Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs Amazon RDS

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amazon RDS logo

Amazon RDS

Database & Data Management

Set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbase airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.; Amazon RDS no super-user access or direct host connectivity limits advanced customization
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Amazon RDS covers Multiple DB Engines.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Amazon RDS actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Amazon RDS differ
AttributeAirbaseAmazon RDS
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidAWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region
CategoryAccounting & FinanceDatabase & Data Management
Founded20172006

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbase

  • Corporate cards
  • Bill payments
  • Expense management
  • Procurement
  • Approvals
  • NetSuite
  • Sage Intacct
  • QuickBooks

Only in Amazon RDS

  • Multiple DB Engines
  • Automated Backups
  • Multi-AZ Deployment
  • Read Replicas
  • Encryption
  • Performance Insights
  • Automatic Scaling
  • MySQL

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Amazon RDS
  • Expense reportingnot Amazon RDS
  • Vendor paymentsnot Amazon RDS

Amazon RDS

  • Transaction processingnot Airbase
  • Data storagenot Airbase
  • Application backendnot Airbase
  • Reportingnot Airbase
  • Data analyticsnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbase

  • Airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.

Amazon RDS

  • No super-user access or direct host connectivity limits advanced customization
  • Pricing unpredictable and expensive compared to GCP alternatives with equivalent features
  • Limited access to system procedures and tables requiring advanced permissions
  • No Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters) support for high-availability Oracle deployments

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense reports
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$10/month
    • Advanced approvals
    • NetSuite sync
    • Procurement
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom workflows
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

Amazon RDS

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon RDS review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want bill payments.
Airbase review

Choose Amazon RDS if

  • You need multiple db engines.
  • You work on AWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region.
  • You also want automated backups.
Amazon RDS review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Amazon RDS better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Amazon RDS at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Amazon RDS?
Airbase starts at $29/month and Amazon RDS at On request.
Does Airbase or Amazon RDS run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Amazon RDS runs on AWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region.
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what Amazon RDS is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Amazon RDS cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Amazon RDS covers Multiple DB Engines, Automated Backups, Multi-AZ Deployment, Read Replicas. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon RDS: What databases does Amazon RDS support?

Amazon RDS supports Amazon Aurora, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle Database, and Microsoft SQL Server as managed database engines.

Source
Amazon RDS: Does Amazon RDS handle backups automatically?

Yes. Amazon RDS automates backup configuration, backing up your database and transaction logs. Blue/Green Deployments allow safer updates by mirroring production in staging before applying changes.

Source
Amazon RDS: How does Amazon RDS Proxy improve performance?

Amazon RDS Proxy is a managed database proxy that makes applications more scalable by reducing database connection overhead, more resilient to database failures, and more secure through built-in authentication.

Source
Amazon RDS: Does Amazon RDS provide read replicas?

Yes. Amazon RDS supports read replicas across availability zones and regions, enabling horizontal scaling of read capacity while maintaining a single write primary.

Source
Amazon RDS: Can I access the host directly via SSH or Remote Desktop?

No. Amazon RDS does not allow direct host access via SSH, Telnet, or Windows Remote Desktop Connection. Database access is limited to database clients and management console.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Airbase

More on Amazon RDS

Keep looking

Other head to heads