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Database & Data Management · head to head

Amazon Aurora vs Elastic APM

Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Database & Data Management

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Log Management

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

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; Elastic APM pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Aurora and Elastic APM actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Aurora and Elastic APM differ
AttributeAmazon AuroraElastic APM
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsAWS CloudWeb, Api
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementLog Management
Founded20062011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Amazon Aurora

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

Only in Elastic APM

  • Performance monitoring
  • Error tracking
  • Transaction tracing
  • Custom metrics
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Api support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Transaction processingnot Elastic APM
  • Data storagenot Elastic APM
  • Application backendnot Elastic APM
  • Reportingnot Elastic APM
  • Data analyticsnot Elastic APM

Elastic APM

  • Distributed tracing across microservicesnot Amazon Aurora
  • Auto-instrumenting Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, Ruby, PHP and C++ servicesnot Amazon Aurora
  • OpenTelemetry-native collection through the Elastic distributionsnot Amazon Aurora
  • Correlating latency and errors with machine learningnot Amazon Aurora
  • Monitoring LLM calls alongside application tracesnot 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

Elastic APM

  • Pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
  • Self-managed deployment means running and scaling Elasticsearch yourself
  • Serverless does not carry every capability the hosted option does

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

Elastic APM

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Performance monitoring
    • Error tracking
    • Transaction tracing

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 Elastic APM if

  • You need performance monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want error tracking.
Elastic APM review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Aurora or Elastic APM better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Aurora or Elastic APM?
Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Elastic APM at Free.
Does Amazon Aurora or Elastic APM run on more platforms?
Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud. Elastic APM runs on Web, 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 Elastic APM is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Aurora do that Elastic APM cannot?
Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. 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
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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Related pages

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