Amazon RDS vs CockroachDB Cloud

Amazon RDS9.0Visit CockroachDB Cloud7.0Visit

Higher score Amazon RDS #1 in Managed Database Hosting 9.0/10 Paid ✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Amazon RDS

vs

CockroachDB Cloud #7 in Managed Database Hosting 7.0/10 From $0.06 · 30-day trial ✓ 2 of 3 features Visit CockroachDB

• Amazon RDS fits best

  AWS teams needing broad managed SQL coverage

• CockroachDB Cloud fits best

  Distributed PostgreSQL-compatible applications

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. We may earn a commission when you click some links. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	Amazon RDS 9.0/10 Visit ↗	CockroachDB Cloud 7.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	7.0
Ranking	#1 in Managed Database Hosting	#7 in Managed Database Hosting
Best for	AWS teams needing broad managed SQL coverage	Distributed PostgreSQL-compatible applications
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Phone, Live chat, Email, Community, Docs · 24/7	Docs
Compliance	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS	HIPAA, PCI DSS
Integrations	8 integrations	2 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon RDS 2/3 · CockroachDB Cloud 2/3
High availability	✓	✓
Point-in-time recovery	Not published	✓ (best)
Read replicas	✓ (best)	Not published
Specs
Database type	Not published	Relational
Scaling model	Not published	Both
Backup retention	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Supports eight database engines in the AWS environment Automates provisioning, patching, backups, and point-in-time recovery Combines Multi-AZ failover, read replicas, monitoring, and AWS integrations	PostgreSQL-compatible SQL with ACID transactions Multi-region deployment with automatic scaling and rebalancing Backups, encryption, private connectivity, and recovery features
Cons	No free plan Usage-based pricing varies by region, engine, instance, and configuration The feature set is closely tied to the AWS environment	No free plan; usage is billed monthly by vCPU-hour Rates vary by cloud provider and region Advanced compliance and dedicated infrastructure require Mission Critical
Our verdict	Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) is a managed relational database service for deploying, operating, and scaling databases in AWS. It is suited to teams that want AWS to handle infrastructure provisioning, patching, backups,… Read the review →	CockroachDB Cloud is a fully managed distributed SQL database for teams running applications across cloud regions and providers. It combines PostgreSQL-compatible SQL with ACID transactions, single- and multi-region deployment, automatic… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Amazon RDS — where it wins

  • Supports eight database engines in the AWS environment
  • Automates provisioning, patching, backups, and point-in-time recovery
  • Combines Multi-AZ failover, read replicas, monitoring, and AWS integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan
  • Usage-based pricing varies by region, engine, instance, and configuration
  • The feature set is closely tied to the AWS environment

• CockroachDB Cloud — where it wins

  • PostgreSQL-compatible SQL with ACID transactions
  • Multi-region deployment with automatic scaling and rebalancing
  • Backups, encryption, private connectivity, and recovery features

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; usage is billed monthly by vCPU-hour
  • Rates vary by cloud provider and region
  • Advanced compliance and dedicated infrastructure require Mission Critical

• Amazon RDS9.0/10 · Paid

  A broad AWS-managed SQL service with high availability, scaling, and operational automation.

  Visit Amazon RDSFull verdict →
• CockroachDB Cloud7.0/10 · From $0.06 · 30-day trial

  A PostgreSQL-compatible managed database for applications spanning regions and clouds.

  Visit CockroachDBFull verdict →