.

"The impact of Amazon RDS scalability and backup has been positive, with good vertical scaling, scale up and down, horizontal scaling, and storage scaling."
"Based on my experience, I would rate this solution a nine out of ten."
"I use Amazon RDS to support scalability, with multi-AZ support being an essential aspect."

Room for Improvement

Amazon RDS users express dissatisfaction with the complexities of migration, lack of shell access, and disabled by default features. Cost and pricing concerns are frequent among users, alongside requests for better technical support and integration with Microsoft products. Performance monitoring, scalability, and database management tools receive criticism, with users wanting more control over database settings. Security improvements, a more user-friendly interface, enhanced documentation, additional database support, and easier migration paths are also recommended enhancements.

"User interface needs improvement for using IPS and CloudWatch to scale and utilize read replicas, enabling performance insights to view query formats where the bottlenecks occur, identifying the fixes, slow queries, and missing indexes, improving the security and monitoring with alerts."
"The backup and restore processes take more time compared to other providers. For instance, if DigitalOcean takes two minutes to restore or create a backup, AWS will take 2 to 3 minutes."
"The technical support from Amazon could improve. I would rate them a six out of ten as they do not fully meet my expectations."

ROI

Amazon RDS offers a quick ROI by reducing infrastructure costs and eliminating the need for multiple DBAs. Users benefit from scalability and reduced operational costs. Integration with Amazon RDS bypasses the need for data center investments, enhancing agility and financial savings. While AWS can be costly, users find RDS more cost-effective than self-hosted options. Some experience full ROI, while others find it average during initial evaluations. AWS manages uptime and redundancy, minimizing management burdens.

Pricing

Amazon RDS pricing varies based on usage, instance type, and region. Many users appreciate the cost-efficiency from a pay-as-you-go model and the ability to use existing licenses with BYOL. Challenges include high costs for unexpected usage, complex pricing structures, and variable regional pricing. Although some find RDS less expensive than competitors, others note it can be costly, especially with added services and support. Auto scalability and management ease offer additional value.

"The cost is manageable because you can see the expense associated with each instance and utilize tools for tagging and cost control."
"The platform pricing is on the higher side, but given its capabilities and ease of use, it remains competitive."
"AWS is becoming pretty expensive because cheap or absolutely free services have become paid services. Amazon RDS is not an expensive product, but Amazon's ecosystem is becoming increasingly expensive."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use Amazon RDS to host applications on Amazon's cloud, manage databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server, and migrate on-premises databases. RDS automates database tasks such as provisioning, setup, patching, and backups, enhancing the customer experience and reducing administration. It's favored for data encryption, scalability, high availability, and performance optimization, making it suitable for web applications and transaction processing in sectors like fintech, e-commerce, and healthcare.

Service and Support

Amazon RDS customer service and support are generally considered satisfactory. While some users find technical support prompt and helpful, others note issues with accessibility, reliability, and quality, especially at lower service levels. There are concerns about the cost of premium support and the effectiveness of junior staff. Many rely on self-service resources like documentation and forums. Support quality can vary based on geographical location and payment tiers, with European and Australian teams receiving better feedback than US counterparts.

Deployment

Many users find Amazon RDS's initial setup straightforward and quick, often completing it in under 20 minutes. While some mention complexities involving IAM, VPCs, or compliance, many appreciate the ease of use, especially when following documentation. Automation features assist deployments with minimal intervention. Though some indicate that more intricate configurations require careful planning, most agree that experienced teams can simplify the process significantly. The variation seems to hinge on specific requirements and expertise levels.

Scalability

Amazon RDS is widely regarded as highly scalable by users with diverse experiences. Many highlight its ease of expanding capacity through simple configurations in cloud environments. While some mention challenges with large datasets or specific scaling options, others praise its ability to handle substantial user loads and automated scaling features. Ratings vary, often ranging from seven to ten out of ten. Users appreciate RDS's capability to meet growing demands without manual interventions.

Stability

Amazon RDS is described as stable, reliable, and with good performance by multiple users. Instances of crashes or bugs are minimal, with effective backups ensuring data integrity. Users appreciate the high availability features like snapshots and Multi-AZ deployments, contributing to its stability. Many rate Amazon RDS highly, scoring between seven and ten on a ten-point scale. Though Postgres and MySQL in RDS are praised, a few noted that Aurora might have stability concerns.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Amazon RDS Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.