Softwr

Databases · head to head

Amazon Aurora vs Redpanda

Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Databases

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Redpanda logo

Redpanda

Databases

Kafka-compatible streaming platform with no ZooKeeper or JVM

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; Redpanda the community edition is source-available rather than OSI open source, which matters for some procurement
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, Redpanda covers Kafka API compatible.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Amazon Aurora and Redpanda differ
AttributeAmazon AuroraRedpanda
Pricing modelusage-basedSource-available community edition with paid enterprise and cloud tiers
PlatformsAWS CloudLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
Founded2006Unknown

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

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 Redpanda

  • Kafka API compatible
  • No JVM or ZooKeeper
  • Thread-per-core
  • Built-in HTTP proxy and schema registry

What people use each for

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

Amazon Aurora

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

Redpanda

  • Kafka workloads where the operational cost of running Kafka is the blockernot Amazon Aurora
  • Latency-sensitive streaming where tail latency mattersnot Amazon Aurora
  • Smaller teams wanting streaming without a dedicated platform groupnot 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

Redpanda

  • The community edition is source-available rather than OSI open source, which matters for some procurement
  • Kafka API compatibility is high but not total, and deep ecosystem tools can hit gaps
  • Smaller community than Kafka, so fewer people have solved your problem before
  • Some operational and tiered-storage features are enterprise-only

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

Redpanda

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Kafka-compatible broker
    • Single binary
    • Community support

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 Redpanda if

  • You need kafka api compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want no jvm or zookeeper.
Redpanda review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Aurora or Redpanda better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Redpanda at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Aurora or Redpanda?
Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Redpanda at Free.
Does Amazon Aurora or Redpanda run on more platforms?
Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud. Redpanda runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
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 Redpanda is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Aurora do that Redpanda cannot?
Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. Redpanda covers Kafka API compatible, No JVM or ZooKeeper, Thread-per-core, Built-in HTTP proxy and schema registry.

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
Redpanda: Is Redpanda free?

A community edition is free and source-available. Enterprise features and Redpanda Cloud are paid, and the licence is not OSI open 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
Redpanda: Can I use my Kafka clients?

Yes. Redpanda implements the Kafka API, so existing clients and most tooling connect without changes.

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
Redpanda: Why remove ZooKeeper and the JVM?

Both are significant sources of Kafka’s operational burden — tuning, coordination and failure modes. Removing them is the core of Redpanda’s pitch.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Amazon Aurora

More on Redpanda

Keep looking

Other head to heads