Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Oracle Database as a Service comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.6. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 19.1% mindshare in DS, compared to Microsoft’s 13.0% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
Amazon RDS
Read 57 Amazon RDS reviews
  • 3,520 Views
  • 3,485 Comparison Views
98% willing to recommend
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Read 118 Microsoft Azure SQL Database reviews
  • 3,076 Views
  • 3,045 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
Oracle Database as a Service
Read 68 Oracle Database as a Service reviews
  • 1,516 Views
  • 1,455 Comparison Views
97% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report
Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Amazon RDS, Microsoft Azure SQL Database, and Oracle Database as a Service based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
To learn more, read our detailed Database as a Service (DBaaS) Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
September 2025
Download the complete report
Helped 869,566 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
3.4
Amazon RDS reduces infrastructure costs, increases agility, offers rapid ROI with pay-as-you-go benefits, and eliminates the need for DBAs.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Azure SQL Database reduces costs and improves ROI with features like Elastic Pool and flexible pay-per-use pricing.
Sentiment score
7.2
Oracle Database as a Service offers productivity and security benefits, despite high costs, with strong preference in regions like APAC.
No quotes available
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon RDS report
It is ensuring we receive what we pay for through the blend of price, performance, and features.
If you're managing your own data center, you always have to overprovision your systems and pay for storage space you're not using.
We've reduced costs by about 20 percent after two or three years.
For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report
In Bangladesh, digital banking is becoming prominent within a couple of years, so all banking systems will be digital.
For more quotes and insights, download the Oracle Database as a Service report
Michael Hamlett - PeerSpot reviewerMaanda Ambani - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2595777 - PeerSpot reviewer
SI
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Amazon RDS support receives mixed feedback, with quality depending on support level, but cost concerns exist, especially for startups.
Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is lauded for its robust support and resources, though support quality varies by plan and client status.
Sentiment score
8.3
Oracle Database support is responsive but needs better communication, efficiency, multilingual resources, and support team segmentation.
The documentation is quite good.
The official AWS technical support for Amazon RDS is helpful, providing 24/7 assistance for all business support cases with tools such as the health dashboard and AWS trusted advisor.
I would rate the support from AWS very high, maybe nine, but it also depends on what kind of support you have signed in your contract, whether the premium support or the standard support.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon RDS report
Microsoft played a significant role, even from a training perspective, and provided resources that directed us toward the right deployment path.
Once I reach the right people, the support is incredibly knowledgeable and thorough.
Microsoft provides excellent service and is always available to support us.
For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report
Oracle provides expert support globally, not just in South Asia -- also in Europe and America.
For more quotes and insights, download the Oracle Database as a Service report
Kenan Çiftçi - PeerSpot reviewer
BS
reviewer2592669 - PeerSpot reviewerMaanda Ambani - PeerSpot reviewer
TG
reviewer2595303 - PeerSpot reviewer
SI
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Amazon RDS is praised for scalable features, though some note limited autoscaling; supports significant growth for varying demands.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Azure SQL Database excels in scalability, allowing easy management of workloads and seamless transitions with varied scalability options.
Sentiment score
6.6
Oracle Database as a Service is highly scalable, supporting numerous users and servers, but scaling costs could improve.
Its automated scaling, both in storage and instances, is vital as it eliminates manual interventions.
The installation of Amazon RDS is quite easy and quite scalable.
Despite being a strong feature, scalability could be improved due to the lack of full functionality in autoscaling.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon RDS report
Scaling the solution is incredibly simple and involves just clicking a button or dragging a slider.
Azure's scalability features like Elasticity are essential.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is cloud-based, so it's great for scaling workloads.
For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report
No quotes available
For more quotes and insights, download the Oracle Database as a Service report
Samuel Ebite - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2592669 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2668191 - PeerSpot reviewerMichael Hamlett - PeerSpot reviewer
KC
reviewer2595312 - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Amazon RDS is widely praised for stability, with high ratings; occasional disruptions occur but recovery is supported by automated snapshots.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is highly reliable and stable, with minor initial latency resolved by optimizations, praised for security.
Sentiment score
7.1
Oracle Database as a Service is praised for its strong stability, reliability, and smooth integration, despite some scalability concerns.
Amazon RDS is very stable when deployed correctly across different zones with the right configurations.
It is a stable product overall, with very few issues.
Amazon RDS is quite stable, and the SLAs are sort of 99.98%.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon RDS report
We can't tell the difference between running on-prem or Azure because we no longer have those latency issues.
SQL never crashes or suddenly becomes unavailable.
Therefore, it is preferable to provision an instance local to the connection point to optimize performance and minimize latency.
For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report
The solution is stable, resilient, and doesn't crash under pressure.
For more quotes and insights, download the Oracle Database as a Service report
Samuel Ebite - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2668191 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2592669 - PeerSpot reviewerMaanda Ambani - PeerSpot reviewer
FW
Jason McCullagh - PeerSpot reviewer
SI
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon RDS faces challenges with integration, customization, scalability, support, and requires enhancements in performance, security, and management features.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database faces pricing complexity and integration issues, needing better documentation, security, and enhanced flexibility for users.
Oracle Database as a Service needs complexity reduction, enhanced integration, improved usability, security, automation, and flexible licensing to boost adoption.
Simplifying migration for those transitioning from on-premises to cloud environments.
Having native Change Data Capture (CDC) support would be beneficial, allowing for seamless integration with Kafka without relying on external technologies like Debezium.
Enabling performance insights to view query formats where the bottlenecks occur, identifying the fixes, slow queries, and missing indexes.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon RDS report
It would be helpful if CPU performance were not pinned to the amount of storage you're using, and we could scale different properties of the Azure SQL database independently.
I could not get an accurate quote on what my monthly costs would be based on my needs.
To overcome this, we collaborated with the network team to develop alternative solutions.
For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report
With the advent of generative AI, adding functionality where current administrative activities could be automated would be beneficial.
It would be beneficial if Oracle could offer features similar to those provided by open-source platforms like Postgres, such as a multi-core-based platform and a shared node database.
For more quotes and insights, download the Oracle Database as a Service report
Samuel Ebite - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2668191 - PeerSpot reviewer
BS
reviewer2595777 - PeerSpot reviewerMichael Hamlett - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2595303 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2728149 - PeerSpot reviewer
SI
 

