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Database & Data Management · head to head

Amazon Aurora vs InfluxDB

Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Database & Data Management

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
InfluxDB logo

InfluxDB

Log Management

Purpose-built time series database for metrics and events

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; InfluxDB high-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Amazon Aurora and InfluxDB differ
AttributeAmazon AuroraInfluxDB
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsAWS CloudCloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementLog Management
Founded20062012

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 InfluxDB

  • Time-series Storage
  • Flux Query Language
  • High Write Throughput
  • Data Compression
  • Retention Policies
  • Continuous Queries
  • Built-in Dashboards
  • Telegraf

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon Aurora

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

InfluxDB

  • Monitoringnot Amazon Aurora
  • IoT datanot Amazon Aurora
  • Financial datanot Amazon Aurora
  • Log analyticsnot Amazon Aurora
  • Observabilitynot 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

InfluxDB

  • High-cardinality data causes memory pressure and performance degradation
  • No support for joins or transactions like relational databases
  • Queries limited to 72-hour window in InfluxDB 3 OSS Core
  • Clustering and authentication features absent from community version

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

InfluxDB

Free
  • Cloud Serverless FreeFree
    • 5 MB writes per 5 minutes
    • 300 MB queries per 5 minutes
    • 30 day retention
  • Cloud Serverless Usage-Based$null/mo
    • 0.0025 USD per MB ingested
    • 0.012 USD per 100 queries
    • 0.002 USD per GB-hour storage

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 InfluxDB if

  • You need time-series storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure.
  • You also want flux query language.
InfluxDB review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Aurora or InfluxDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Aurora starts at Free and InfluxDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Aurora or InfluxDB?
Amazon Aurora starts at Free and InfluxDB at Free.
Does Amazon Aurora or InfluxDB run on more platforms?
Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud. InfluxDB runs on Cloud, Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure.
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 InfluxDB is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Aurora do that InfluxDB cannot?
Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. InfluxDB covers Time-series Storage, Flux Query Language, High Write Throughput, Data Compression. 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
InfluxDB: Is there a free tier and what are the limits?

InfluxDB 3 Core OSS is free forever for local development and prototyping. Cloud Serverless free tier includes 5 MB writes per 5 minutes, 300 MB queries per 5 minutes, 30 day retention, and 2 databases.

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
InfluxDB: Can I self-host InfluxDB?

Yes, InfluxDB 3 Core is fully open source and can be self-hosted with no license required. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise is self-managed and includes a 30-day free trial.

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
InfluxDB: What are the series cardinality limitations?

InfluxDB is sensitive to high-cardinality data. High cardinality increases RAM usage and can trigger out-of-memory errors, making it unsuitable for some workloads with many unique tag combinations.

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
InfluxDB: Does InfluxDB support SQL queries?

InfluxDB has limited SQL support. Full SQL is available in InfluxDB 3, but earlier versions support only specific SQL commands and use InfluxQL as the primary query language.

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
InfluxDB: Can I export my data from InfluxDB?

Yes, data can be exported from InfluxDB using query results. However, the process and supported formats depend on the version and deployment type you are using.

Source
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