Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs TiDB Cloud comparison

Microsoft and PingCAP are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while PingCAP is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 11.3% mindshare in DS, compared to PingCAP’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of PingCAP users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Read 134 Microsoft Azure SQL Database reviews

3,559 Views
3,488 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

TiDB Cloud

Read 2 TiDB Cloud reviews

1,559 Views
78 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

TiDB Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Azure SQL Database and TiDB Cloud based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Database as a Service (DBaaS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. TiDB Cloud Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. TiDB Cloud

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 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:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

134

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

TiDB Cloud

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 11.3%, down from 16.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TiDB Cloud is 0.9%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database	11.3%
TiDB Cloud	0.9%
Other	87.8%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

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

Zaid Shaikh

Software Engineer at Hinge Health, Inc.

Helps to collect and analyze metrics and is useful for monitoring user engagement

If you are using a product managed by a cloud provider, such as AWS or Google Cloud, you benefit from various management tools. For instance, AWS offers CloudWatch for tracking metrics, while Google Cloud provides Time Series Insights. These tools are managed by the cloud providers. As an end user, you primarily need to pay for the service, and the cloud provider handles most of the management tasks. If you choose to use open-source tools like Prometheus, you will need to manage them yourself. It's a trade-off between convenience and cost. Opting for a managed service means you pay more but have less management overhead. On the other hand, using open-source solutions can reduce costs but requires you to handle the entire management of the infrastructure and database, such as ensuring uptime and provisioning resources. TiDB Cloud offers a reliable, managed solution that ensures availability and performance without the hassle of self-management.

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 effectiveness of Microsoft Azure SQL Database security features in meeting our compliance standards is crucial because we are SEC compliant, and that is one of our main criteria for compliance; otherwise, our investors would be very upset."

"SQL is a simpler database. We use it more than other databases."

"The feature I like the most about Microsoft Azure SQL Database is the scaling part."

"The solution is a fairly mature product. It provides good stability."

"It is easy to scale in Azure in a way that I cannot scale on-prem."

"Some of the best features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database are its scalability, pricing, and ease of setup."

"Azure SQL connects directly to our Power Platform apps, making it easy to use."

"Their technical support is the most valuable."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros

"TiDB Cloud has a broader scope that offers multiple services. It can be compared to major cloud providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP."

"TiDB selections are fast, and it handles collections and solutions well. Vertical and horizontal scaling are also good features."

Cons

"SQL Azure could improve the feature set. They are catching up to Microsoft SQL Server."

"Microsoft Azure SQL Database would benefit from enhanced documentation, along with ongoing improvements to scalability and cost-effectiveness."

"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."

"Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap."

"There is probably more functionality in our on-prem SQL Server than SQL Azure."

"SQL Azure could improve by adding more features."

"Integration needs to be improved for this solution."

"It's not a feature, but the solution only offers a certain amount of memory and that's limiting. The scalability should be extended to more than two terabytes."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons

"There should be the ability to replicate auto-increment sequences from the production environment to the disaster recovery environment."

"If you are using a product managed by a cloud provider, such as AWS or Google Cloud, you benefit from various management tools."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"It only has a subscription-based license."

"The license is based on the number of users."

"The solution is moderately expensive."

"The price in general of Azure SQL could improve."

"I believe the licensing is more on a global scale."

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

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	61

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 cloud.

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 administrator for the service, I do not provision the services and worry about the co...

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 additional features that I would like to see released in the next release. I do not have ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TiDB Cloud?

It's open source.

See all answers

What needs improvement with TiDB Cloud?

While using TiDB Cloud, I noticed things I don't like as a developer. For instance, it doesn't support functions and procedures, which Oracle and other databases do. This means that for table-to-ta...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for TiDB Cloud?

Silverlake Axis has a core banking and loan product called SILK, used by most banks in Southeast Asia, like in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The new product I'm working on, Mobius, is a replac...

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 20% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 16% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 13% of the time

Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors

ChatGPT Team - Enterprise vs TiDB Cloud

Compared 43% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs TiDB Cloud

Compared 16% of the time

OceanBase Cloud vs TiDB Cloud

Compared 13% of the time

SAP HANA Cloud vs TiDB Cloud

Compared 12% of the time

YugabyteDB Aeon vs TiDB Cloud

Compared 12% of the time

More TiDB Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

January 2026

Download Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

January 2026

Download TiDB Cloud product report

Overview

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

Unleash the power of AI-generated SQL and Serverless HTAP in a single cloud-native database. Experience real-time analytics and elastic scaling, all in a fully managed service.
Elastically and transparently scale to hundreds of nodes for critical workloads without changing business logic.
Use what you know about SQL – maintain your relational model and global ACID transactions while coping with your hybrid workloads at ease.
Equipped with built-in high performance analytics engine to analyze operational data without using an ETL.

PingCAP

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. TiDB Cloud

December 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. TiDB Cloud

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