Setup Cost

Amazon RDS is costly yet cost-efficient when optimized, with mixed reviews on pricing predictability and competitor comparisons.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing is flexible but complex, with competitive costs and challenges in transparency and predictability.
Oracle Database as a Service is costly, includes licenses and support, with high technical support quality but added fees.
While Azure provides great services, long-term plans on AWS are 20% to 30% cheaper.
I find the pricing of Amazon RDS fair, as AWS operates on a pay-for-what-you-use model.
I rate the price for Amazon as eight on a scale from one to ten.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon RDS report
Azure Hybrid Benefit reduced costs by facilitating an easy transition of on-premises databases to the cloud.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap.
It greatly reduces the total cost of ownership through efficient licensing depending on the client, the cost savings, and hybrid benefits.
For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report
Prices are high.
For more quotes and insights, download the Oracle Database as a Service report
Karthikeyan Katkam - PeerSpot reviewerSamuel Ebite - PeerSpot reviewerKenan Çiftçi - PeerSpot reviewerCharley Hanania - PeerSpot reviewerFabricio Noriega - PeerSpot reviewer
FW
SI
 

Valuable Features

Amazon RDS provides scalable, secure managed databases with automation and supports engines like MySQL and PostgreSQL, streamlining DevOps tasks.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers scalability, high availability, security, ease of use, and seamless integration with Microsoft products.
Oracle Database as a Service is praised for its multitenancy, scalability, security, analytics, and seamless integration with Oracle applications.
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.
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.
In some cases, we are using the read replica feature, and it does improve our application performance because we do not allow any downstream system to come to the main storage or main databases and perform a query.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon RDS report
The simplicity in usability, along with improved organizational productivity where we no longer need to maintain on-premises SQL servers, is invaluable.
The Software as a Service model is more effective and easier to access in terms of security, as Azure provides security at the security layer, reducing the risk of breach.
Some of the best features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database are its scalability, pricing, and ease of setup.
For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report
The encryption level, resilience, and secure features from both clients, particularly the resilience aspect of Oracle Database, are highly valuable.
The valuable features include availability, agility, and scalability.
For more quotes and insights, download the Oracle Database as a Service report
Samuel Ebite - PeerSpot reviewer
BS
reviewer2592669 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2596431 - PeerSpot reviewerFatai Akinwande - PeerSpot reviewerMichael Hamlett - PeerSpot reviewer
SI
reviewer2728149 - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Amazon RDS is 19.1%, down from 25.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 13.0%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database as a Service is 7.8%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Amazon RDS19.1%
Microsoft Azure SQL Database13.0%
Oracle Database as a Service7.8%
Other60.1%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Samuel Ebite - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensure high availability with robust encryption and seamless backups
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.
Read full review
Charley Hanania - PeerSpot reviewer
It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.
Read full review
Duy AnhMai - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers security and good performance
Price-wise, the tool is expensive, and I feel it is an area where improvements are needed. Oracle Database as a Service is not as popular as other tools because we use AWS and GCP. Oracle is okay in terms of performance for banking businesses and some big companies. As I use the tool in Heineken, I know Oracle is an okay security solution. We use and deploy some applications and features from Oracle that are better than what others offer. The data in the tool is actually stored in the production part, so it is always kept a secret. I don't think that AI has been integrated into the tool. The AI used by Oracle is not as strong as that used by AWS. I recommend the tool to others, especially banking, finance, and insurance companies where the security needs to be better. There is maintenance for the tool required, but I don't know which company does it for our organization. I rate the tool a ten out of ten.
Read full review
report
See which vendors are best for you
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database as a Service (DBaaS) solutions are best for your needs.
See recommendations
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise50
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise31
 

