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Amazon Aurora vs MySQL comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.5, while Oracle is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.2. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 2.8% mindshare in SQL, compared to Oracle’s 7.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Oracle users who would recommend it.
Amazon Aurora
Read 20 Amazon Aurora reviews
  • 1,854 Views
  • 1,817 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
MySQL
Read 150 MySQL reviews
  • 9,581 Views
  • 4,599 Comparison Views
91% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

MySQL and Amazon Aurora compete in the database management systems category. Amazon Aurora seems to have the upper hand due to its managed services and enhanced scalability by AWS, providing high performance and availability.

Features: MySQL offers a multi-threaded architecture, indexed conditional pushdown, and compatibility with LAMP/WAMP, being open-source, extensible, and scalable. Amazon Aurora provides high performance and availability, along with unique scalability features and compatibility with MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Room for Improvement: MySQL faces challenges with complex InnoDB functionality, lack of active directory integration, and less strong support for large-scale databases compared to Aurora. Amazon Aurora's pricing concerns and limited feature enhancement outside the AWS ecosystem suggest areas for improvement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: MySQL is commonly deployed on-premises or in hybrid cloud environments with community support but lacks consistent official technical backing. Amazon Aurora benefits from AWS's public cloud deployment, offering robust customer support including AWS managed service advantages.

Pricing and ROI: MySQL's open-source nature offers a cost-effective option for businesses, though enterprise versions incur costs but offer favorable ROI for non-critical tasks. Amazon Aurora may be costlier than self-managed alternatives but is seen as cost-effective for its performance capabilities.

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To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL
September 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Switching to Amazon Aurora saves costs nearly 30% over RDS while improving performance, reliability, and manpower efficiency by 50%.
Sentiment score
6.3
Users experience varied ROI with MySQL due to its open-source nature, cloud or local use, and operational benefits.
Using Amazon Aurora has saved us significantly in terms of manpower costs, with nearly fifty percent savings compared to an on-premises solution.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Aurora report
No quotes available
For more quotes and insights, download the MySQL report
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.3
Amazon Aurora offers varying support quality; enterprise users get prompt help, while free trial users experience limited assistance.
Sentiment score
6.8
MySQL support is mostly community-driven and free, but Oracle's support, while effective, can be costly for smaller businesses.
Technical support from Amazon is rated very highly.
The initial support could improve by having engineers familiarize themselves with the issue content to provide more specialized assistance from the start.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Aurora report
We have no issues and usually receive timely responses.
For more quotes and insights, download the MySQL report
SP
Adnan Shafiq - PeerSpot reviewerMuzzamil Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Amazon Aurora excels in scalability, seamlessly auto-scaling for dynamic environments, though AWS's pricing model has limitations.
Sentiment score
6.7
MySQL is scalable for small to medium projects but requires enhancements and tools for effective large-scale deployment.
This scalability is critical as it allows for runtime expansion, which is essential for businesses moving from on-premises to the cloud.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Aurora report
Meeting scalability requirements through cloud computing is an expensive affair.
For more quotes and insights, download the MySQL report
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Amazon Aurora is stable with occasional minor issues, offering high availability and reliability for MySQL and PostgreSQL engines.
Sentiment score
7.7
MySQL is widely praised for reliability and performance, but occasional issues with large tables require proper maintenance and configuration.
It offers a stable environment, ensuring consistent performance.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Aurora report
We face certain integration issues, especially when we integrate the database with security solutions like IBM QRadar.
For more quotes and insights, download the MySQL report
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon Aurora users seek better pricing, expanded support, smoother migrations, and improvements in performance, scalability, and developer resources.
MySQL needs scalability improvements, better replication, enhanced security, integration, and upgraded tools, procedures, user interface, and documentation.
There are technical challenges, such as the inability to provision the database using a PostgreSQL snapshot directly.
Keeping extensions up-to-date with PostgreSQL releases would enhance Aurora's functionality.
I used the backup options in Amazon Aurora for cloning databases. It's very common.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Aurora report
The load balancer, MySQL LB, which is used to connect to the application, lacks clear documentation.
It could be more beneficial if MySQL can enhance its data masking functionality in the same way it has improved data encryption.
Oracle could improve on scalability.
For more quotes and insights, download the MySQL report
SP
Adnan Shafiq - PeerSpot reviewerRubens Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewerPrabir Kumar Kundu - PeerSpot reviewerMuzzamil Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
RS
 

