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

Amazon SimpleDB vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

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 SimpleDB
Ranking in NoSQL Databases
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Non-Relational Databases (7th)
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Ranking in NoSQL Databases
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Database as a Service (DBaaS) (6th), Managed NoSQL Databases (1st), Vector Databases (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Amazon SimpleDB is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 5.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NoSQL Databases
 

Featured Reviews

BV
Adapting to changing data needs with reduced development time and schema flexibility
Amazon SimpleDB is beneficial to me due to its reduced development time, adaptability, improved agility, and its ability to handle unstructured data. It also offers schema flexibility, which aids me in documentation, version control, modular design, data normalization, and denormalization. With this, I have a clear understanding of the data, considering future challenges, and designing for expansion.
MichaelJohn - PeerSpot reviewer
Very efficient for application-facing scenarios
There are several areas for improvement. Firstly, having a local development emulator or simulator for Azure Cosmos DB would be beneficial. It would be very handy to have a Docker container that developers can use locally. Although, I know there is a free tier and so on and so forth, having a local environment would be nice. For example, SQL Server is very portable. You can even install it on your machine. That is the number one thing that is missing in Azure Cosmos DB. The second improvement area is the IDE of choice. That means how you interact with Azure Cosmos DB. For example, with SQL Server, you have SQL Server Management Studio. I know there is a little bit of support for Azure Cosmos DB in Azure Data Studio, but it is not heavily advertised or it does not feel like first-class citizen support. Developer experience or developer tooling is missing in terms of interacting with the database. Better developer tools or an IDE for interacting with Azure Cosmos DB would enhance the developer experience. Lastly, there is some mixed messaging about what Azure Cosmos DB is, given its multiple APIs. There are so many Azure Cosmos DB APIs available. There is NoSQL. There are MongoDB, Gremlin, and others. There is still some mixed messaging for others who are new to Azure Cosmos DB about what Azure Cosmos DB is. Is this like MongoDB, but then there is also MongoDB in Azure Cosmos DB? I know it well, and I know that the default one is just NoSQL, but others I have interacted with over the last ten years or so get confused.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Amazon SimpleDB is beneficial to me due to its reduced development time, adaptability, improved agility, and its ability to handle unstructured data."
"The features most valuable to us in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB are the auto scale and change feed. These features allow us to do some operations that are not possible with SQL Server."
"We love the ability to land data with Cosmos DB easily. Cosmos is native to Azure, so everything works seamlessly with it. You need good data to have good AI, and Cosmos makes it easy to land the data."
"The solution is used because we get faster response times with large data sets than with SQL."
"The graphical representation of data is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"I would rate Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is its real-time analytics capabilities, which allow for turnaround times in milliseconds."
"I would recommend Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB to other users without hesitation."
"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is very fast."
 

Cons

"The ability to adapt database structures like tables and data types to changing data requirements without causing major disruptions or extensive code changes is an area where I feel improvement is needed."
"At this stage, we would like more enterprise support. We use MongoDB a lot, and we're trying to get rid of MongoDB. So, I would like to see more features in the Cosmos DB API for MongoDB space."
"Better documentation on how to integrate with other components would be helpful because I was struggling with this."
"Cosmos DB should continue evolving in AI features. We expect Cosmos DB to lead on that. There is potential for improved security features, which is important for data storage, especially for Dell Technologies. We must ensure data security remains the top priority."
"For streaming platforms, Azure Cosmos DB could improve efficiency in data storage. Indexing can also be better. Enhanced capabilities are necessary to manage increased data amounts more effectively during searches."
"One area that could be improved is indexing. Some of the developers struggle with the way the indexing works. We are exploring vector indexing, which we haven't examined fully yet. Indexing is an aspect we're looking to improve upon potentially."
"It would be nice to have more options to ingest the data, for example, more file options or more search options. Currently, you can use JSON, but if there were other file types you can use for data ingestion, that would be nice."
"The first one is the ability to assign role-based access control through the Azure portal for accounts to have contributor rights."
"The UI needs enhancement. Unlike SQL, Cosmos DB's UI is not as straightforward, making it a bit challenging to use efficiently."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Cosmos DB is expensive, and the RU-based pricing model is confusing. Although they have a serverless layer, there are deficiencies in what I can define and assign to a database. Estimating infrastructure needs is not straightforward, making it challenging to manage costs."
"Pricing is mid- to high-end."
"The cost is the biggest limitation of this solution."
"Azure Cosmos DB's pricing is competitive, though there is a need for more personalized pricing models to accommodate small applications without incurring high charges. A suggestion is to implement dynamically adjustable pricing that accounts for various user needs."
"Microsoft provides fair pricing."
"Cosmos DB is a managed offering, so its cost is understandably higher."
"The pricing model of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a bit complex."
"The price of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB could be a bit lower."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which NoSQL Databases solutions are best for your needs.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Legal Firm
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon SimpleDB?
I find the price of Amazon SimpleDB to be relatively high compared to other solutions available in the market like Microsoft and other cloud services.
What needs improvement with Amazon SimpleDB?
The ability to adapt database structures like tables and data types to changing data requirements without causing major disruptions or extensive code changes is an area where I feel improvement is ...
What is your primary use case for Amazon SimpleDB?
I use Amazon SimpleDB for managing my SAP database.
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
The initial setup is simple and straightforward. You can set up a Cosmos DB in a day, even configuring things like availability zones around the world.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
The pricing for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is good, but there is a developer factor to consider. It could be economical or expensive depending on usage. Guidance about query consumption of Request U...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
The only area Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB can improve on is its documentation; while it is solid and very useful, enhancements in the indexing documentation would help users save costs and make it mo...
 

Also Known As

SimpleDB
Microsoft Azure DocumentDB, MS Azure Cosmos DB
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Livemocha
TomTom, KPMG Australia, Bosch, ASOS, Mercedes Benz, NBA, Zero Friction, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Kinectify
Find out what your peers are saying about MongoDB, ScyllaDB, Microsoft and others in NoSQL Databases. Updated: August 2025.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.