Amazon Aurora vs Oracle Database comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.4, while Oracle is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 3.3% mindshare in SQL, compared to Oracle’s 12.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

Amazon Aurora

Read 17 Amazon Aurora reviews

2,869 Views
2,554 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Oracle Database

Read 289 Oracle Database reviews

11,609 Views
9,638 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Amazon Aurora

Oracle Database

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Oracle Database and Amazon Aurora compete in the enterprise database market. Oracle Database offers strong reliability and robustness which appear to give it the upper hand in large-scale complex environments.

Features: Oracle Database is known for high availability, scalability, and advanced security, ideal for complex enterprise requirements. It offers tools like Oracle RAC and Data Guard to ensure data integrity and reliability. Additionally, it boasts a strong diagnostic infrastructure and robust backup solutions. Amazon Aurora emphasizes ease of use and integration with AWS services while offering automatic backups and scalability. It supports multi-region clusters and delivers cost efficiency in cloud environments.

Room for Improvement: Oracle Database requires attention to its high licensing costs and complex configuration, alongside improving integration with open-source solutions. It also needs easier management functions for less experienced administrators. Amazon Aurora could further enhance its cryptographic features and reduce operational costs while improving query optimization and performance insights for better distributed query handling.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Oracle Database can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid setups but demands skilled personnel for its complex deployment. The customer service exhibits inconsistent feedback, often noted for delayed support responses. Amazon Aurora's cloud-native design facilitates easier deployment via AWS infrastructure, with generally prompt customer service, though multi-region support could be better.

Pricing and ROI: Oracle Database is associated with high costs, often acting as a barrier to smaller enterprises despite delivering strong ROI through its reliable features. Amazon Aurora offers more budget-friendly options with a pay-as-you-go model, attracting businesses seeking scalability without significant initial investment, and it efficiently manages costs for those invested in AWS.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Aurora vs. Oracle Database Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Aurora vs. Oracle Database

March 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 Aurora

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Oracle Database

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

289

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Amazon Aurora is 3.3%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 12.8%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Rajitha Jatothu

Aws Devops Engineer at LTIMindtree

Achieve high performance with fault-tolerant and highly available database management

Aurora is a key pillar for us, offering performance and availability. It is faster than RDS and supports multi-region clusters and scalability. One feature we value is Aurora's ability to provide a reader endpoint, allowing applications to connect without tracking replicas. It supports auto-scaling and offers several options for monitoring and optimizing database performance. Aurora's fault tolerance and ability to handle multiple replicas contribute to its reliability and high performance.

Read full review

Duy AnhMai

Product Owner at Heineken

Good storage and reliable but needs a better dashboard

I use Oracle Database just for storage of the corporate database data and the finance data I use Oracle Database just for storage of the corporate database data and the finance data. However, I find the dashboard to be complicated and not user-friendly. The dashboard is not user-friendly, and I…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Aurora is a key pillar for us, offering performance and availability."

"The solution’s scalability is good since we don’t need to take a maintenance window during unpredictable workloads. I like the solution’s behind-the-scenes happenings. It is a great feature."

"We had better control over the parameters that we could tweak in terms of intermediate storage and better indexing capabilities."

"The most valuable feature is that the maintainability is offloaded to the service provider. I don't have to maintain a database or do any administrative tasks, which comes in handy."

"Aurora's features that I find the most beneficial include its database backup strategy, performance options, and input-output operations."

"The provision of custom read and write endpoints eliminates the need for managing a separate proxy load balancer."

"My overall experience with Amazon Aurora is very positive. I rate it ten out of ten for its reliability and efficiency."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to do multiple-read and single-write. These are the kinds of features that we were interested in, and Aurora takes care of that natively."

More Amazon Aurora pros

"I really appreciate the performance of Oracle. When using AWR records you can really see where a problem is. You can get advice about which queries are the heaviest for the database. You also can see advice for indexes. If an index isn't used, then you can just remove it to improve performance. This is a really good feature. Also, the JDBC connection is quite good. Finally, the object types are really good, the types of tables you can use in PL/SQL are also really helpful."

"The ease of use has been great."

"A scalable solution with straightforward initial setup."

"The dashboard may be the best solution for intelligent data management, as well as business intelligence."

"The solution has an endless capacity."

"Overall, from a technical perspective, the solution is very strong."

"The solution is definitely very good for our consultancy on payroll and human resource."

"RDBMS with good performance and technical support. It's a scalable, stable, secure, and easy to implement solution that can be deployed both on cloud and on-premises."

More Oracle Database pros

Cons

"The product's distributed query process for MySQL needs improvement."

"It would have been helpful if they had provided some benchmarking numbers."

"One of the most valuable features is storage scaling."

"There is improvement needed to have more developer focus. Additionally, it would be helpful to have a stand-alone solution outside of Amazon. Amazon has a tendency to favor developing web-based clients, which may not always provide the fastest or most responsive solution as desired."

