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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs MariaDB

Lambda (AWS Serverless) logo

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Cloud & Infrastructure

Run code without thinking about servers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MariaDB logo

MariaDB

Database & Data Management

The open source relational database for the enterprise

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does; MariaDB jSON support using text fields rather than native binary type; lacks MySQL's JSON syntax and functions
  • They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and MariaDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Lambda (AWS Serverless) and MariaDB differ
AttributeLambda (AWS Serverless)MariaDB
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Unix, Windows, macOS
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureDatabase & Data Management
Founded20142009

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 Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Function-as-a-Service
  • Event-driven execution
  • Auto-scaling
  • Pay-per-use
  • Multiple languages
  • Concurrency limits
  • Dead Letter Queues
  • Environment variables

Only in MariaDB

  • MySQL Compatibility
  • Aria Storage Engine
  • ColumnStore
  • Galera Cluster
  • MaxScale
  • Spider Engine
  • Temporal Tables
  • phpMyAdmin

What people use each for

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

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Event-driven functions without managing serversnot MariaDB
  • API backends behind API Gatewaynot MariaDB
  • Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot MariaDB
  • Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot MariaDB
  • Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot MariaDB

MariaDB

  • Transaction processingnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • Data storagenot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • Application backendnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • Reportingnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • Data analyticsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Where each one falls short

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

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
  • Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
  • Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
  • Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
  • VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top

MariaDB

  • JSON support using text fields rather than native binary type; lacks MySQL's JSON syntax and functions
  • Galera Cluster maximum performance limited to the slowest node in cluster
  • InnoDB tables limited to 1,017 columns and 64 secondary indexes
  • Transaction size limits in Galera (128K rows and 2GB by default)
  • Less strict SQL type checking than PostgreSQL; allows implicit conversions

Pricing, plan by plan

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • 1M free requests/month
    • 400,000 GB-seconds/month
    • Always free

MariaDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MariaDB review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if

  • You need function-as-a-service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want event-driven execution.
Lambda (AWS Serverless) review

Choose MariaDB if

  • You need mysql compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want aria storage engine.
MariaDB review

Questions people ask

Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or MariaDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and MariaDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or MariaDB?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and MariaDB at Free.
Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or MariaDB run on more platforms?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. MariaDB runs on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Lambda (AWS Serverless) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Lambda (AWS Serverless) best used for?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) is most often used for event-driven functions without managing servers, api backends behind api gateway, processing s3, dynamodb, sqs and kinesis events, scheduled jobs without a always-on instance. Of those, event-driven functions without managing servers and api backends behind api gateway are not what MariaDB is typically brought in for.
What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that MariaDB cannot?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Aria Storage Engine, ColumnStore, Galera Cluster.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MariaDB: Is MariaDB completely free and open source?

Yes. MariaDB Server is licensed under GPLv2 and guaranteed to remain perpetually free and open source, independent of any commercial entities.

Source
MariaDB: Is MariaDB backward compatible with MySQL?

Yes. MariaDB was designed as a drop-in replacement for MySQL. Every application, driver, and configuration that worked with MySQL works with MariaDB without code changes.

Source
MariaDB: What are the storage engine options in MariaDB?

MariaDB supports multiple storage engines including InnoDB (transactional, default), Aria (crash-safe, good for read-heavy workloads), and MyISAM. The Aria engine is faster than InnoDB for certain read-heavy queries and full table scans.

Source
MariaDB: How much does MariaDB cost?

MariaDB Community Server is completely free to download and use. MariaDB offers paid enterprise support and managed cloud services for organizations needing professional support.

Source
MariaDB: Does MariaDB support native JSON storage?

MariaDB stores JSON using text fields (the JSON type is an alias for LONGTEXT), not as a native binary type like MySQL does. JSON support exists but is less sophisticated than MySQL's JSON functions and syntax.

Source
MariaDB: What scaling options does MariaDB provide?

MariaDB supports both scaling up (more cores, memory, storage) and scaling out (read replication, Galera Cluster with multi-node replication). However, Galera Cluster performance cannot exceed the slowest node in the cluster.

Source
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