Developer Tools · head to head
Deno vs DynamoDB
Deno
Developer Tools
A fast, open-source, fully Node-compatible JS runtime with TypeScript baked right in
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
DynamoDB
Databases
AWS-only managed key-value and document database with fixed per-partition throughput limits and no ad hoc queries.
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Free plans on both; paid from $20/mo and $0.625/mo.
- Where Deno falls short: egress bandwidth overage costs $0.20/GB which can become expensive for high-traffic applications.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Deno and DynamoDB actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).
Not yet recorded: founded for Deno.
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 Deno
Nothing recorded that DynamoDB does not also cover.
Only in DynamoDB
- Managed and serverless
- Predictable latency
- On-demand or provisioned capacity
- Global secondary indexes
- Transactions
- DynamoDB Streams
- Global tables
- Point-in-time recovery
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Deno
- Running TypeScript natively without transpilation overheadnot DynamoDB
- Migrating Node.js applications to secure-by-default runtimenot DynamoDB
- Deploying edge functions and serverless containers seamlesslynot DynamoDB
- Consolidating developer tools into single binarynot DynamoDB
DynamoDB
- High-volume keyed workloads such as sessions, shopping carts, device state or user profiles where the access pattern is fixed and knownnot Deno
- Traffic that spikes unpredictably, where on-demand capacity absorbs a burst without a capacity-planning exercisenot Deno
- Serverless applications on Lambda, where an HTTP-based datastore avoids the connection pooling problem relational databases havenot Deno
- Event or telemetry ingestion where writes vastly outnumber reads and each record is retrieved by a known identifiernot Deno
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Deno
- Egress bandwidth overage costs $0.20/GB which can become expensive for high-traffic applications
- CPU time overage is $0.10/hour on Pro and Builder tiers, adding to costs for compute-intensive workloads
- Enterprise pricing is not disclosed; requires sales contact
DynamoDB
- Access patterns must be designed into the key schema before launch; a query nobody anticipated needs a new global secondary index, which is a full extra copy of the projected attributes billed as storage and as writes, or an offline migration
- Global secondary indexes are eventually consistent and cannot be read strongly, so a read-after-write against an index can legitimately miss the item that was just written, and application code must be written to tolerate that
- Per-partition throughput is capped at roughly 3,000 read and 1,000 write units, so a hot key throttles even when the table has spare capacity overall, and the only real fix is changing the key design to spread the load
- Items are limited to 400 KB and query results paginate at 1 MB, so large or list-shaped data has to be split, offloaded to S3 with a pointer, or read through pagination loops that complicate every consumer
- It runs only on AWS and the API is proprietary rather than a standard, so moving the data layer means rewriting it; ScyllaDB's Alternator is the only meaningfully compatible target and it brings a much smaller ecosystem
Pricing, plan by plan
Deno
Free- FreeFree
- 1 million requests/month
- 20GB egress bandwidth
- 10 apps
- Pro$20/mo
- 5 million requests/month
- 200GB egress
- 50 apps
- Builder$200/mo
- 25 million requests/month
- 2,000GB egress
- 10,000 apps
- EnterpriseOn request
- Custom limits on all metrics
- 99.95% reliability SLA
- Email support with SLA
DynamoDB
Free- On-Demand CapacityOn request
- Pay-per-request pricing with automatic scaling
- Read: 0.5 RRU per 4 KB (eventually consistent), 1 RRU per 4 KB (strongly consistent), 2 RRU per 4 KB (transactional)
- Write: 1 WRU per 1 KB
- Provisioned CapacityOn request
- Fixed hourly charges based on reserved capacity
- RCU rate: $0.00013 per hour (Standard)
- WCU rate: $0.00065 per hour (Standard)
- Standard Table Class Storage$0.25/per gb/month
- $0.25 per GB/month after free tier
- First 25 GB free per month (free tier)
- Standard-Infrequent Access Table Class$0.1/per gb/month
- $0.10 per GB/month
Which should you pick?
Choose DynamoDB if
- You need managed and serverless.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on AWS.
- You also want predictable latency.
Questions people ask
- Is Deno or DynamoDB better?
- Neither clearly leads. Deno starts at Free and DynamoDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Deno or DynamoDB?
- Deno starts at Free and DynamoDB at Free.
- Does Deno or DynamoDB run on more platforms?
- Deno runs on Web. DynamoDB runs on AWS.
- Can I use Deno for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Deno best used for?
- Deno is most often used for running typescript natively without transpilation overhead, migrating node.js applications to secure-by-default runtime, deploying edge functions and serverless containers seamlessly, consolidating developer tools into single binary. Of those, running typescript natively without transpilation overhead and migrating node.js applications to secure-by-default runtime are not what DynamoDB is typically brought in for.
- What can Deno do that DynamoDB cannot?
- DynamoDB covers Managed and serverless, Predictable latency, On-demand or provisioned capacity, Global secondary indexes.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Deno: How much does Deno Deploy cost?
Deno Deploy offers a free tier at $0/month, Pro at $20/month, and Builder at $200/month. Enterprise has custom pricing. All plans include base request and bandwidth limits, with overage charges for additional usage.
SourceDynamoDB: On-demand or provisioned capacity?
On-demand suits unpredictable or spiky traffic and removes capacity planning. Provisioned with autoscaling is considerably cheaper for steady high-volume workloads. Tables can be switched between them, though not arbitrarily often.
Deno: What are Deno Deploy's overage charges?
Egress bandwidth overages cost $0.20 per GB. CPU time overages are $0.10 per hour on Pro and Builder tiers. Memory time and KV database operations also incur charges beyond included limits.
SourceDynamoDB: Can I run DynamoDB outside AWS?
No. DynamoDB Local exists for development and testing only. For a production-compatible alternative elsewhere, ScyllaDB's Alternator implements the DynamoDB API, but it is a different system with a different ecosystem.
Deno: How many apps can I deploy on Deno's free plan?
The free tier includes 10 apps with up to 1 concurrent build. Pro tier supports 50 apps with 3 concurrent builds, and Builder supports 10,000 apps with 20 concurrent builds.
SourceDynamoDB: Can I run ad hoc queries or analytics?
Not on the table itself. Scans are slow and expensive at scale. The usual pattern is to export to S3 or stream changes out and query them in Athena, Redshift or another analytical engine.
Deno: How many team members can access Deno Deploy?
The free tier supports up to 3 team members. Pro supports 10 team members. Builder supports 25 team members. Enterprise has custom seat limits.
SourceDynamoDB: Is single-table design necessary?
It is the pattern that gets the most from DynamoDB when access patterns are well known, because it lets related items be retrieved in one query. It also makes the model harder to evolve, so many teams reasonably choose multiple simpler tables and accept extra requests.
DynamoDB: What are the real limits I should design around?
400 KB per item, 1 MB per query or scan page, 100 items per transaction, roughly 3,000 read and 1,000 write units per partition, and eventual consistency on global secondary indexes.
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