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Databases · head to head

Amazon Aurora vs Cloudinary

Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Databases

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cloudinary logo

Cloudinary

Databases

Image and video API for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Aurora aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services; Cloudinary free plan includes only 25 monthly credits and is limited to 3 users and 1 account
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Aurora and Cloudinary actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Aurora and Cloudinary differ
AttributeAmazon AuroraCloudinary
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsAWS CloudWeb
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Aurora

  • MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible
  • 5x MySQL Performance
  • Auto-scaling Storage
  • Global Database
  • Serverless v2
  • Multi-master
  • Fault Tolerant
  • AWS Lambda

Only in Cloudinary

Nothing recorded that Amazon Aurora does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Transaction processingnot Cloudinary
  • Data storagenot Cloudinary
  • Application backendnot Cloudinary
  • Reportingnot Cloudinary
  • Data analyticsnot Cloudinary

Cloudinary

  • Automating image transformations and delivery across multiple devicesnot Amazon Aurora
  • Generating AI-powered image captions and alternative text at scalenot Amazon Aurora
  • Transcoding and optimizing video with automatic subtitle generationnot Amazon Aurora
  • Building workflow automation for content teams without codingnot Amazon Aurora

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services
  • Pricing can become expensive with high-traffic applications using many read replicas
  • Limited support for non-relational data types compared to NoSQL alternatives

Cloudinary

  • Free plan includes only 25 monthly credits and is limited to 3 users and 1 account
  • Enterprise plan pricing is custom; rates not published
  • Monthly billing is more expensive than annual; yearly plan is $89/month for Plus ($224/month for Advanced)

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Aurora

Free
  • Serverless v2$0.12/hour
    • Auto-scaling
    • Pay per ACU
    • Instant scaling
  • Provisioned$29/month
    • Dedicated instances
    • Predictable performance
    • Reserved capacity

Cloudinary

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Upload widget
    • API
    • Search
  • Plus$99/month
    • All Free features
    • S3 bucket backup
    • Auto-tagging search
  • Advanced$249/month
    • All Plus features
    • Custom domain (CNAME)
    • Optional HTTPS SSL
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Multi-CDN infrastructure
    • Enterprise SLAs
    • Designated success manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Aurora if

  • You need mysql/postgresql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS Cloud.
  • You also want 5x mysql performance.
Amazon Aurora review

Choose Cloudinary if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cloudinary review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Aurora or Cloudinary better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Cloudinary at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Aurora or Cloudinary?
Amazon Aurora starts at Free and Cloudinary at Free.
Does Amazon Aurora or Cloudinary run on more platforms?
Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud. Cloudinary runs on Web.
Can I use Amazon Aurora for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Aurora best used for?
Amazon Aurora is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Cloudinary is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Aurora do that Cloudinary cannot?
Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Aurora: Is Amazon Aurora compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL?

Yes, Amazon Aurora offers MySQL and PostgreSQL compatibility with full compatibility to their open-source counterparts, allowing you to migrate existing databases with standard tools.

Source
Cloudinary: What are included in Cloudinary's free plan?

Cloudinary's free plan includes upload widget, API access, search, remote fetch, auto-backup, revision tracking, image and video transformations, video transcoding, and CDN delivery. The free plan includes 25 monthly credits, 3 users, and 1 account with community support.

Source
Amazon Aurora: What uptime SLA does Amazon Aurora provide?

Aurora is designed for up to 99.99% single-region uptime and 99.999% multi-region uptime with automatic failover.

Source
Cloudinary: How does Cloudinary's credit system work?

Cloudinary credits measure usage: one credit equals 1,000 transformations, or 1 GB managed storage, or 1 GB image bandwidth, or 2 GB video bandwidth. The free plan grants 25 credits per month, Plus plan 225 monthly credits, and Advanced plan 600 monthly credits.

Source
Amazon Aurora: How much does Amazon Aurora cost?

Aurora uses serverless, usage-based pricing where you pay only for consumed capacity. Typical pricing ranges from $50-70 per month for minimal setups to $400-600 per month for small production clusters.

Source
Cloudinary: What is the difference between Cloudinary Plus and Advanced plans?

Plus plan costs $99/month (or $89/month annually) and includes S3 backup, auto-tagging, and expedited support for up to 3 users across 2 accounts with 225 credits. Advanced is $249/month ($224/month annually), adds custom domain (CNAME) and SSL options for 5 users across 3 accounts with 600 credits.

Source
Amazon Aurora: Can Amazon Aurora scale automatically?

Yes, Aurora automatically scales to match workload demands without performance degradation, supporting both read and write scaling.

Source
Cloudinary: Does Cloudinary offer annual billing discounts?

Yes. Cloudinary's annual billing provides discounts: Plus plan is $89/month when billed yearly (versus $99/month monthly), and Advanced plan is $224/month when billed yearly (versus $249/month monthly).

Source
Amazon Aurora: How many read replicas does Aurora support?

Aurora supports up to 15 low-latency read replicas for distributing read traffic across your application.

Source
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