Amazon RDS vs Imply comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Imply are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while Imply is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 25.0% mindshare in DS, compared to Imply’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Imply users who would recommend it.

Amazon RDS

Read 54 Amazon RDS reviews

5,264 Views
4,374 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Imply

Read 1 Imply review

129 Views
72 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Amazon RDS

Imply

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Amazon RDS and Imply are database management and analytics products. Amazon RDS has the advantage in deployment simplicity and customer support, whereas Imply is stronger in real-time analytics features.

Features: Amazon RDS offers reliable performance, automated backups, and scalability across various database engines. Imply distinguishes itself with cutting-edge real-time analytics, seamless integration with Apache Druid, and powerful ad-hoc query capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Amazon RDS provides automated setup and seamless scaling, accompanied by 24/7 support and comprehensive documentation. Imply requires more intricate initial configurations but offers specialized analytics deployment and emphasizes technical excellence in support.

Pricing and ROI: Amazon RDS uses a competitive pay-as-you-go model, offering clear ROI through efficient resource use. Imply demands higher setup investment but delivers substantial ROI through advanced analytics capabilities, justifying the cost for those focusing on insights.

To learn more, read our detailed Database as a Service (DBaaS) Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

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 RDS

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Imply

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Amazon RDS is 25.0%, down from 27.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Imply is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Samuel Ebite

AICE Graduate at alx_africa

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.

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Divya Bhanot

Director of Engineering at Paytm

Provides cost efficiency and flexible control over clusters

The managed offering has two models: Polaris and Hybrid. We explored both during the PoC phase. The Hybrid model gives you the flexibility to keep your data safe on your own site but still have a managed service to control your infrastructure. The Polaris model, on the other hand, does not give you an insight into what kind of AWS box you are using. Based on your capacity planning, you can just choose the correct size of the box. It also gives you a dashboard. I would like Imply to include more flexible billing models with added options for superior infrastructure control, flexibility in scaling, and cost-effectiveness, such as choosing the number of CPUs required. We should have more flexibility and control over the infrastructure in terms of upscaling and downscaling. Currently, there are only certain tightly bound options. With more flexible options, more customers will adopt the solution.

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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

"The most valuable feature of Amazon RDS is its performance."

"I found it to be a stable solution."

"It offers an easy-to-use interface that allows me to monitor instances and update necessary features conveniently."

"The product's most valuable features are option groups, S3 integration, automated and scheduled snapshots, and cross-region replication."

"Amazon RDS is good for backups, auto-scanning, and disaster recovery. It's also appropriate for the office server."

"The most valuable feature is that it is a fully managed database, where they handle most of the administrative tasks and leaves the users more time to concentrate on business."

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it requires an easy setup phase, and it is also easy to use while not being too heavy on its users."

"Relational databases excel in extensive normalization, eliminating data redundancy and efficiently structuring tables which leads to a clear and efficient relationship between tables using primary keys."

More Amazon RDS pros

"One of the best parts of the solution is the Hybrid model that allows flexibility to keep control over the clusters."

"We have not faced any downtime."

Cons

"It would be better if it integrated seamlessly with Microsoft products. Our clients use the Microsoft Tally application server. We already tried to create a reputation from, for example, an on-premises environment from our client to Amazon RDS using Microsoft Tally server, and we couldn't do that because we didn't have a strong user in RDS. We couldn't create a reputation from an on-premises environment from the Microsoft Tally server to RDS. I think that it would be a good implementation, and it would help us with this case."

"There are a few aspects of database management that have room for improvement. There are a few parameters in the solution that are a bit unclear at our end as it's not understandable."

"The security features could be improved."

"The Amazon RDS engine could provide features for additional databases, such as Db2. It could also provide support for other databases, such as NoSQL databases, DynamoDB, and Apache Cassandra. They could all stay under one hood."

"The solution could improve the administration tools."

"Amazon has a policy of automatically restarting the server every seven days."

"I would like to see improvements in the tool's automatic restart."

"Sometimes the interface has many moving parts, which is a concern."

More Amazon RDS cons

"I would like Imply to include more flexible billing models with added options for superior infrastructure control, flexibility in scaling, and cost-effectiveness, such as choosing the number of CPUs required. We should have more flexibility and control over the infrastructure in terms of upscaling and downscaling. Currently, there are only certain tightly bound options."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The substantial initial credit and cost-effectiveness make Amazon an attractive option."

"Amazon RDS is less expensive than other solutions."

"By using a combination of Reserve Instances and On-Demand pricing, you can reduce the cost."

"The cost is manageable because you can see the expense associated with each instance and utilize tools for tagging and cost control."

"The solution's price is good."

"The price of Amazon RDS is reasonable."

"The solution is fairly priced."

"The price of Amazon RDS is expensive."

More Amazon RDS pricing and cost advice

"Imply pricing is in the middle range. Understanding the data model can help reduce overall system costs."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

14%

University

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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?

One key improvement would be adding support for multi-storage paradigms, including columnar support, as seen in TiDB. The serverless support with Aurora could also be enhanced. Additionally, having...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Imply?

Imply pricing is in the middle range. Understanding the data model can help reduce overall system costs. If you understand the data model clearly and go in-depth while doing your capacity planning,...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Imply?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Imply?

We are serving the Ads business for one of the biggest startups in India. Our use case involves capturing events or impressions generated on our app and performing aggregations of the users. If som...

See all answers

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Compared 16% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 50% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS

April 2025

Download Amazon RDS product report

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2025

Download Imply product report

Also Known As

RDS

No data available

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)

Imply provides advanced data analytics and real-time insights that cater to enterprises needing scalable performance and reliable data processing.

Imply offers a powerful analytics engine based on Apache Druid, allowing organizations to process vast amounts of data quickly. It is designed to deliver real-time insights with high scalability and reliability, supporting intricate data exploration and high-speed querying. Ideal for developers and data professionals, Imply ensures seamless integration into diverse IT ecosystems, enhancing data analysis capabilities significantly. Users highlight its proficiency in managing high query loads and its intuitive interface.

What are the essential features of Imply?

Real-Time Analytics: Offers immediate insights by processing data as it streams.
Scalability: Handles large data volumes efficiently for fast querying.
Flexible Integration: Easily integrates within existing IT infrastructures.
High Availability: Ensures consistent uptime and performance.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies navigation and data exploration.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces infrastructure costs with scalable solutions.
Enhanced Performance: Quickly processes and analyzes large datasets.
Operational Agility: Supports rapid decision-making with real-time data.

Imply is implemented across industries such as finance, digital marketing, and telecommunications, empowering professionals with vital insights. In finance, it helps manage transactional data analysis, while in digital marketing, it optimizes targeting and engagement strategies. Telecommunications professionals leverage it for network performance metrics and customer data insights.

Imply

Sample Customers

Edmodo

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2025

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