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Amazon RDS vs LocalDB comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. Additionally, 98% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
Amazon RDS
Read 58 Amazon RDS reviews
    98% willing to recommend
    LocalDB
    Read 6 LocalDB reviews
    • 1,133 Views
    • 1,133 Comparison Views
    100% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between Amazon RDS and LocalDB based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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    Relational Databases Tools
    November 2025
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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:
     

    Categories and Ranking

    Amazon RDS
    Average Rating
    8.4
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.7
    Number of Reviews
    58
    Ranking in other categories
    Database as a Service (DBaaS) (1st)
    LocalDB
    Average Rating
    9.2
    Reviews Sentiment
    7.2
    Number of Reviews
    6
    Ranking in other categories
    Relational Databases Tools (15th)
     

    Featured Reviews

    reviewer2592669 - PeerSpot reviewer
    reviewer2592669
    Director Software Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
    Positive experiences with database services, with minor room for feature enhancements observed
    I don't really see any disadvantages of Amazon RDS. With Oracle, I think AWS doesn't provide the RAC stability. If you have Oracle installed in your own data centers, you can set up various clusters and we can set up the RACs, but in Amazon RDS, we cannot have the RAC feature of Oracle. They could add that feature. Amazon RDS has limitations regarding RAC. If we talk about installing Oracle in RDS, we cannot have the RAC, but if you deploy Oracle on GCP, then there is probably the RAC feature available. I observed that around two or three years back, but I'm not sure whether they have added the RAC feature in AWS. Amazon RDS is expensive compared to GCP. GCP also has the same features, and although it is quite extensive and feature-rich, I see Amazon RDS as slightly expensive compared to other clouds.
    Read full review
    Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
    Srini-Dhanaraj
    Founder & CEO at imfine.club
    The database always has structured data, like rows, columns, and bases
    LocalDB is an excellent solution for learners, beginners, and projects of negligible size; it is very good. Any startup can use a local database to start. Once they grow beyond its limits, they can migrate to a MS SQL server that's also available on-premises. I rate it ten out of ten.
    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

    "Based on my experience, I would rate this solution a nine out of ten."
    "The tool is very easy to use and configure."
    "The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it requires an easy setup phase, and it is also easy to use while not being too heavy on its users."
    "Amazon RDS handles database backup mechanisms and patch management."
    "Relational databases excel in extensive normalization, eliminating data redundancy and efficiently structuring tables which leads to a clear and efficient relationship between tables using primary keys."
    "Amazon RDS is a scalable solution."
    "Amazon RDS is easy to maintain and easy to deploy."
    "Being able to change the size of an RDS MySQL instance is amazing."
    More Amazon RDS pros
    "The initial setup was simple."
    "The most valuable feature of LocalDBis the connection between the application and DB."
    "The solution is fast."
    "LocalDB is an excellent solution for learners, beginners, and projects of negligible size; it is very good."
    "The initial setup is very straightforward. The guidelines are very easy to follow. Maintenance is very easy and requires very little manpower."
     

    Cons

    "Amazon has a policy of automatically restarting the server every seven days."
    "Amazon RDS could improve by having more sophisticated. I use other solutions that have better technology for more difficult tasks."
    "As a customer of Amazon RDS, you don't have super-user privileges, and that is the only drawback where improvements are required."
    "It would be helpful if they made it easier to migrate from an existing on-premises solution to the cloud-based service."
    "Amazon cannot guarantee the stability of some extensions, and there is a need for different extensions to meet PCI requirements."
    "The technical support from Amazon could improve. I would rate them a six out of ten as they do not fully meet my expectations."
    "With my limited experience, I have noticed that documentation management could be improved. It could be better."
    "They could provide better integration for the solution with Microsoft products."
    More Amazon RDS cons
    "The initial setup is complex and requires a skilled person."
    "It is only for a small amount of data. Local DB is made for the purpose of small-volume optics."
    "The ALM features can be improved, but the database by itself is reliable."
    "The internal connection features of LocalDB could improve."
    "The solution needs to create a management tool. Right now, the solution has tools for creating a local installation, but it's too simplistic. We need something that's a bit more complex so that we can extend the tools with our scripts."
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "The solution's pricing needs improvement."
    "Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
    "Amazon RDS could improve by reducing the price."
    "I would rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "The solution is expensive."
    "The solution is fairly priced."
    "The pricing of RDS is a little bit high compared to Microsoft... However, it is a good price compared to other solutions."
    "The price could be better."
    More Amazon RDS pricing and cost advice
    "The fees are fair."
    "The licensing cost is too high for LocalDB."
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Computer Software Company
    13%
    Financial Services Firm
    11%
    University
    8%
    Manufacturing Company
    6%
    Computer Software Company
    12%
    Financial Services Firm
    12%
    Government
    10%
    Comms Service Provider
    9%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business22
    Midsize Enterprise15
    Large Enterprise23
    No data available
     

    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?
    I don't really see any disadvantages of Amazon RDS. With Oracle, I think AWS doesn't provide the RAC stability. If you have Oracle installed in your own data centers, you can set up various cluster...
    See all answers
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LocalDB?
    It's free of cost.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with LocalDB?
    Technically speaking, you don't need to get any updates because it's not online. It's on-premise. So once it is installed, then you get a desktop-grade version. But the purpose of LocalDB is not th...
    See all answers
    What is your primary use case for LocalDB?
    There were multiple systems, some planned, like the mainframe, the gold database, a website, and a manual Excel spreadsheet. These were the various data sources, and we wanted to bring everything i...
    See all answers
     

    Comparisons

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    Compared 13% of the time
    Oracle Database as a Service vs Amazon RDS Logo
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    Compared 13% of the time
    Google Cloud Spanner vs Amazon RDS Logo
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    Compared 6% of the time
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    SQL Server vs LocalDB Logo
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    Compared 61% of the time
    MySQL vs LocalDB Logo
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    Compared 19% of the time
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    Compared 10% of the time
    MariaDB vs LocalDB Logo
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    Compared 10% of the time
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    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Amazon RDS
    December 2025
    Amazon RDS reportDownload Amazon RDS product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Relational Databases Tools
    November 2025
    LocalDB reportDownload LocalDB 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)
    LocalDB is a lightweight version of the SQL Server Express Database Engine that is targeted for program development. LocalDB starts on demand and runs in user mode, so there is no complex configuration.
    Microsoft
     

    Sample Customers

    Edmodo
    AstraZeneca, Kienzle Automotive GmbH, Kodak Alaris, Unilever, Floatel International and Kongsberg Maritime, MyHero
    Buyer's Guide
    Relational Databases Tools
    November 2025
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