Setup Cost

Amazon Aurora provides flexible, cost-effective pricing with notable performance benefits, though some consider it expensive compared to self-managed solutions.
Enterprise buyers appreciate MySQL's flexible pricing, noting affordable options compared to Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle.
The pricing for Amazon Aurora is different from DocumentDB because DocumentDB is cheaper.
The pricing is reasonable and not overly expensive.
Amazon Aurora is not very expensive as other solutions with similar features from other vendors come at almost the same cost.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Aurora report
Oracle has different components, so if you need security, you have to procure a different license, but here everything is inbuilt and it's not costly.
For more quotes and insights, download the MySQL report
Rubens Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewer
SP
Adnan Shafiq - PeerSpot reviewerPrabir Kumar Kundu - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Valuable Features

Amazon Aurora offers automated maintenance, high scalability, and compatibility, ideal for diverse databases and efficient FinOps management.
MySQL is popular for being open-source, SQL-compatible, scalable, easy to manage, cross-platform, with strong integration capabilities.
It replicates data across multiple Availability Zones, ensuring high availability and geographical redundancy, which can be considered a GR instead of a DR.
Amazon Aurora offers a 99.9% SLA compared to PostgreSQL. This ensures a high level of availability for our applications.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon Aurora report
With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment.
It's an inbuilt feature of the database itself, and you don't have to purchase an additional license for the replication.
It allows programming, writing stored procedures, creating views, constraints, and triggers easily.
For more quotes and insights, download the MySQL report
Adnan Shafiq - PeerSpot reviewer
SP
Muzzamil Hussain - PeerSpot reviewerPrabir Kumar Kundu - PeerSpot reviewer
RS
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Aurora
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MySQL
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Amazon Aurora is 2.8%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 7.6%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
MySQL7.6%
Amazon Aurora2.8%
Other89.6%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Adnan Shafiq - PeerSpot reviewer
High availability and geographical redundancy ensure reliable performance and cost efficiency
Amazon Aurora provides up to fifteen to sixteen read replicas. It replicates data across multiple Availability Zones, ensuring high availability and geographical redundancy, which can be considered a GR instead of a DR. As a managed service, maintenance tasks like backup and restore are handled by AWS, saving my organization significant time and money. Additionally, its fast cloning feature allows us to create a new clone from a large database swiftly, similar to a zero-copy cloning feature in Snowflake. This makes Amazon Aurora a compelling choice for my organization.
Read full review
Prabir Kumar Kundu - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers robust security and availability with impressive replication capabilities
Regarding their documentation and interface, there is room for improvement. Documentation is definitely required when running multiple databases on a cluster system. The load balancer, MySQL LB, which is used to connect to the application, lacks clear documentation. When there are multiple application servers connecting to the MySQL cluster and going through the MySQL load balancer, the documentation is not user-friendly. It's there, but only technical persons with deep knowledge of the MySQL database can implement it. Most of the community users or ISVs who use MySQL don't have many technical persons or DBA experts, so they face some challenges for the high availability of connecting high available databases from high available applications. That documentation should be simplified.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
6%
Retailer
5%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business73
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise61
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Aurora?
Aurora's compatibility with MySQL or PostgreSQL benefited our database management. The migration from on-premise MySQL to Aurora was similar, so we didn't need to change our source code.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon Aurora?
The pricing for Amazon Aurora is different from DocumentDB because DocumentDB is cheaper. However, when you manage the administration more closely, you can control costs better with Amazon Aurora. ...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Amazon Aurora?
I would like to see some tutorials from Amazon for Aurora because I'm too new to it. I believe Amazon can make more tutorials for the product since there's a lot of reading required, and a short tu...
See all answers
Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?
MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...
See all answers
Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?
I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...
See all answers
What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?
One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

