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Databases · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Databases

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Redshift on-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery; AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Redshift and AWS (Amazon Web Services) actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and AWS (Amazon Web Services) differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftAWS (Amazon Web Services)
PlatformsWebWeb, Api, Cli, Mobile
CategoryDatabasesCloud
Founded20122006

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 Redshift

  • Columnar Storage
  • Massively Parallel
  • Machine Learning
  • AQUA Acceleration
  • Data Sharing
  • Federated Query
  • Concurrency Scaling
  • S3

Only in AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

What people use each for

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

Amazon Redshift

  • Business intelligencenot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Data warehousingnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Real-time analyticsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Reportingnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Machine learning

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Amazon Redshift
  • Data storagenot Amazon Redshift
  • Machine learning
  • Big data analyticsnot Amazon Redshift
  • Application developmentnot Amazon Redshift

Both are used for machine learning, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon Redshift

  • On-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery
  • Requires significant manual tuning including managing concurrency scaling costs and configuring Workload Management queues
  • Performance degrades without proper design of distribution keys and sort keys
  • Limited elastic resize options - can only halve or double current cluster size
  • AWS lock-in makes it unsuitable for multi-cloud architectures

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Redshift

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 750 DC2.Large hours
    • 2 months free
    • Full features
  • On-Demand$0.25/hour
    • Pay per node hour
    • All features
    • Standard support

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Redshift if

  • You need columnar storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want massively parallel.
Amazon Redshift review

Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or AWS (Amazon Web Services) better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or AWS (Amazon Web Services)?
Amazon Redshift starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free.
Does Amazon Redshift or AWS (Amazon Web Services) run on more platforms?
Amazon Redshift runs on Web. AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
Can I use Amazon Redshift for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Redshift best used for?
Amazon Redshift is most often used for business intelligence, data warehousing, real-time analytics, reporting. Of those, business intelligence and data warehousing are not what AWS (Amazon Web Services) is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that AWS (Amazon Web Services) cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Redshift: What deployment options does Amazon Redshift offer?

Redshift offers Provisioned Cluster (with RA3 or DC2 nodes) and Serverless options to match varying workloads. The new Redshift RG instance family, powered by Graviton, delivers 2.4x faster performance than RA3 at 30% lower cost per vCPU.

Source
AWS (Amazon Web Services): What are AWS's payment options and pricing models?

AWS offers four pricing approaches: pay-as-you-go (you pay only for what you use), flat-rate plans combining multiple services into one monthly price without overages, Savings Plans offering discounts on compute and machine learning with 1- or 3-year commitments, and volume-based tiered pricing where costs decrease as usage increases.

Source
Amazon Redshift: What does Amazon Redshift cost?

Provisioned cluster pricing: RA3 on-demand starts at $1.086/hour for ra3.xlplus. Serverless costs approximately $0.375 per RPU-hour with 4-RPU minimum (roughly $1.50/hour active workload). Managed storage costs $0.024/GB-month.

Source
AWS (Amazon Web Services): Are there contracts, termination fees, or commitments required for AWS?

No long-term contracts are required for AWS services. No termination fees apply once you stop using the service. Savings Plans provide optional 1- or 3-year commitments with discounted hourly rates, but you can revert to pay-as-you-go pricing anytime.

Source
Amazon Redshift: Does Redshift work with data lakes?

Yes, Redshift's integrated data lake query engine processes workloads on Apache Iceberg tables and other supported formats in Amazon S3, allowing you to run SQL analytics across your data warehouse and data lake from the same engine.

Source
AWS (Amazon Web Services): Does AWS offer a free tier?

AWS provides a free tier that offers hands-on experience with AWS products at no charge. The free tier allows new customers to try eligible services before committing to paid usage.

Source
Amazon Redshift: Is there a free tier for Amazon Redshift?

AWS offers a free trial with $300 USD in Serverless credits valid for 90 days, but Redshift is not part of the permanent AWS Free Tier.

Source
AWS (Amazon Web Services): How do I estimate my AWS costs?

AWS provides the AWS Pricing Calculator and Cost Explorer tool to estimate costs for single or multiple services. AWS also offers cost optimization recommendations, performance reporting, and budget alerts to help track and control spending.

Source
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