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AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs Cassandra

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud & Infrastructure

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Database & Data Management

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills; Cassandra no support for joins across tables
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, Cassandra covers Linear Scalability.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Cassandra differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)Cassandra
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureDatabase & Data Management
Founded20062008

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 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

Only in Cassandra

  • Linear Scalability
  • Fault Tolerance
  • Multi-datacenter Replication
  • Tunable Consistency
  • CQL Query Language
  • Distributed Architecture
  • No Single Point of Failure
  • DataStax

What people use each for

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Cassandra
  • Data storagenot Cassandra
  • Machine learningnot Cassandra
  • Big data analyticsnot Cassandra
  • Application developmentnot Cassandra

Cassandra

  • Real-time applicationsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Content managementnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • User profilesnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Mobile backendsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Cachingnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Where each one falls short

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

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

Cassandra

  • No support for joins across tables
  • No ACID transactions across multiple rows
  • Data model must be designed around query patterns upfront, making schema evolution difficult
  • Partition key misconfigurations can cause uneven data distribution and hotspots that degrade performance

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Cassandra if

  • You need linear scalability.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want fault tolerance.
Cassandra review

Questions people ask

Is AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Cassandra better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Cassandra at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Cassandra?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Cassandra at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Cassandra run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use AWS (Amazon Web Services) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) best used for?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is most often used for web hosting, data storage, machine learning, big data analytics. Of those, web hosting and data storage are not what Cassandra is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that Cassandra cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cassandra: Does Cassandra support joins between tables?

No. Cassandra does not support joins or foreign keys. The data model requires denormalization, meaning data must be duplicated across tables to support different query patterns.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra offer ACID transactions?

No. Cassandra provides only row-level atomicity and isolation, not full ACID transactions across multiple rows or tables. It uses lightweight transactions via Paxos for per-row compare-and-set operations.

Source
Cassandra: What programming languages can connect to Cassandra?

Cassandra supports official drivers for multiple languages including Python, Java, Node.js, and Go, allowing applications to communicate via the native Cassandra protocol.

Source
Cassandra: Can I deploy Cassandra in the cloud?

Yes. Cassandra can run on any cloud platform (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) via Docker, virtual machines, or managed services like DataStax Astra DB, which provides a fully managed DBaaS option.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra have a free option?

The open source Apache Cassandra is free. DataStax also offers Astra DB with a free tier providing up to 25GB storage and 25 million read/write operations per month.

Source
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