Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4, while Google is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.9. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 12.6% mindshare in DS, compared to Google’s 7.6% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Google users who would recommend it.

Amazon RDS

Read 58 Amazon RDS reviews

4,001 Views
3,801 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Google Cloud SQL

Read 23 Google Cloud SQL reviews

2,280 Views
2,189 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Read 134 Microsoft Azure SQL Database reviews

4,459 Views
4,370 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Amazon RDS

Google Cloud SQL

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL, and Microsoft Azure SQL Database based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), MongoDB and others in Database as a Service (DBaaS).

To learn more, read our detailed Database as a Service (DBaaS) Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Amazon RDS is 12.6%, down from 25.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud SQL is 7.6%, down from 16.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 10.5%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database	10.5%
Amazon RDS	12.6%
Google Cloud SQL	7.6%
Other	69.3%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Baqir Sajjad

AWS Architect at Virtual University

Customer support and automated backups offer reliability while ease of deployment enhances user experience

The features of Amazon RDS that I have found most valuable include web and mobile applications, enterprise applications, data warehousing and analytics, and software as a service platforms, along with dev testing environments, disaster recoveries, and backups. The mobile app backend and development environment is also the best feature for database management for my customers. Database management is effective in Amazon RDS because it offers automated backups, high availability, read replicas, and support from multiple database engineers, while also providing security, monitoring and metrics, scalability. We are using snapshots and database migrations as well as performance optimization. The impact of Amazon RDS scalability and backup has been positive, with good vertical scaling, scale up and down, horizontal scaling, and storage scaling. The performance was good and availability helped with reducing downtime.

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Prathap Sankar

Analytics Delivery Manager at Tredence Inc.

Gain control and flexibility with customizable tools but has slower performance

I am majorly working in Google Cloud SQL for building my applications Google Cloud SQL provides complete customization options, along with a dashboarding tool and a comprehensive suite of tools that can be used to customize and build any application needed. The deployment model allows for…

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Thomas Sawyer

Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group

Automatic tuning and multi-region availability have reduced manual workloads and improved performance management

The features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database that I like the most are easy scaling and high availability. I appreciate those features because it's easy to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database readily available in a multi-region infrastructure. Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code. I am using the automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database. We are using the new feature of data encryption in Microsoft Azure SQL Database with customer-managed keys only. The reliability and stability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database platform are rock-solid; it's as good, if not better, than what our on-premise stability has been from an uptime perspective.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The dashboard and performance are the most valuable features of Amazon RDS."

"Amazon RDS is lightweight and flexible, and it's a secure solution."

"The most valuable feature is that it is a fully managed database, where they handle most of the administrative tasks and leave the users more time to concentrate on business."

"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."

"I use Amazon RDS to support scalability, with multi-AZ support being an essential aspect."

"Amazon RDS handles database backup mechanisms and patch management."

"The IT is easy to set up, which is the best."

"The most valuable feature of Amazon RDS is its performance."

More Amazon RDS pros

"The most valuable features are that it's easy to use, simple, and user-friendly."

"The solution is easy to use. I am impressed with the tool's features and functionality."

"I found its storage and security to be the most valuable. It was a good experience. It is also very stable and scalable, and its support is perfect."

"What I like the most about Google Cloud SQL is that it handles the management, which allows us to concentrate on our applications."

"The main benefit to our organization is the fact that we no longer need DB admins that take care of the physical servers, backups etc... All this is managed by GCP."

"The speed is very good, it's useful in terms of the simplicity of doing backups, you can have redundant databases for reports or posts, it's SQL which is easy to learn if you know something about databases, I like the cloud aspect, the pricing of the solution seems reasonable, and the solution is stable."

"It runs really well, it's cheap, it's efficient, it's user-friendly."

"Its most valuable feature is that it's scalable; I can start off with a base of a lot of data and move as much as I want without a lot of infrastructure changes, so I can run a release model experiment on a thousand people and, if that experiment is a success, run it on a million people without any changes while keeping it much more cost-sensitive for me to do it."

More Google Cloud SQL pros

"Microsoft technical support is good."

"The most valuable aspects of this solution are the integration with the darknet stack especially Microsoft, table groups, supports major capability requirements, and SQL always-on feature."

"SQL is easy to use and easily integrates with many systems. There aren't many code changes needed when you're using SQL databases. Integrating Azure SQL with other Microsoft applications is instant because they're all Microsoft solutions."

"The solution is quite straightforward to set up."

"It is very fast in replicating the data from one database to another; we do some extractions from multiple databases to a target database that we use for visualization, and it has a good speed."

"SQL Azure is reliable and scales well."

"Valuable features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database include its quick deployment capabilities, the ability to spin up an environment easily, and seamless integration with Microsoft products."

"SQL Azure is perfectly scalable."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros

Cons

"If we do not keep track of our costs, we might face some problems."

"For improvements, Amazon RDS could work on more features for multi-availability zone deployment to enhance higher availability, and on simplifying migration for those transitioning from on-premises to cloud environments."

"Some features are disabled, like running "alter system/database". There are Amazon alternatives, but it is not transparent to the application."

"Currently, we are using Fargate. Instead of that, we are planning to use EC2 instances, but we are facing some problems, and we are unable to enable NAT gateway for Elastic Load Balancer. When we enable auto-scaling, the instance count increases, and we get IP addresses dynamically. We need to whitelist the IPs of these instances, but there is no option to whitelist those IPs in Amazon RDS. We need one static IP that we can assign to ELB so that we can whitelist this IP."