SQL Server vs Amazon Aurora Logo
SQL Server vs Amazon Aurora
Compared 20% of the time
Oracle Database vs Amazon Aurora Logo
Oracle Database vs Amazon Aurora
Compared 15% of the time
MariaDB vs Amazon Aurora Logo
MariaDB vs Amazon Aurora
Compared 8% of the time
Citus Data vs Amazon Aurora Logo
Citus Data vs Amazon Aurora
Compared 7% of the time
IBM Db2 Database vs Amazon Aurora Logo
IBM Db2 Database vs Amazon Aurora
Compared 4% of the time
More Amazon Aurora Competitors
Firebird SQL vs MySQL Logo
Firebird SQL vs MySQL
Compared 23% of the time
PostgreSQL vs MySQL Logo
PostgreSQL vs MySQL
Compared 14% of the time
SAP HANA vs MySQL Logo
SAP HANA vs MySQL
Compared 8% of the time
SQL Server vs MySQL Logo
SQL Server vs MySQL
Compared 6% of the time
MariaDB vs MySQL Logo
MariaDB vs MySQL
Compared 6% of the time
More MySQL Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Amazon Aurora
September 2025
Amazon Aurora reportDownload Amazon Aurora product report
Buyer's Guide
MySQL
August 2025
MySQL reportDownload MySQL product report
 

Overview

Amazon Aurora is a MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud, that combines the performance and availability of traditional enterprise databases with the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of open source databases.

Amazon Aurora is up to five times faster than standard MySQL databases and three times faster than standard PostgreSQL databases. It provides the security, availability, and reliability of commercial databases at 1/10th the cost. Amazon Aurora is fully managed by Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS), which automates time-consuming administration tasks like hardware provisioning, database setup, patching, and backups.

Amazon Aurora features a distributed, fault-tolerant, self-healing storage system that auto-scales up to 64TB per database instance. It delivers high performance and availability with up to 15 low-latency read replicas, point-in-time recovery, continuous backup to Amazon S3, and replication across three Availability Zones (AZs).

Visit the Amazon RDS Management Console to create your first Aurora database instance and start migrating your MySQL and PostgreSQL databases.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

MySQL is an open-source database known for its ease of use and high performance. It offers features like replication and clustering, making it ideal for diverse applications. Its cost-effectiveness and LAMP integration are key advantages for businesses.

MySQL supports a variety of languages and platforms, providing reliable, scalable data management. Its graphical interface and LAMP architecture integration enhance its usability, while community support further strengthens its appeal. Challenges include scalability issues with large databases, lack of advanced clustering, and limited high-availability features. Complex queries may affect performance, and integration can pose difficulties. The outdated interface and insufficient documentation are also concerns, along with replication and backup reliability issues.

What are MySQL's key features?
  • Open-source nature: Freely available and customizable.
  • Cross-platform compatibility: Supports multiple operating systems.
  • Scalability: Capable of handling large volumes of data.
  • Replication and clustering: Ensure data redundancy and load balancing.
  • Full-text search: Provides powerful search capabilities.
  • LAMP integration: Seamlessly integrates with Linux, Apache, and PHP.
What benefits should users consider?
  • Cost-effectiveness: Reduces expenses due to its open-source nature.
  • High performance: Efficiently processes large volumes of data.
  • Active community support: Access to a wide range of resources and expertise.
  • Versatile use cases: Suitable for varied applications including web development and IoT.

MySQL is widely implemented in industries such as web development, e-commerce, and finance. It's used for managing dynamic websites, powering e-commerce platforms, and supporting financial applications. Its compatibility with PHP and cost-effectiveness make it suitable for CMS platforms like WordPress. With cloud services integration, MySQL is a backend choice for scalable applications in various sectors.

Oracle
 

Sample Customers

Dow Jones, Arizona State University, Verizon, Capital One, United Nations, Nielsen, Autodesk, Fanduel
Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Buyer's Guide
Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL
September 2025
Free Report: Amazon Aurora vs. MySQL
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