Amazon RDS vs Azure Cosmos DB
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and integrations.
Quick Verdict
Amazon RDS offers more features (39 vs 20) and more integrations (13 vs 10). Starting price: Amazon RDS at Free vs Azure Cosmos DB at Contact Sales. Amazon RDS has 39 unique features while Azure Cosmos DB has 20 unique features, with 0 features in common.
| Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Database | Database |
| Total Features | 39 | 20 |
| AI-Powered Features | 4 | 5 |
| Starting Price | Free | Contact Sales |
| Pricing Tiers | 5 | 0 |
| Integrations | 13 | 10 |
| Shared Features | 0 | |
| Shared Integrations | 0 | |
| Data Quality | 85% | 55% |
Feature Comparison by Category
AI (0 vs 5)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid Search | ||
| Microsoft Foundry Integration | ||
| Natural Language Query Generation | ||
| RAG Integration | ||
| Vector Search |
AI & ML (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora PostgreSQL with pgvector_hnsw |
API (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Native Document API |
Analytics (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Fabric Integration |
Backup & Recovery (2 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Automated Backups with Point-in-Time Recovery | ||
| Database Snapshots |
Compliance & Security (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Config Integration |
Cost Management (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Autoscale |
Data Management (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible JSON Schema |
Database Support (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Database Engines |
Deployment (1 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Blue/Green Deployments | ||
| Serverless Architecture |
Deployment Options (2 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| RDS Custom | ||
| RDS on AWS Outposts |
Developer Experience (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Language SDK Support |
Development Tools (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Database Cloning |
Disaster Recovery (2 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-Region Automated Backups | ||
| Cross-Region Replication |
Event Processing (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Change Feed |
High Availability (2 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-AZ Deployments | ||
| Multi-AZ with Two Readable Standbys |
Infrastructure (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Graviton3-Based Instances |
Infrastructure as Code (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| AWS CloudFormation Integration |
Integration & Analytics (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-ETL Integrations |
Management (5 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Organizations Upgrade Rollout Policies | ||
| Automated Database Management | ||
| DB Parameter Groups | ||
| Easy Setup and Deployment | ||
| Flexible Patch Control |
Monitoring (4 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon RDS Performance Insights | ||
| CloudWatch Database Insights | ||
| CloudWatch Integration | ||
| Enhanced Monitoring |
Monitoring & Diagnostics (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| DevOps Guru for RDS |
Multi-tenancy (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Multitenant Fleet Management |
Notifications (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Event Notifications with SNS |
Performance (3 vs 2)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon RDS Optimized Reads | ||
| Amazon RDS Optimized Writes | ||
| ElastiCache Integration | ||
| Global Scale with Low Latency | ||
| Global Secondary Indexes |
Performance & Cost (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora I/O-Optimized |
Performance & Security (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon RDS Proxy |
Pricing (1 vs 2)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Database Savings Plans | ||
| Free Tier Option | ||
| Multiple Pricing Models |
Recommendations (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Best Practice Recommendations |
Reliability (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Per-Partition Automatic Failover |
Scalability (1 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora Serverless | ||
| Automatic Partitioning |
Security (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded Security and Compliance |
Storage (3 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon EBS io2 Block Express Storage Support | ||
| General Purpose SSD Storage | ||
| Provisioned IOPS SSD Storage |
Support & Maintenance (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Amazon RDS | Azure Cosmos DB |
|---|---|---|
| RDS Extended Support |
Unique Features
Only in Amazon RDS (39)
Aurora PostgreSQL with pgvector_hnsw
Automated Backups with Point-in-Time Recovery
Database Snapshots
AWS Config Integration
Multiple Database Engines
Blue/Green Deployments
RDS Custom
RDS on AWS Outposts
Database Cloning
Cross-Region Automated Backups
Cross-Region Replication
Multi-AZ Deployments
Multi-AZ with Two Readable Standbys
AWS Graviton3-Based Instances
AWS CloudFormation Integration
Zero-ETL Integrations
Automated Database Management
AWS Organizations Upgrade Rollout Policies
DB Parameter Groups
Easy Setup and Deployment
+ 19 more unique features
Only in Azure Cosmos DB (20)
Hybrid Search
Microsoft Foundry Integration
Natural Language Query Generation
RAG Integration
Vector Search
Microsoft Fabric Integration
Native Document API
Dynamic Autoscale
Flexible JSON Schema
Serverless Architecture
Multi-Language SDK Support
Change Feed
Multitenant Fleet Management
Global Scale with Low Latency
Global Secondary Indexes
Free Tier Option
Multiple Pricing Models
Per-Partition Automatic Failover
Automatic Partitioning
Embedded Security and Compliance
View Amazon RDS details View Azure Cosmos DB details Amazon RDS alternatives Azure Cosmos DB alternatives
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