Softwr

Database & Data Management · head to head

Amazon Aurora vs BigQuery

Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Database & Data Management

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
BigQuery logo

BigQuery

Database & Data Management

Serverless, highly scalable enterprise data warehouse

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Aurora aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services; BigQuery query costs can become substantial for organizations with high query volumes
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, BigQuery covers Serverless Architecture.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Aurora and BigQuery actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Aurora and BigQuery differ
AttributeAmazon AuroraBigQuery
PlatformsAWS CloudWeb, Cloud API
Founded20062008

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Database & Data Management).

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 Amazon Aurora

  • MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible
  • 5x MySQL Performance
  • Auto-scaling Storage
  • Global Database
  • Serverless v2
  • Multi-master
  • Fault Tolerant
  • AWS Lambda

Only in BigQuery

  • Serverless Architecture
  • Petabyte Scale
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Machine Learning
  • Geospatial Analysis
  • Streaming Ingestion
  • Standard SQL
  • Looker

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Transaction processingnot BigQuery
  • Data storagenot BigQuery
  • Application backendnot BigQuery
  • Reporting
  • Data analyticsnot BigQuery

BigQuery

  • Business intelligencenot Amazon Aurora
  • Data warehousingnot Amazon Aurora
  • Real-time analyticsnot Amazon Aurora
  • Reporting
  • Machine learningnot Amazon Aurora

Both are used for reporting, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services
  • Pricing can become expensive with high-traffic applications using many read replicas
  • Limited support for non-relational data types compared to NoSQL alternatives

BigQuery

  • Query costs can become substantial for organizations with high query volumes
  • Data egress from Google Cloud incurs additional charges

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Aurora

Free
  • Serverless v2$0.12/hour
    • Auto-scaling
    • Pay per ACU
    • Instant scaling
  • Provisioned$29/month
    • Dedicated instances
    • Predictable performance
    • Reserved capacity

BigQuery

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • 1TB queries/month
    • 10GB storage/month
    • Standard support
  • On-demand$6.25/TB
    • Pay per query
    • Pay per storage
    • All features

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Aurora if

  • You need mysql/postgresql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS Cloud.
  • You also want 5x mysql performance.
Amazon Aurora review

Choose BigQuery if

  • You need serverless architecture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud API.
  • You also want petabyte scale.
BigQuery review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Aurora or BigQuery better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Aurora starts at Free and BigQuery at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Aurora or BigQuery?
Amazon Aurora starts at Free and BigQuery at Free.
Does Amazon Aurora or BigQuery run on more platforms?
Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud. BigQuery runs on Web, Cloud API.
Can I use Amazon Aurora for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Aurora best used for?
Amazon Aurora is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what BigQuery is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Aurora do that BigQuery cannot?
Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. BigQuery covers Serverless Architecture, Petabyte Scale, Real-time Analytics, Machine Learning. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Aurora: Is Amazon Aurora compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL?

Yes, Amazon Aurora offers MySQL and PostgreSQL compatibility with full compatibility to their open-source counterparts, allowing you to migrate existing databases with standard tools.

Source
BigQuery: How is BigQuery priced?

BigQuery charges $5 per terabyte of data processed in on-demand queries. Storage is billed separately: active storage is charged per GB, and data inactive for 90+ days moves to long-term storage at reduced rates.

Source
Amazon Aurora: What uptime SLA does Amazon Aurora provide?

Aurora is designed for up to 99.99% single-region uptime and 99.999% multi-region uptime with automatic failover.

Source
BigQuery: What is BigQuery's architecture?

BigQuery separates compute and storage, using Google's Colossus for distributed storage and Borg for computation, allowing independent scaling of each.

Source
Amazon Aurora: How much does Amazon Aurora cost?

Aurora uses serverless, usage-based pricing where you pay only for consumed capacity. Typical pricing ranges from $50-70 per month for minimal setups to $400-600 per month for small production clusters.

Source
Amazon Aurora: Can Amazon Aurora scale automatically?

Yes, Aurora automatically scales to match workload demands without performance degradation, supporting both read and write scaling.

Source
Amazon Aurora: How many read replicas does Aurora support?

Aurora supports up to 15 low-latency read replicas for distributing read traffic across your application.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Amazon Aurora

More on BigQuery

Keep looking

Other head to heads