"While Amazon Aurora meets your current scaling and storage needs, there is room for improvement in cryptography and scalability compared to other databases."

"In Oracle, tools like Veridata allow for comparing databases and certifying data accuracy, even offering repair capabilities, which are missing in Aurora. There should be a similar comparison tool in Aurora."

"It is a bit costly. The features are quite good, and I wouldn't say it requires any technical improvements. But from a cost perspective, some clients wouldn't go for Aurora because of that."

"There are tuning challenges."

More Amazon Aurora cons

"The software really doesn't need any improvement, but the way they do the billing should be improved. They charge by all the chips on the server, whether you use them or not. If you have a server that has 64 chips on it and you use one chip, they charge you for 64, and that's a terrible business model."

"It takes a significant amount of time after submitting an initial SR with Oracle Tech Support before your case reaches a technical expert with whom you can actually work on the issue resolution. Before that, you have to deal with people who are not experts."

"Cheap and easy solutions for startups need to be made available."

"The licensing model is complicated and could be improved."

"The user interface could be better."

"If you want to scale, it will get even more expensive."

"It needs to be more stable, as recently we have experienced some issues."

"Oracle itself does not provide an excellent migration tool to users, which is a shortcoming where the product needs to improve a lot."

More Oracle Database cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool’s pricing depends on the instance type. For cost optimization purposes, we use the result instance category."

"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."

"It is quite expensive."

"The price could be lower compared to its competitors."

"It is an expensive solution."

"There is no need to buy a license for the product. We can pay as per the use case."

"Oracle is also very expensive."

"You buy it initially, and then you pay for yearly support if you need support. If you don't need support, you can also use it without the support."

"The price of Oracle Database could improve, it is expensive and they are paid annually. We are looking for lower pricing and flexible pricing plans, they are very rigid in the price."

"When you consider the services, Oracle is reasonably priced."

"The price of Oracle Database is high and could be reduced."

"I do not have first-hand knowledge of the price of the support. However, I have heard from my seniors or the experienced people who work on the pricing and scaling, the price of Oracle is a bit higher. The reason is Oracle provides enterprise-level applications, only large enterprises can afford Oracle applications or tools."

"We have bought a license, and it was a one-time cost."

"It would be a benefit if there were different pricing levels to help different size businesses."

More Oracle Database pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

27%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 nearly the same as RDS, with Aurora offering additional functionalities. This makes the product cost-effective.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Amazon Aurora?

There are tuning challenges. The same methods used for tuning in RDS might not work in Aurora, and some functionalities available in MySQL may not be compatible with Aurora. There's also a concern ...

See all answers

How do you run Oracle Database at your organization and why?

My company has been using Oracle Exadata Database Service for some years now, and we are happy with it. I will allow myself to answer your questions about why and what benefits it provides us with ...

See all answers

Do you know of any disadvantages of Oracle Database?

Undoubtedly, Oracle Database is a top product in its category. But it does have its disadvantages, and for me and my organization, that has been the limitations of the product. When it comes to Ora...

See all answers

What is the best use for Oracle Database?

Oracle Database is flexible and can be used for many things. My company's main use case for this product is for storing data. We benefit from its high level of security as well as from the fact tha...

See all answers

Comparisons

SQL Server vs Amazon Aurora

Compared 36% of the time

MariaDB vs Amazon Aurora

Compared 8% of the time

YugabyteDB vs Amazon Aurora

Compared 6% of the time

Citus Data vs Amazon Aurora

Compared 6% of the time

SAP HANA vs Amazon Aurora

Compared 6% of the time

More Amazon Aurora Competitors

SAP HANA vs Oracle Database

Compared 22% of the time

SQL Server vs Oracle Database

Compared 14% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs Oracle Database

Compared 10% of the time

MariaDB vs Oracle Database

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Informix vs Oracle Database

Compared 5% of the time

More Oracle Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Aurora

March 2025

Download Amazon Aurora product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Database

March 2025

Download Oracle Database product report

Also Known As

No data available

Oracle 12c, RDBMS

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)

Oracle Database is a top-ranking multi-model database management system by Oracle Corporation. Through Oracle database services and products, clients receive cost-optimized and high-performing versions of Oracle Database, as well as in-memory, NoSQL, and MySQL databases. The solution is available by several service providers on premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid installation. It can be run on vendor servers as well as on Oracle hardware, including Exadata on-premise, Oracle Cloud, or Cloud at Customer.

