Software · head to head
RavenDB vs Amazon Aurora
Amazon Aurora
Software
MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal; Amazon Aurora aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services
- They diverge on capability: RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which RavenDB and Amazon Aurora actually diverge.
| Attribute | RavenDB | Amazon Aurora |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | usage-based |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web | AWS Cloud |
| Founded | 2010 | 2006 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 RavenDB
- ACID Transactions
- Auto-indexing
- Full-text Search
- Graph Queries
- Distributed Counters
- Time Series
- Document Compression
- .NET
Only in Amazon Aurora
- MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible
- 5x MySQL Performance
- Auto-scaling Storage
- Global Database
- Serverless v2
- Multi-master
- Fault Tolerant
- AWS Lambda
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
RavenDB
- Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot Amazon Aurora
- Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot Amazon Aurora
- Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot Amazon Aurora
Amazon Aurora
- Transaction processingnot RavenDB
- Data storagenot RavenDB
- Application backendnot RavenDB
- Reportingnot RavenDB
- Data analyticsnot RavenDB
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
RavenDB
- The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
- The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
- The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
- Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
- Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate
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
Pricing, plan by plan
RavenDB
Free- CommunityFree
- 3 cores
- 6GB RAM
- Community support
- Professional$499/year
- Production use
- Professional support
- Advanced features
Amazon Aurora
Free- Serverless v2$0.12/hour
- Auto-scaling
- Pay per ACU
- Instant scaling
- Provisioned$29/month
- Dedicated instances
- Predictable performance
- Reserved capacity
Which should you pick?
Choose RavenDB if
- You need acid transactions.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
- You also want auto-indexing.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is RavenDB or Amazon Aurora better?
- Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and Amazon Aurora at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, RavenDB or Amazon Aurora?
- RavenDB starts at Free and Amazon Aurora at Free.
- Does RavenDB or Amazon Aurora run on more platforms?
- RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud.
- Can I use RavenDB for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is RavenDB best used for?
- RavenDB is most often used for running a distributed document database with acid transactions, self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware, replicating operational data out to analytics systems through etl. Of those, running a distributed document database with acid transactions and self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware are not what Amazon Aurora is typically brought in for.
- What can RavenDB do that Amazon Aurora cannot?
- RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. Both handle Web support.
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.
SourceAmazon 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.
SourceAmazon 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.
SourceAmazon Aurora: Can Amazon Aurora scale automatically?
Yes, Aurora automatically scales to match workload demands without performance degradation, supporting both read and write scaling.
SourceAmazon 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