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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 per user
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amazon RDS logo

Amazon RDS

Database & Data Management

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.

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/month per userOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsAWSAWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDatabase & Data Management

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 intelligence dashboards and analyticsnot Amazon RDS
  • Scalable embedded analytics for applicationsnot 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 per user

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon QuickSight review.

Amazon RDS

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon RDS review.

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 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 per user and Amazon RDS at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or Amazon RDS?
Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month per user and Amazon RDS at On request.
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.
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence dashboards and analytics, scalable embedded analytics for applications. Of those, business intelligence dashboards and analytics and scalable embedded analytics for applications 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 RDS: What databases does Amazon RDS support?

Amazon RDS supports Amazon Aurora, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle Database, and Microsoft SQL Server as managed database engines.

Source
Amazon RDS: Does Amazon RDS handle backups automatically?

Yes. Amazon RDS automates backup configuration, backing up your database and transaction logs. Blue/Green Deployments allow safer updates by mirroring production in staging before applying changes.

Source
Amazon RDS: How does Amazon RDS Proxy improve performance?

Amazon RDS Proxy is a managed database proxy that makes applications more scalable by reducing database connection overhead, more resilient to database failures, and more secure through built-in authentication.

Source
Amazon RDS: Does Amazon RDS provide read replicas?

Yes. Amazon RDS supports read replicas across availability zones and regions, enabling horizontal scaling of read capacity while maintaining a single write primary.

Source
Amazon RDS: Can I access the host directly via SSH or Remote Desktop?

No. Amazon RDS does not allow direct host access via SSH, Telnet, or Windows Remote Desktop Connection. Database access is limited to database clients and management console.

Source
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