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Amazon Aurora vs Chef

Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Software

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Chef logo

Chef

Software

Infrastructure automation and management

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; Chef priced per node per year, at $59 on Business and $189 on Enterprise, so cost scales with fleet size rather than with team size
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, Chef covers Recipes.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Amazon Aurora and Chef differ
AttributeAmazon AuroraChef
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsAWS CloudLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded20062009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Chef

  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Roles
  • Data bags
  • Attributes
  • Chef Server
  • Chef Infra
  • Chef Compliance

What people use each for

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

Amazon Aurora

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

Chef

  • Configuration management and infrastructure automation across server fleetsnot Amazon Aurora
  • Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot Amazon Aurora

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

Chef

  • Priced per node per year, at $59 on Business and $189 on Enterprise, so cost scales with fleet size rather than with team size
  • Tripling the price between the two published tiers puts compliance and audit features well above basic automation
  • Enterprise Plus and every self managed deployment are custom quoted with no published price

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

Chef

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Chef Infra
    • Community support
    • Full functionality
  • Chef Automate$4000/year
    • Chef Infra
    • Compliance automation
    • Insights

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 Chef if

  • You need recipes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want cookbooks.
Chef review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Aurora or Chef better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Chef at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Aurora or Chef?
Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Chef at Free.
Does Amazon Aurora or Chef run on more platforms?
Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud. Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, 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 Chef is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Aurora do that Chef cannot?
Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags.

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
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
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
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