Compare managed database services (RDS, Azure SQL, Cloud SQL) across providers.
Last verified: April 2026
| Feature | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service | Amazon RDS | Azure SQL Database | Cloud SQL |
| Engines Supported | MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server | SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL | MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server |
| Serverless Option | Aurora Serverless v2 (auto-scales ACUs) | Azure SQL Serverless (auto-pause and auto-scale vCores) | N/A |
| Feature | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Storage | 128 TB (Aurora); 64 TB (RDS) | 100 TB (Hyperscale) | 64 TB |
| Read Replicas | Up to 15 (Aurora); 5 (RDS) | Up to 4 (Hyperscale named replicas) | Varies by tier; cross-region supported |
| Global Distribution | Aurora Global Database (up to 5 secondary regions, <1s replication) | Hyperscale geo-replication; active geo-replication for Azure SQL | Cross-region read replicas |
| Feature | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-AZ / HA | Yes; Multi-AZ deployments with automatic failover | Yes; zone-redundant and geo-redundant options | Yes; regional instances with automatic failover |
| Automated Backups | Up to 35 days retention (automated daily snapshots) | Up to 35 days retention (automated backups) | Automated daily backups with configurable retention |
| Point-in-Time Recovery | Yes; restore to any second within retention period | Yes; restore to any point within retention period | Yes; restore to any point within retention period |
| Feature | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Encryption at Rest | Yes; AES-256 via AWS KMS (enabled by default for Aurora) | Yes; TDE enabled by default; customer-managed keys via Key Vault | Yes; AES-256 encryption by default; CMEK via Cloud KMS |
| VPC / VNet Integration | Yes; deploy in VPC subnets with security group controls | Yes; VNet service endpoints and Private Link support | Yes; private IP with VPC peering; authorized networks |
| Feature | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connection Pooling | RDS Proxy (managed connection pooling and failover) | Built-in connection pooling; elastic pool for resource sharing | Cloud SQL Auth Proxy (secure tunneling and IAM auth) |
| Feature | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | Amazon CloudWatch metrics; Enhanced Monitoring; Performance Insights | Azure Monitor; Intelligent Insights; Query Performance Insight | Cloud Monitoring; Cloud Logging; Query Insights |
| Feature | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Per-instance-hour + storage + I/O; Reserved Instances for savings | vCore-based or DTU-based; serverless auto-pause billing | Per-instance-hour + storage + network; committed use discounts |
{
"features": [
{
"feature": "Service",
"category": "Service Overview",
"aws": "Amazon RDS",
"azure": "Azure SQL Database",
"gcp": "Cloud SQL"
},
{
"feature": "Engines Supported",
"category": "Service Overview",
"aws": "MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server",
"azure": "SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL",
"gcp": "MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server"
},
{
"feature": "Serverless Option",
"category": "Service Overview",
"aws": "Aurora Serverless v2 (auto-scales ACUs)",
"azure": "Azure SQL Serverless (auto-pause and auto-scale vCores)",
"gcp": "N/A"
},
{
"feature": "Max Storage",
"category": "Storage & Scalability",
"aws": "128 TB (Aurora); 64 TB (RDS)",
"azure": "100 TB (Hyperscale)",
"gcp": "64 TB"
},
{
"feature": "Read Replicas",
"category": "Storage & Scalability",
"aws": "Up to 15 (Aurora); 5 (RDS)",
"azure": "Up to 4 (Hyperscale named replicas)",
"gcp": "Varies by tier; cross-region supported"
},
{
"feature": "Global Distribution",
"category": "Storage & Scalability",
"aws": "Aurora Global Database (up to 5 secondary regions, <1s replication)",
"azure": "Hyperscale geo-replication; active geo-replication for Azure SQL",
"gcp": "Cross-region read replicas"
},
{
"feature": "Multi-AZ / HA",
"category": "High Availability",
"aws": "Yes; Multi-AZ deployments with automatic failover",
"azure": "Yes; zone-redundant and geo-redundant options",
"gcp": "Yes; regional instances with automatic failover"
},
{
"feature": "Automated Backups",
"category": "High Availability",
"aws": "Up to 35 days retention (automated daily snapshots)",
"azure": "Up to 35 days retention (automated backups)",
"gcp": "Automated daily backups with configurable retention"
