Amazon Aurora review
A managed AWS database for scalable PostgreSQL, MySQL, and distributed SQL workloads.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Amazon Aurora is a fully managed, cloud-based relational database service from Amazon Web Services. It supports PostgreSQL- and MySQL-compatible engines, along with Aurora DSQL, a distributed SQL engine. Provisioned and serverless deployment options make it suitable for enterprise applications, SaaS products, and globally distributed workloads that need managed provisioning, patching, backups, scaling, and failure handling.
Pricing is usage-based rather than organized around a simple fixed plan ladder. According to the published pricing structure, cost varies by AWS Region, database engine, instance or Aurora Capacity Unit capacity, storage, I/O, and optional features. Aurora is a paid service, while eligible new customers may access AWS credits for up to 12 months. The main deployment choice is between provisioned capacity and serverless capacity, with automatic scaling available for database capacity and storage. Teams should model expected workload, replicas, storage, and regional requirements before selecting a configuration.
Aurora’s strongest fit is for teams that want AWS-managed availability and scale without operating database infrastructure directly. Its features include distributed storage across Availability Zones, automatic failover to an Aurora Replica, continuous automated backups, point-in-time recovery, up to 15 Aurora read replicas, and Multi-Region Aurora Global Database. Native JSON and JSONB support extends its fit for applications that combine relational and document-style data. Integrations with Amazon S3, AWS Backup, Amazon Bedrock, and Amazon SageMaker add AWS ecosystem alignment. Teams seeking a permanent free tier, a self-managed deployment, or a non-AWS operating model should choose an alternative instead.
Amazon Aurora pros and cons
- Where it wins
- PostgreSQL- and MySQL-compatible engines with serverless options
- Automatic scaling, failover, backups, and point-in-time recovery
- Up to 15 read replicas plus multi-Region database support
- Where it doesn't
- No permanent free plan
- Pricing varies by region, engine, capacity, storage, and I/O
- Cloud-based service with AWS ecosystem dependencies
Amazon Aurora fact sheet, pricing and score →
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