Azure SQL Database vs Aiven for PostgreSQL

Azure SQL Database7.5Visit Aiven for PostgreSQL7.3Visit

Higher score Azure SQL Database #5 in Managed Database Hosting 7.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Azure SQL

vs

Aiven for PostgreSQL #6 in Managed Database Hosting 7.3/10 Free plan · paid from $5/mo Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Aiven

• Azure SQL Database fits best

  Low-cost Azure SQL applications

• Aiven for PostgreSQL fits best

  PostgreSQL teams seeking low-cost managed hosting

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

Side by side

Feature	Azure SQL Database 7.5/10 Visit ↗	Aiven for PostgreSQL 7.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	7.5	7.3
Ranking	#5 in Managed Database Hosting	#6 in Managed Database Hosting
Best for	Low-cost Azure SQL applications	PostgreSQL teams seeking low-cost managed hosting
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	$5/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Web
Support	Docs, Community	Tickets, Docs, Email
Compliance	2FA	SOC 2, GDPR, 2FA
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Azure SQL Database 2/3 · Aiven for PostgreSQL 2/3
High availability	✓	✓
Point-in-time recovery	Not published	Not published
Read replicas	✓	✓
Specs
Database type	Not published	Not published
Scaling model	Not published	Not published
Backup retention	7 days	Not published
Our review
Pros	Free offer supports up to 10 databases Serverless compute, elastic pools, and Hyperscale storage Built-in backups, monitoring, maintenance, and high availability	Free plan with no time limit and a $5/month Developer tier Managed patching, scaling, backups, monitoring, and failover options API, Terraform, CLI, Kubernetes, and Aiven service integrations
Cons	Basic is limited to 30 maximum concurrent logins Basic includes 2 GB and allows up to 7 days of backup retention Platform coverage is centered on Microsoft Azure	Free and Developer plans use a single node or VM Free plan includes only 1 GB RAM and 1 GB disk storage Higher availability features begin on the Business plan
Our verdict	Azure SQL Database is a managed relational database service built on Microsoft’s SQL Server engine. It is intended for development teams and organizations building or modernizing cloud applications on Azure. The service supports single… Read the review →	Aiven for PostgreSQL is a fully managed, cloud-hosted relational database service based on open-source PostgreSQL. It is aimed at teams that want Aiven to handle provisioning, maintenance, patching, scaling, backups, monitoring, and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Azure SQL Database — where it wins

  • Free offer supports up to 10 databases
  • Serverless compute, elastic pools, and Hyperscale storage
  • Built-in backups, monitoring, maintenance, and high availability

  Where it doesn't

  • Basic is limited to 30 maximum concurrent logins
  • Basic includes 2 GB and allows up to 7 days of backup retention
  • Platform coverage is centered on Microsoft Azure

• Aiven for PostgreSQL — where it wins

  • Free plan with no time limit and a $5/month Developer tier
  • Managed patching, scaling, backups, monitoring, and failover options
  • API, Terraform, CLI, Kubernetes, and Aiven service integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Free and Developer plans use a single node or VM
  • Free plan includes only 1 GB RAM and 1 GB disk storage
  • Higher availability features begin on the Business plan

• Azure SQL Database7.5/10 · Free plan

  A low-cost managed SQL service for applications built on Azure.

  Visit Azure SQLFull verdict →
• Aiven for PostgreSQL7.3/10 · Free plan · paid from $5/mo

  A low-cost managed PostgreSQL service with useful automation and cloud tooling.

  Visit AivenFull verdict →