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 yo...
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?
The pricing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap, affecting user uptake. A gradual reduction in price could i...
See all answers
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have used the Microsoft Azure SQL Database for two years now, and I don't find it satisfactory. It's slow and expen...
See all answers
What do you like most about Oracle Database as a Service?
It has significantly enhanced our application development process by introducing substantial time savings and streaml...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Database as a Service?
The setup cost is approximately four hours.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Oracle Database as a Service?
With the advent of generative AI, adding functionality where current administrative activities could be automated wou...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

MongoDB Atlas vs Amazon RDS Logo
MongoDB Atlas vs Amazon RDS
Compared 21% of the time
Google Cloud SQL vs Amazon RDS Logo
Google Cloud SQL vs Amazon RDS
Compared 17% of the time
Google Cloud Spanner vs Amazon RDS Logo
Google Cloud Spanner vs Amazon RDS
Compared 6% of the time
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Amazon RDS Logo
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Amazon RDS
Compared 6% of the time
Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Amazon RDS Logo
Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Amazon RDS
Compared 4% of the time
More Amazon RDS Competitors
Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 24% of the time
MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 17% of the time
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 7% of the time
Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 7% of the time
vCloud Air vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database Logo
vCloud Air vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Compared 4% of the time
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors
MongoDB Atlas vs Oracle Database as a Service Logo
MongoDB Atlas vs Oracle Database as a Service
Compared 12% of the time
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Oracle Database as a Service Logo
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer vs Oracle Database as a Service
Compared 9% of the time
Google Cloud SQL vs Oracle Database as a Service Logo
Google Cloud SQL vs Oracle Database as a Service
Compared 8% of the time
Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Oracle Database as a Service Logo
Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Oracle Database as a Service
Compared 8% of the time
Google Cloud Spanner vs Oracle Database as a Service Logo
Google Cloud Spanner vs Oracle Database as a Service
Compared 8% of the time
More Oracle Database as a Service Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Amazon RDS
October 2025
Amazon RDS reportDownload Amazon RDS product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
September 2025
Microsoft Azure SQL Database reportDownload Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Database as a Service
September 2025
Oracle Database as a Service reportDownload Oracle Database as a Service product report
 

Also Known As

RDS
No data available
Oracle DBaaS, Oracle Database Cloud
 

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)

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

Oracle Database Cloud Service combines the power of Oracle Database, with the unique capabilities of the Oracle Cloud. The service provides a secure, automated data management platform that leverages on demand Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services via a simple web based user interface and RESTful API. Oracle Database Cloud Service provides elastic database services for development, test, and production environments of custom and packaged online transaction processing (OLTP), data warehousing, and mixed workload applications. It enables businesses to reap all Oracle Platform as a Service (PaaS) benefits including subscriptionbased, self-service access to reliable, scalable, and elastic cloud environments and accelerates time to value by simplifying the provisioning and administration of Oracle databases.

Oracle
 

Sample Customers

Edmodo
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Solution-Soft, DX Marketing, Suredell and Partners, Frontiers, SettleOurEstate.com, Demand Analysis Ltd, endlich IT & Projekt Service OHG
Buyer's Guide
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
September 2025
Download Free Report
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, MongoDB and others in Database as a Service (DBaaS). Updated: September 2025.
DOWNLOAD NOW
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.