Amazon Aurora vs MySQL comparison

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Read 140 MySQL reviews
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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Amazon Aurora and MySQL based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Relational Databases Tools solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The most valuable feature of Amazon Aurora is SQL standardization, it doesn't have its own syntax which is good. It has a lot of hands-off self-management type of activities, such as log rolling and auto-scaling.""The provision of custom read and write endpoints eliminates the need for managing a separate proxy load balancer.""We had better control over the parameters that we could tweak in terms of intermediate storage and better indexing capabilities.""The most valuable feature is the ability to do multiple-read and single-write. These are the kinds of features that we were interested in, and Aurora takes care of that natively.""The most valuable feature is that the maintainability is offloaded to the service provider. I don't have to maintain a database or do any administrative tasks, which comes in handy.""The solution’s scalability is good since we don’t need to take a maintenance window during unpredictable workloads. I like the solution’s behind-the-scenes happenings. It is a great feature.""Aurora's compatibility with MySQL or PostgreSQL benefited our database management. The migration from on-premise MySQL to Aurora was similar, so we didn't need to change our source code."

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"We use it as a data store and from that perspective, we get everything we need.""It is very easy to install and has all basic database features.""The fact that it is free is what appeals to me the most.""It has a lot of features. The RDBMS, consistency, and multi-user features are valuable.""What I've been most pleased with is the cost point, performance, and ease of use.""The replication feature is the most valuable. We are replicating our servers.""Table partitioning is most valuable. It is easy to use.""The solution is great for small applications in particular."

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Cons
"The pricing could improve. It should be reduced.""The product's distributed query process for MySQL needs improvement.""There is improvement needed to have more developer focus. Additionally, it would be helpful to have a stand-alone solution outside of Amazon. Amazon has a tendency to favor developing web-based clients, which may not always provide the fastest or most responsive solution as desired.""It is a bit costly. The features are quite good, and I wouldn't say it requires any technical improvements. But from a cost perspective, some clients wouldn't go for Aurora because of that.""I would like to see performance insights on the database based on the queries. Currently, we use SolarWinds as the monitoring tool. I would like to leverage SolarWinds’ performance insights in AWS services. SolarWinds gives larger insights when we run performance issues.""It would have been helpful if they had provided some benchmarking numbers.""I would like to see more AI-related features in future releases."

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"It should have some code analytical functions. It can also have a monitoring tool.""I feel that some tools which make it easier to create queries or make it easier for other functions would be really interesting to see.""It would be helpful if there were a graphical user interface to administer, configure, and tune it.""From a user perspective, the initial setup could be simplified a bit.""We want to continue using MySQL but it merged with Oracle and the scalage changed.""It could be a little bit simpler to use.""The only service which could be improved is its usability. The entire user experience needs to be revamped to meet the 2018 design standards.""At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The price could be lower compared to its competitors."
  • "It is quite expensive."
  • "The tool’s pricing depends on the instance type. For cost optimization purposes, we use the result instance category."
  • "It is an expensive solution."
  • "There is no need to buy a license for the product. We can pay as per the use case."
  • "I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
  • More Amazon Aurora Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "When you know the setup will continue to grow, make sure you have the paid support."
  • "​Enterprise editions and support are definitely needed for the heavy users who need direct support. ​"
  • "MySQL Enterprise Support is not cheap, though might still be cheaper than Oracle or SQL Server. They may not have local support depending on where you’re based, but there are many smaller agencies out there that will readily provide support. You’ll need to spend some time looking around."
  • "Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."
  • "I am using the Community Edition, which is available free of charge."
  • "This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
  • "It's an open-source database management system that can be used free of charge."
  • "Microsoft licensing for SQL Server is probably ten times more expensive. I used to work for the government, and I remember when we were looking into upgrading to the enterprise version of SQL Server 2019, the licensing was going to cost 350,000. To get the equivalent in the cloud, it was going to be about four grand to get the same processing power and everything else. With MySQL, it was going to be about 300 for the same licensing. Cost-wise, for sure, there is a huge difference. Would you prefer to pay 300 a month or 3,000 to have the same amount of data resources? You might lose a few options that you need, but it isn't worth the price difference."
  • More MySQL Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Aurora's compatibility with MySQL or PostgreSQL benefited our database management. The migration from on-premise MySQL to Aurora was similar, so we didn't need to change our source code.
    Top Answer:I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive.
    Top Answer:There is room for improvement in pricing. I would like to see more AI-related features in future releases.
    Top Answer:MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it… more »
    Top Answer:I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among… more »
    Top Answer:One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos online… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    4,694
    Comparisons
    4,195
    Reviews
    6
    Average Words per Review
    491
    Rating
    7.8
    Views
    14,155
    Comparisons
    11,529
    Reviews
    26
    Average Words per Review
    423
    Rating
    8.5
    Comparisons
    SQL Server logo
    Compared 31% of the time.
    Oracle Database logo
    Compared 29% of the time.
    MariaDB logo
    Compared 10% of the time.
    CockroachDB logo
    Compared 7% of the time.
    SAP HANA logo
    Compared 4% of the time.
    Firebird SQL logo
    Compared 25% of the time.
    PostgreSQL logo
    Compared 10% of the time.
    MariaDB logo
    Compared 10% of the time.
    Teradata logo
    Compared 7% of the time.
    Oracle Java DB logo
    Compared 2% of the time.
    Learn More
    Overview

    Amazon Aurora is a MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud, that combines the performance and availability of traditional enterprise databases with the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of open source databases.