},
{
"feature": "Point-in-Time Recovery",
"category": "High Availability",
"aws": "Yes; restore to any second within retention period",
"azure": "Yes; restore to any point within retention period",
"gcp": "Yes; restore to any point within retention period"
},
{
"feature": "Encryption at Rest",
"category": "Security",
"aws": "Yes; AES-256 via AWS KMS (enabled by default for Aurora)",
"azure": "Yes; TDE enabled by default; customer-managed keys via Key Vault",
"gcp": "Yes; AES-256 encryption by default; CMEK via Cloud KMS"
},
{
"feature": "VPC / VNet Integration",
"category": "Security",
"aws": "Yes; deploy in VPC subnets with security group controls",
"azure": "Yes; VNet service endpoints and Private Link support",
"gcp": "Yes; private IP with VPC peering; authorized networks"
},
{
"feature": "Connection Pooling",
"category": "Connectivity",
"aws": "RDS Proxy (managed connection pooling and failover)",
"azure": "Built-in connection pooling; elastic pool for resource sharing",
"gcp": "Cloud SQL Auth Proxy (secure tunneling and IAM auth)"
},
{
"feature": "Monitoring",
"category": "Monitoring & Operations",
"aws": "Amazon CloudWatch metrics; Enhanced Monitoring; Performance Insights",
"azure": "Azure Monitor; Intelligent Insights; Query Performance Insight",
"gcp": "Cloud Monitoring; Cloud Logging; Query Insights"
},
{
"feature": "Pricing Model",
"category": "Pricing",
"aws": "Per-instance-hour + storage + I/O; Reserved Instances for savings",
"azure": "vCore-based or DTU-based; serverless auto-pause billing",
"gcp": "Per-instance-hour + storage + network; committed use discounts"
}
]
}Your team is evaluating managed PostgreSQL for a new microservices platform. You need cross-region HA for disaster recovery and read replicas for reporting workloads. The comparison reveals that AWS Aurora PostgreSQL offers the best read replica story with up to 15 replicas and sub-10ms replication lag, but costs 20% more than standard RDS. Azure offers auto-failover groups but only for SQL Database, not PostgreSQL. GCP Cloud SQL provides the simplest cross-region HA setup. You choose Aurora for production (best replication) and Cloud SQL for staging (cheapest with committed use).
The Multi-Cloud Database Compare tool provides a structured comparison of managed relational database services across AWS RDS, Azure SQL Database, and GCP Cloud SQL. It covers engine support, instance sizing, high availability options, read replica configurations, backup policies, and pricing models side by side. Whether you are choosing a provider for a new project or evaluating portability for an existing database, this tool consolidates the key decision factors into one easy-to-scan reference. It also highlights provider-specific features like Aurora Serverless, Azure Hyperscale, and Cloud SQL Insights that may tip the balance.
The comparison normalizes managed database features across providers into categories: engine support, instance sizing, HA configurations, read replicas, backup policies, security features, and pricing models. Each feature shows the provider-specific implementation, any limitations, and notable differences that affect operational behavior beyond the feature checklist.
Feature parity does not mean operational parity. AWS RDS Multi-AZ failover takes 60-120 seconds. Azure SQL zone-redundant failover is near-instant for reads. GCP Cloud SQL HA failover takes 30-120 seconds. Your application's connection retry logic and health check intervals must account for these differences.
Managed database pricing varies wildly for the same specs. A 4-vCPU, 16 GB RAM PostgreSQL instance costs roughly $350/month on AWS RDS (db.m5.xlarge), $340/month on Azure (D4s_v5), and $310/month on Cloud SQL. But AWS Reserved Instances can cut that to $210, Azure Hybrid Benefit to $170, and GCP Committed Use to $200. Always compare committed pricing, not on-demand.
Cross-region read replicas are available on all three providers but with different replication mechanisms. AWS RDS uses async replication with potential lag. Azure SQL offers readable secondaries with automatic failover groups. GCP Cloud SQL supports cross-region replicas with configurable sync. Test replication lag under your write workload before relying on cross-region reads for consistency.
Was this tool helpful?
Disclaimer: This tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to our servers. Always verify outputs before using them in production. AWS, Azure, and GCP are trademarks of their respective owners.