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Business Intelligence · head to head

Amazon QuickSight vs Amazon RDS

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Business Intelligence

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amazon RDS logo

Amazon RDS

Databases

Set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Amazon RDS has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month; Amazon RDS no super-user access or direct host connectivity limits advanced customization
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, Amazon RDS covers Multiple DB Engines.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon QuickSight and Amazon RDS actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon QuickSight and Amazon RDS differ
AttributeAmazon QuickSightAmazon RDS
Starting price$3/monthFree
Pricing modelper-userusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAWSAWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDatabases

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2006).

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 QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Pay-per-session
  • Redshift
  • S3
  • Athena

Only in Amazon RDS

  • Multiple DB Engines
  • Automated Backups
  • Multi-AZ Deployment
  • Read Replicas
  • Encryption
  • Performance Insights
  • Automatic Scaling
  • MySQL

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligencenot Amazon RDS
  • Dashboard creationnot Amazon RDS
  • Data visualizationnot Amazon RDS

Amazon RDS

  • Transaction processingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Data storagenot Amazon QuickSight
  • Application backendnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Reportingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Data analyticsnot Amazon QuickSight

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

Amazon RDS

  • No super-user access or direct host connectivity limits advanced customization
  • Pricing unpredictable and expensive compared to GCP alternatives with equivalent features
  • Limited access to system procedures and tables requiring advanced permissions
  • No Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters) support for high-availability Oracle deployments

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month
  • Reader$3/month
    • Dashboard viewing only
  • Reader Pro$20/month
    • Enhanced reader capabilities
  • Author$24/month
    • Dashboard creation and editing
  • Author Pro$40/month
    • Advanced authoring features

Amazon RDS

Free
  • On-Demand Instances$undefined/per second
  • Reserved Instances$undefined/mo
  • Database Savings Plans$undefined/mo

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Choose Amazon RDS if

  • You need multiple db engines.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region.
  • You also want automated backups.
Amazon RDS review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon QuickSight or Amazon RDS better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month and Amazon RDS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or Amazon RDS?
Amazon RDS has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3/month for Amazon QuickSight and Free for Amazon RDS.
Does Amazon QuickSight or Amazon RDS run on more platforms?
Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS. Amazon RDS runs on AWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region.
Can I use Amazon RDS for free?
Yes. Amazon RDS has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month.
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence, dashboard creation, data visualization. Of those, business intelligence and dashboard creation are not what Amazon RDS is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon QuickSight do that Amazon RDS cannot?
Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. Amazon RDS covers Multiple DB Engines, Automated Backups, Multi-AZ Deployment, Read Replicas. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon QuickSight: What does Amazon QuickSight cost per user?

QuickSight pricing varies by user role. Readers start at $3/month, Reader Pro at $20/month, Authors at $24/month, and Author Pro at $40/month. All prices are per user per month.

Source
Amazon RDS: What is included in the AWS Free Tier for RDS?

For signups before July 15, 2025: 750 hours per month of single-AZ database instance usage (12 months), 20 GB General Purpose SSD storage monthly, 20 GB automated backup storage monthly, available engines include MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQL Server Express Edition. For signups after July 15, 2025: choice between Free Plan or Paid Plan, $100 in credits plus up to $100 additional credits for activating foundational services, credits valid 12 months. Free Tier unavailable in AWS GovCloud (US) and China (Beijing) regions.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: Does QuickSight charge an infrastructure fee?

Yes, QuickSight charges an infrastructure fee of $250/month per account if the account has at least one Pro user, has Q&A enabled via topics, or has dashboard Q&A enabled.

Source
Amazon RDS: How is data transfer priced in RDS?

Same Availability Zone (EC2 to RDS) is free. Multi-AZ replication is free. Cross-AZ within same region is 0.01 USD per GB in and out. Cross-region snapshots and backups follow standard data transfer charges.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: What are QuickSight's session capacity pricing options?

Session capacity pricing starts at $250/month for 500 sessions. Annual plans range from $20,000/year for 50,000 sessions to $258,000/year for 1,600,000 sessions, with volume discounts reducing unit costs from $0.50 to $0.16 per additional session.

Source
Amazon RDS: What database engines are supported by RDS?

Aurora, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server, and IBM Db2. Pricing varies by engine.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: How much does additional SPICE storage cost?

Additional SPICE storage beyond the included 10 GB costs $0.38 per GB per month. Authors receive 10 GB included, but Readers do not.

Source
Amazon RDS: What cost components are included in RDS monthly pricing?

DB instance hours (billed in 1-second increments, 10-minute minimum), storage per GB per month, I/O requests (Aurora and magnetic storage only), provisioned IOPS per month, backup storage, and data transfer fees.

Source
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