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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs ClickHouse

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud & Infrastructure

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ClickHouse logo

ClickHouse

Database & Data Management

Fast open-source column-oriented database for real-time analytics

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; ClickHouse limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and ClickHouse differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)ClickHouse
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileLinux, macOS, Windows (via Docker)
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureDatabase & Data Management
Founded20062021

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 ClickHouse

  • Column-oriented Storage
  • Real-time Analytics
  • SQL Support
  • Linear Scalability
  • Data Compression
  • Vectorized Query Execution
  • Approximate Calculations
  • Kafka

What people use each for

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

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

ClickHouse

  • 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

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.

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

ClickHouse

  • Limited multi-row atomic transactions and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations unsuitable for transactional systems
  • Requires upfront schema design discipline with MergeTree engine choices and sort/partition keys
  • Experimental vector search support, not production-ready for vector operations
  • Different query syntax from standard SQL requiring migration planning
  • Limited JOIN capabilities compared to traditional relational databases
  • Migration complexity with 2-4 weeks estimated for data type mapping and query translation

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

ClickHouse

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the ClickHouse 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 ClickHouse if

  • You need column-oriented storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
  • You also want real-time analytics.
ClickHouse review

Questions people ask

Is AWS (Amazon Web Services) or ClickHouse better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and ClickHouse 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 ClickHouse?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and ClickHouse at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or ClickHouse run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. ClickHouse runs on Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker).
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 ClickHouse is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that ClickHouse cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. ClickHouse covers Column-oriented Storage, Real-time Analytics, SQL Support, Linear Scalability.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ClickHouse: What is ClickHouse best used for?

ClickHouse is optimized for analytical workloads on large datasets. It excels at fast aggregations and queries, being 10-100x faster than PostgreSQL on large aggregations.

Source
ClickHouse: Does ClickHouse support transactions?

ClickHouse has limited transaction support and expensive UPDATE/DELETE operations. It is not suitable for transactional workloads requiring strict ACID guarantees.

Source
ClickHouse: How does ClickHouse compare to PostgreSQL?

ClickHouse is 10-100x faster for analytics but PostgreSQL is better for transactional workloads. Many teams use both: PostgreSQL for writes via MaterializedPostgreSQL replication to ClickHouse for analytics.

Source
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