Users can select from various types of Oracle Database solutions, depending on what they aim to do with this product. Based on their specific needs, they can choose among options that include:

Autonomously managed Oracle databases: This type of database eliminates the complexity of operating and securing Oracle Database, while simultaneously ensuring high levels of performance, scalability, and availability for users.
Oracle Database on Exadata: Users who seek particularly fast platforms can select this type of running solution. Exadata is a computing platform that is optimized for running Oracle Databases and it serves as the fastest platform for Oracle Database.
Oracle Database on-premises deployment: The product allows for deployment on-premises for clients who have data residency and network latency concerns. This option also offers customers the benefit of updated Oracle Cloud technology, including Exadata and Autonomous Database.
Oracle Database in the cloud: Organizations can use a specific version of this tool in the cloud, benefiting from complete control over the versions they run and when these versions change.

Part of this product is a fully automated database service called Oracle Autonomous Database, which facilitates the development and deployment of application workloads for organizations. It is built on Oracle Database as well as on Oracle Exadata. This service supports various data types and simplifies application development and deployment from modeling and coding to extract, transform, load process (ETL), data analysis, and database optimization. The service achieves high results in:

Performance
Availability
Security for online transaction processing (OLTP)
Analytics
Batch
Internet of Things (IoT) workloads

Oracle Database Features

Oracle Database has various features which users can utilize in their work with the solution. Among these features are the following:

Backup and recovery: Oracle Database ensures the integrity of users' data in system failure situations. This feature utilizes a tool named Recovery Manager (RMAN), which allows administrators to perform cold, hot, and incremental database backups, as well as point-in-time recoveries.
Clustering: This feature enables high availability of systems in order to run without interruption of services on occasions when one or more servers in a cluster fail. Included is a tool called Oracle Real Application Clusters.
Data dictionary: Through this set of internal tables and views, Oracle Database can be administered more efficiently.
Logical data structure: Through its feature for logical data structure, Oracle Database stores data in a way that allows users to interact with the database without knowing where the physical storage of the data is located.
Memory catching: Through the memory caching architecture feature, users can scale up very large databases and still perform at a considerably high speed.
Partitioning: This feature allows users to divide large tables into different pieces and store the pieces across storage devices.

Oracle Database Benefits

Oracle Database offers its users various benefits. Some of these include:

The solution decreases costs for organizations and provides a high return on investment (ROI) through the multiple services and features it offers.
Oracle Database has high-security protection which includes encryption, key management, data masking, and activity monitoring, that secures organizations' data within the tool.
The tool offers users the ability to use a single database for all data types, simplifying the process for them.
Oracle Database can be deployed in multiple places, including data centers and public and private clouds, which allows great flexibility for users.
The product allows applications from different platforms to communicate with the database through its networking stack.
Oracle Database is ACID-compliant, which helps maintain data reliability and integrity.

Reviews from Real Users

Paul S., president at Advance Consulting Enterprise, likes Oracle Database because it gets the job done, doesn't fail, and suitable for massively scalable applications.

An Oracle DBA at a computer software company describes Oracle Database as reliable with good performance and very good stability.

Oracle

Sample Customers

Dow Jones, Arizona State University, Verizon, Capital One, United Nations, Nielsen, Autodesk, Fanduel

Agncia Nacional de guas, Anbima, Aria Systems, Asiana Airlines, Astelit LLC, Australian Finance Group, Banco Occidental de Descuento, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BT, Caja de Seguros S.A., Casas GEO S.A.B. de C.V., Comic Relief UK, Corsair Components Inc., CSAM Health AS, CSOB Group, Datacraft Solutions, DenizBank A.S., Department of Treasury and Finance WA, Office of State Revenue, Deutsche B_rse AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Deutsche Messe AG, Digicel Haiti, DPR COSEA, Essar Group, Essatto Software Pty Ltd, Farmšcia e Drogaria Nissei Ltda., Fomento Econ‹mico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), FundaÊo Petrobras de Seguridade Social, Future Group, GFKL Financial Services AG, Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Sinosserra, Guerra S.A. Implementos Rodovišrios, Hanatour International Service, Hays plc, Henan Mobile Co. Ltd, Hochschule Hof, Hong Kong and China Technology (Wuhan) Co. Ltd (Towngas Technology), Industries Corpa_al C.A., Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica, Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, Kcell, LinkShare Corporation, MercadoLibre Inc., MetLife Inc., Nextgen Distribution, €BB-IKT GmbH, Octagon Research Solutions, Pacific Lutheran University, Paragon Data GmbH, Ping ltd., PJSC Trustbank, Prodaub _ Processamento de Dados de Uberl_ndia, Purdue University, Redknee Inc., Robi Axiata Limited, Shanghai Infoservice Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai Sihua Technologies Co. Ltd, Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de M_xico, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Suddenlink Communications, Suprajit Engineering Limited, Tallink Grupp, Terminales Ro de la Plata S.A., Therap Services LLC, Think Passenger Inc., Trafigura, Transmed S.A.L Lebanon, ValeShop, VelQuest Corporation, Vodafone Group plc, West Virginia Network, WIND Hellas Telecommunications S.A

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Aurora vs. Oracle Database

March 2025

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