Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Sql Databases

Amazon Aurora vs MariaDB Server

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 1 check side by side
Higher score Amazon Aurora #5 in Sql Databases 9.0/10 Paid ✓ 0 of 1 features Visit Amazon Aurora
MariaDB Server #6 in Sql Databases 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 1 features Visit MariaDB

Amazon Aurora leads on 0 checks, MariaDB Server on 1, and 0 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 1 yes/no, price and count check where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreAmazon Aurora · 9.0/10
  • Free planonly MariaDB Server

Amazon Aurora scores higher on our rubric for sql databases: 9.0 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #6.

MariaDB Server offers free plan; Amazon Aurora doesn't.

Amazon Aurora is the better fit for AWS users needing managed, resilient SQL. MariaDB Server is the better fit for free, self-hosted MySQL-compatible databases.

  • Amazon Aurora fits best

    AWS users needing managed, resilient SQL

  • MariaDB Server fits best

    Free, self-hosted MySQL-compatible databases

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Amazon Aurora 9.0/10 Visit ↗ MariaDB Server 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.9
Ranking #5 in Sql Databases #6 in Sql Databases
Best for AWS users needing managed, resilient SQL Free, self-hosted MySQL-compatible databases
Pricing model Paid Free
Starting price — Free plan
Free plan — ✓ (best)
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Self-hosted
Platforms Web Linux, Windows
Support Email, Live chat, Phone, Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7 Community, Docs
Integrations 9 integrations 5 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon Aurora 0/1 · MariaDB Server 0/1
Managed backups Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment options Not checked yet Not checked yet
SQL standard support Not checked yet Not checked yet
Included storage Not checked yet Not checked yet
Availability SLA Not checked yet Not checked yet
Replication options Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Storage spans three Availability Zones, with automatic replica failover.
  • Supports up to 15 read replicas, continuous backups, and point-in-time recovery.
  • Offers provisioned and serverless configurations with AWS integrations.
  • GPLv2 open source licensing and a free plan
  • Read scaling, primary-replica replication and Galera clustering
  • Connectors for C, Java, ODBC, Python and Node.js
Cons
  • Cloud-only deployment ties database hosting to AWS.
  • Usage-based charges vary with engine, configuration, Region, storage, and I/O.
  • Optional features are billed separately, making costs configuration-dependent.
  • Self-hosted deployment requires managing the database environment
  • Listed platforms are limited to Linux and Windows
  • Support channels are community and documentation
Our verdict

For teams running transactional, SaaS, enterprise, or globally distributed applications on AWS, Amazon Aurora provides managed relational database infrastructure rather than servers to operate. Its database engines are compatible with…

Read the review →

MariaDB Server is an open source, SQL-based relational database for developers and organizations that need a self-hosted option compatible with common MySQL-based applications. It supports transactional workloads, analytics and embedded…

Read the review →
  1. Amazon AuroraSql Databases 9.0Paid
  2. MariaDB ServerSql Databases 8.9Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Amazon Aurora — where it wins

    • Storage spans three Availability Zones, with automatic replica failover.
    • Supports up to 15 read replicas, continuous backups, and point-in-time recovery.
    • Offers provisioned and serverless configurations with AWS integrations.

    Where it doesn't

    • Cloud-only deployment ties database hosting to AWS.
    • Usage-based charges vary with engine, configuration, Region, storage, and I/O.
    • Optional features are billed separately, making costs configuration-dependent.

  • MariaDB Server — where it wins

    • GPLv2 open source licensing and a free plan
    • Read scaling, primary-replica replication and Galera clustering
    • Connectors for C, Java, ODBC, Python and Node.js

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment requires managing the database environment
    • Listed platforms are limited to Linux and Windows
    • Support channels are community and documentation

More comparisons

All sql databases comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update