"I like using Amazon RDS because it offers quick operations for me. However, there are times when understanding how to use some of the services can be challenging, even with documentation. If I could add a feature, I'd improve navigation for related services."

"It would be better if it integrated seamlessly with Microsoft products."

"One notable improvement that could enhance the database management experience, particularly during migration scenarios, is the accessibility of the root user."

"Amazon cannot guarantee the stability of some extensions, and there is a need for different extensions to meet PCI requirements."

More Amazon RDS cons

"When discussing media files, such as images and audio files, stored in Google Cloud, concerns about handling large amounts of data arise."

"The overall documentation and the connectors need improvement."

"I am yet to explore a lot of features that are present in this solution. However, it would be good if more documentation is available for this solution."

"The purging of the data could be better."

"Better integration with other tools could improve this solution."

"The customer support should be improved."

"For data analysis, the AI area of the product has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

"Google Cloud SQL needs to improve its support for high-end I/O operations. On-prem systems with high I/O capabilities perform better, as Google Cloud SQL takes more time to handle the same tasks."

More Google Cloud SQL cons

"In terms of improvement, making Microsoft Azure SQL Database faster would cater to big companies that require speed."

"The solution requires familiarity with its language so can be tricky."

"One area for improvement is setting up logs, especially for servers like VM SQL. It was also tricky to connect services on VNets to on-premise."

"If we need to deploy data management or services with SQL Azure we need InterSecure."

"The solution requires familiarity with its language so can be tricky."

"Its compatibility with existing applications can be improved. Its compatibility is currently a little bit imbalanced."

"I think Microsoft Azure SQL Database should be cheaper. The license is expensive, but not always; it depends on the case regarding pricing and licensing."

"The preset configuration switches we can select on SQL Azure should be made more liberal to work on."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In my case, MySQL is free, and if there are any costs, then it is much less than other solutions since all such things usually come bundled with the hardware."

"The solution is expensive."

"The solution’s pricing could be cheaper."

"The solution's pricing needs improvement."

"The pricing of RDS is a little bit high compared to Microsoft... However, it is a good price compared to other solutions."

"The solution is fairly priced."

"Amazon RDS is an expensive solution."

"The price of Amazon RDS is reasonable."

More Amazon RDS pricing and cost advice

"While the platform’s pricing may be higher, it aligns with industry standards, considering the quality of service and features provided."

"You need to pay extra costs for backup and replication."

"The pricing is very much an important factor as to why we use this solution."

"The solution is affordable."

"It's really cheap. It wouldn't be more than, I believe it's around 50 euro per month for running a cloud SQL."

"It is not expensive, especially considering the significant reduction in database management time."

"From a financial perspective, Google Cloud SQL is on the cheaper side."

"Compared to other providers, the pricing is definitely on the affordable side."

"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

"Its price can definitely be lower. It is pretty pricey."

"The price could be slightly cheaper."

"I find that they are relatively expensive, especially when compared to AWS, where the prices are notably lower."

"I would like it to be cheaper, but comparatively, it is reasonably priced."

"When looking at the long-term expenses associated with running software on an on-premises server, the costs are almost equivalent but when we include insurance for devices, onsite fees for servers, and other related costs, we may find that this is a cost-effective solution."

"SQL Azure's licensing cost is expensive."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

University

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

University

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Marketing Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	16
Large Enterprise	22

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	60
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	61

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon RDS?

The product's installation phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon RDS?

The pricing for Amazon RDS is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Amazon RDS?

Currently, I cannot think of any major improvements. Perhaps more platforms in terms of database engine versions woul...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud SQL?

We have set up automated patch management for Google Cloud SQL, and it does on a daily basis what needs to be done, s...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Cloud SQL?

Sometimes the sharing with third parties or configuring that in Google Cloud SQL is not the most intuitive. From a us...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Google Cloud SQL?

I have been using Google Cloud SQL for two or three years since I started.

See all answers

What do you like most about SQL Azure?

The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?

I would say I am at a basic experience level with the pricing, setup costs and licensing because while I am the admin...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SQL Azure?

I have no comments at the moment on how Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be improved. I have no comments on additiona...

See all answers

Comparisons

MongoDB Atlas vs Amazon RDS

Compared 16% of the time

Yugabyte Cloud vs Amazon RDS

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Amazon RDS

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Amazon RDS

Compared 5% of the time

Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Amazon RDS

Compared 4% of the time

More Amazon RDS Competitors

MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 15% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 5% of the time

Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 5% of the time

Google Cloud Spanner vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 5% of the time

Amazon Aurora vs Google Cloud SQL

Compared 5% of the time

More Google Cloud SQL Competitors

Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 12% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 7% of the time

Google Cloud Spanner vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 5% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS

March 2026

Download Amazon RDS product report

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud SQL

March 2026

Download Google Cloud SQL product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

March 2026

Download Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report

Also Known As

RDS

No data available

Overview

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.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Google Cloud SQL is a fully-managed database service that makes it easy to set up, maintain, manage, and administer your relational PostgreSQL and MySQL databases in the cloud. Google Cloud SQL offers high performance, scalability, and convenience. Hosted on Google Cloud Platform, Cloud SQL provides a database infrastructure for applications running anywhere.

Google

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Edmodo

BeDataDriven, CodeFutures, Daffodil, GenieConnect, KiSSFLOW, LiveHive, SulAm_rica, Zync

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2026

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