Software · head to head
Vitess vs Amazon Aurora
Vitess
Software
Scalable database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Amazon Aurora
Software
MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Vitess vTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties; Amazon Aurora aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services
- They diverge on capability: Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Vitess and Amazon Aurora actually diverge.
| Attribute | Vitess | Amazon Aurora |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Unknown | usage-based |
| Platforms | Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes | 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 Vitess
- Horizontal Sharding
- Connection Pooling
- Query Routing
- Online Schema Changes
- Shard Management
- Replication Management
- Automated Failover
- MySQL
Only in Amazon Aurora
- MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible
- 5x MySQL Performance
- Auto-scaling Storage
- Global Database
- Serverless v2
- Multi-master
- Fault Tolerant
- AWS Lambda
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Vitess
- Transaction processing
- Data storage
- Application backend
- Reporting
- Data analytics
Amazon Aurora
- Transaction processing
- Data storage
- Application backend
- Reporting
- Data analytics
Both are used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting, data analytics, 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.
Vitess
- VTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
- Foreign key constraints not enforced across shards, requiring application-level integrity handling
- Single primary per keyspace limits multi-region write capabilities
- Distributed transactions without proper sharding key routing suffer performance degradation
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
Vitess
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Vitess review.
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 Vitess if
- You need horizontal sharding.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
- You also want connection pooling.
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 Vitess or Amazon Aurora better?
- Neither clearly leads. Vitess 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, Vitess or Amazon Aurora?
- Vitess starts at Free and Amazon Aurora at Free.
- Does Vitess or Amazon Aurora run on more platforms?
- Vitess runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes. Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud.
- Can I use Vitess for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Vitess best used for?
- Vitess is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting.
- What can Vitess do that Amazon Aurora cannot?
- Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Connection Pooling, Query Routing, Online Schema Changes. Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Vitess: Is Vitess free to use?
Yes. Vitess is completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It is a graduated CNCF project with no licensing costs or pricing tiers.
SourceAmazon 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.
SourceVitess: What databases does Vitess support?
Vitess supports MySQL and MariaDB as backend databases. It acts as a middleware layer that adds sharding and orchestration capabilities on top of these databases.
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.
SourceVitess: Does Vitess require Kubernetes to run?
No. Vitess can run on Kubernetes using the Vitess Operator, but it can also be deployed on traditional infrastructure. Kubernetes integration is optional and provides additional automation benefits.
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.
SourceVitess: How does Vitess handle cross-shard transactions?
Vitess supports distributed transactions across shards, but they require queries to be routed through the sharding key. Transactions without a proper sharding key can result in slower performance.
SourceAmazon Aurora: Can Amazon Aurora scale automatically?
Yes, Aurora automatically scales to match workload demands without performance degradation, supporting both read and write scaling.
SourceVitess: Does Vitess enforce foreign key constraints?
Vitess does not enforce foreign key constraints across shards by default. Referential integrity must be managed at the application layer, though per-database support can be enabled with limitations.
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