    Amazon Aurora is up to five times faster than standard MySQL databases and three times faster than standard PostgreSQL databases. It provides the security, availability, and reliability of commercial databases at 1/10th the cost. Amazon Aurora is fully managed by Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS), which automates time-consuming administration tasks like hardware provisioning, database setup, patching, and backups.

    Amazon Aurora features a distributed, fault-tolerant, self-healing storage system that auto-scales up to 64TB per database instance. It delivers high performance and availability with up to 15 low-latency read replicas, point-in-time recovery, continuous backup to Amazon S3, and replication across three Availability Zones (AZs).

    Visit the Amazon RDS Management Console to create your first Aurora database instance and start migrating your MySQL and PostgreSQL databases.

    MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) owned by Oracle. Before Oracle acquired the product, it was completely free for users. After the merge, the solution started offering paid services with more features, alongside a free version. MySQL can easily integrate with a wide variety of programming languages, which makes it one of the most flexible and reliable products among its competitors. This cost-effective solution helps users deliver high-performance and scalable database applications through several products. They include:

    • MySQL HeatWave: This is an in-memory query accelerator for MySQL. It is a parallel, columnar, hybrid query-processing engine with algorithms for distributed query processing. This database service is used for transactions, analytics, and machine learning (ML). It offers simplified, secure real-time analytics. It can be deployed on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Amazon AWS, Azure, and users' data centers.

    • My SQL Enterprise Edition: This edition of the solution includes the most comprehensive set of advanced features, technical support, and management tools. The combination functions achieves security, scalability, reliability, and uptime, while reducing risk, cost, and complexity, in managing MySQL applications.

    • MySQL Standard Edition: This edition utilizes industrial-strength performance and reliability to help users deliver high-performance and scalable Open Transaction Processing (OLTP) applications.

    • MySQL Classic Edition: This is an embedded database for independent software vendors (ISVs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and value-added resellers (VARs), that are developing applications using the MyISAM storage engine.

    • MySQL Community Edition: This is the free version of the product, which is supported by a large active community of open-source developers.

    • MySQL Cluster CGE: This is a distributed database that combines linear scalability and high availability. It offers in-memory real-time access across partitioned and distributed databases.

    • MySQL Embedded: This product offers MySQL as an embedded database and is most widely used by ISVs, OEMs, and VARs. It is utilized for making applications, hardware, and appliances more competitive by bringing them to market faster while lowering their cost of goods sold (COGs).

    My SQL Features

    The characteristics of each MySQL edition differ depending on what it offers and what clients it is catered towards. But the main features of the product include the following:

    • Internals and portability: These capabilities allow MySQL to work on multiple platforms and provide transactional and non-transactional storage engines. This set of features is tested with Purify, Vilgrind, and a broad range of different compilers.

    • Data types: Due to the flexibility of the data types feature of MySQL, the product is compatible with a very wide variety of data types, including fixed-length and variable-length string types.

    • Statements and functions: This feature allows MySQL full operator and function support. It supports a wide variety of functions and allows users to refer to tables from different databases in the same statement.

    • Security: The security features of MySQL provide users with a flexible privileged password system that enables host-based verification. The product offers encryption of all password traffic when users connect to a server.

    • Scalability and limits: MySQL supports large databases with up to approximately 50 million records and up to 64 indexes per table.

    • Connectivity: The connectivity features of the product allow clients to connect to MySQL using several protocols, providing them with freedom of choice in terms of which ones to use.

    • Localization: Through this feature, the product offers availability to users in many languages. The server time zone can be changed dynamically and allows clients to specify their own time zone for their convenience.

    • Clients and tools: The product includes several client and utility programs among its capabilities.

    MySQL Benefits

    MySQL brings many benefits to organizations that use it for their data. The most common ones include:

    • Due to its initial open-source nature, MySQL is an easy to understand and beginner-friendly product.

    • The solution still supports an open-source version as well, which means users can download, use, and modify it based on their requirements.

    • MySQL ensures the consistency of data by storing it efficiently and minimizing redundancy.

    • This is considered one of the fastest solutions on the market, a fact which is backed by many benchmark tests.

    • MySQL is very flexible and supports a large number of embedded applications.

    • The solution is compatible with many operating systems.

    • This product offers clients the option to roll back transactions, as well as commit, and crash recovery.

    Reviews from Real Users

    According to a database engineer at a retailer with more than 10,000 employees, MySQL is a great open-source product that offers great scalability and compatibility.

    Yong S., a solutions specialist, system integration, appreciates this product because it has different licensing options and is easy to set up.

    Sample Customers
    Dow Jones, Arizona State University, Verizon, Capital One, United Nations, Nielsen, Autodesk, Fanduel
    Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm25%
    Computer Software Company14%
    Government5%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company21%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    University10%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business43%
    Large Enterprise57%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise71%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business45%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise37%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise59%
    Buyer's Guide
    Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Amazon Aurora is ranked 10th in Relational Databases Tools with 7 reviews while MySQL is ranked 4th in Relational Databases Tools with 140 reviews. Amazon Aurora is rated 7.8, while MySQL is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Amazon Aurora writes "Runs on the background and automatically scales up incase of heavy loads". On the other hand, the top reviewer of MySQL writes "Good beginner base but it should have better support for backups". Amazon Aurora is most compared with SQL Server, Oracle Database, MariaDB, CockroachDB and SAP HANA, whereas MySQL is most compared with Firebird SQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Teradata and Oracle Java DB. See our Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL report.

    See our list of best Relational Databases Tools vendors.

    We monitor all Relational Databases Tools reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.