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Amazon RDS vs Together AI

Amazon RDS logo

Amazon RDS

Software

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Together AI logo

Together AI

Software

Open-source AI at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Together AI has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon RDS no super-user access or direct host connectivity limits advanced customization; Together AI fine tuning carries a minimum charge of $4.00 per job regardless of dataset size
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon RDS covers Multiple DB Engines, Together AI covers Open-source models.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon RDS and Together AI actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon RDS and Together AI differ
AttributeAmazon RDSTogether AI
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-regionApi, Cloud
Founded20062022

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 RDS

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

Only in Together AI

  • Open-source models
  • Fine-tuning
  • Fast inference
  • Embeddings
  • REST API
  • Python SDK
  • OpenAI compatible
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Amazon RDS

  • Transaction processingnot Together AI
  • Data storagenot Together AI
  • Application backendnot Together AI
  • Reportingnot Together AI
  • Data analyticsnot Together AI

Together AI

  • Serverless inference against open source chat, vision, embedding, image and video modelsnot Amazon RDS
  • Renting dedicated single tenant H100, H200 or B200 GPU clusters by the hournot Amazon RDS
  • Fine tuning open weight models on a per token basisnot Amazon RDS

Where each one falls short

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

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

Together AI

  • Fine tuning carries a minimum charge of $4.00 per job regardless of dataset size
  • Reserved GPU commitments beyond 180 days are priced by contacting sales with no published rate
  • Volume and enterprise discounts are quote only with no published threshold
  • Reserved dedicated inference pricing is contact sales while only on demand rates of $5.49 to $8.99 per GPU hour are published

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon RDS

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon RDS review.

Together AI

Free
  • FreeFree
    • $5 credits
    • API access
  • Pay-per-use$0.2/per-million-tokens
    • All models
    • Fine-tuning

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Together AI if

  • You need open-source models.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Api, Cloud.
  • You also want fine-tuning.
Together AI review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon RDS or Together AI better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon RDS starts at On request and Together AI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon RDS or Together AI?
Together AI has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Amazon RDS and Free for Together AI.
Does Amazon RDS or Together AI run on more platforms?
Amazon RDS runs on AWS Cloud, Multi-AZ, Multi-region. Together AI runs on Api, Cloud.
Can I use Together AI for free?
Yes. Together AI has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon RDS starts at On request.
What is Amazon RDS best used for?
Amazon RDS is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Together AI is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon RDS do that Together AI cannot?
Amazon RDS covers Multiple DB Engines, Automated Backups, Multi-AZ Deployment, Read Replicas. Together AI covers Open-source models, Fine-tuning, Fast inference, Embeddings.

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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