MySQL is a traditional open-source relational database requiring self-management, while Amazon Aurora is a managed AWS service offering up to 3x faster performance and automatic scaling at higher cost. Aurora is built on MySQL-compatible technology but abstracts infrastructure complexity.
MySQL vs Amazon Aurora — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Open-source relational database management system with widespread adoption and community support.
AWS-managed relational database with PostgreSQL/MySQL compatibility, auto-scaling, and high availability
Management Model. Read Throughput Performance. High Availability Setup. Starting Costs (monthly). Automatic Backups & Recovery. Scaling Approach. Community & Support
Choose MySQL if you need a cost-effective, fully transparent database you can self-manage, have low traffic requirements, or prefer open-source flexibility without vendor lock-in. Choose Amazon Aurora if you prioritize high availability, automatic scaling, minimal operational overhead, and can afford managed service costs—it's ideal for production applications requiring 99.99% uptime and variable workloads.
MySQL: Partial (InnoDB only) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: ~28,000 (MySQL 8.4) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: ~450 (5-table join) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: JSON functions only | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: ~80 (minimal config) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Via third-party extensions | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Limited, basic support | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Standard table partitioning | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: $13.50 (MySQL 8.4) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 5 (8.0-8.4 active) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 5-50 (binary log) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Oracle, multiple vendors | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 151 (default, configurable) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 140 TB per table | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Yes - TCP/IP protocol | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Yes - master-slave, group replication | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 5-50 ms (indexed queries) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Full ACID across multiple tables (since v5.7) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Manual sharding (theoretical unlimited) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Fixed schema, requires migration for changes | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 3-5ms for simple queries | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 8-12GB working set | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 25+ years (MySQL 1.0 released 1995) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 10,000-50,000 ops/sec | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 46% of web applications (Stack Overflow 2024) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 240-480 minutes | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: $50-200 (self-hosted) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Manual configuration required | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Third-party tools only | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 600+ thousand | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 1x baseline | Amazon Aurora: 5x faster
MySQL: $0 (open-source) | Amazon Aurora: $86.40-$315.36/month
MySQL: 64TB (hardware dependent) | Amazon Aurora: 128
MySQL: Unlimited (with sharding complexity) | Amazon Aurora: 15
MySQL: User-dependent (no guarantee) | Amazon Aurora: 99.95% SLA
MySQL: Manual configuration required | Amazon Aurora: Automatic daily + continuous backup
MySQL: 5+ (on-prem, cloud, edge, containers, hybrid) | Amazon Aurora: 1 (AWS only)
MySQL: 2.8s (MySQL 8.0) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 4.2s (MySQL 8.0) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 2 (InnoDB, MyISAM) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: MySQL 8.4 LTS | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: $2,500-$50,000 (Oracle) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: ~4,400 stars | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Yes (InnoDB) | Amazon Aurora: Full ACID support with distributed architecture
MySQL: 100ms (baseline) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
Complex Analytical Query Speed (with JOINs + aggregations)
MySQL: 850ms (without window functions) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: No (conditional) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
Annual Enterprise Support Cost (per server)
MySQL: 64MB (practical limit) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 1-2 (English mainly) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 99% of providers | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: No (until 8.0) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 45ms (MySQL) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
Complex Analytical Query Speed (Aggregate + Join)
MySQL: 1,200ms (MySQL) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Yes, since 5.7 (basic operations only) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Basic (limited language support, no stemming) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Since 8.0 (limited implementation) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: ~15 core rules | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: ~3 months (quarterly) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 1 (InnoDB primary) | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Full MSI installer, native support | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Reference implementation | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: Requires manual setup | Amazon Aurora: N/A
MySQL: 1x (baseline) | Amazon Aurora: 3x (via read replicas)
MySQL: Manual (30-60+ minutes) | Amazon Aurora: 15-30
MySQL: 1 (self-managed: 2-3 typical) | Amazon Aurora: 6 across 3 AZs
Minimum Monthly Operational Cost (production-ready)
MySQL: $0 (software) + infrastructure costs | Amazon Aurora: $50-150 (db.t3.small to db.r6g.xlarge)
MySQL: 0 (manual only) | Amazon Aurora: 35 (automatic)
MySQL: Depends on hardware (typically 1-10TB) | Amazon Aurora: 128 (automatic)
MySQL: 4-24 (server provisioning + config) | Amazon Aurora: 0.25 (click-to-launch via console)
MySQL: None (depends on your infrastructure) | Amazon Aurora: 99.95% (multi-AZ deployment)
MySQL: N/A | Amazon Aurora: $4,380-$10,700
MySQL: N/A | Amazon Aurora: 0.03 (1-click)
MySQL: N/A | Amazon Aurora: Aurora PostgreSQL 16
MySQL: N/A | Amazon Aurora: <1,000 (as low as 100ms)
How to choose between MySQL and Amazon Aurora
MySQL vs Amazon Aurora — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for MySQL vs Amazon Aurora. Contains 87 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
MySQL vs Amazon Aurora — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for MySQL vs Amazon Aurora.
Is Amazon Aurora truly MySQL-compatible or will I need to rewrite my application?
Aurora maintains MySQL 5.7 and 8.0 wire protocol compatibility, meaning most applications run without code changes. However, some edge cases exist: Aurora doesn't support certain storage engines (InnoDB is standard), uses different system variables, and handles certain edge-case SQL differently. Plan for 1-2 weeks of compatibility testing for production workloads.
When does Amazon Aurora become cheaper than self-managed MySQL?
Aurora typically becomes cost-effective when self-managed costs exceed $100-150/month. This occurs when: (1) you need 99.99% uptime requiring multi-server redundancy, (2) you employ a full-time DBA ($80k+ annually), or (3) infrastructure downtime costs exceed $5,000/hour. For hobby projects or low-traffic sites, MySQL self-hosted remains cheaper.
Can I migrate from MySQL to Aurora without downtime?
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) enables near-zero downtime migration using binary log replication. Typical migration: (1) full initial data copy (hours-days depending on size), (2) continuous replication of changes, (3) final cutover during a planned maintenance window (minutes). For databases under 500GB, migration usually completes in under 6 hours.
What are the hidden costs of running Aurora that I should budget for?
Beyond instance pricing: backup storage costs (~$0.023/GB/month for data beyond 100% of database size), data transfer egress ($0.02/GB out of region), enhanced monitoring ($12/month), and AWS support plans ($29-15,000+/month). A typical 500GB database with backups might add $50-100/month to base instance costs.
If my application outgrows MySQL performance, do I have to switch to Aurora or are there alternatives?
Before switching: optimize MySQL with proper indexing, connection pooling (ProxySQL), read replicas, or sharding. Open-source alternatives include PostgreSQL (similar capabilities, better JSON support) or MariaDB (MySQL fork with built-in clustering). If you need distributed performance, consider Redis for caching. Aurora is optimal if you want AWS-managed automation without architectural changes.
How to Choose Between MySQL and Amazon Aurora
Management Model: MySQL has Self-managed (on-premises or IaaS), while Amazon Aurora has Fully managed service (AWS).
Read Throughput Performance: MySQL has Standard single-instance baseline, while Amazon Aurora has Up to 3x faster, distributed read replicas.
High Availability Setup: MySQL has Requires manual replication configuration, while Amazon Aurora has Automatic multi-AZ with 6-way replication.
Starting Costs (monthly): MySQL has $0 (open-source, hosting costs vary), while Amazon Aurora has $50-150+ depending on instance type.
Automatic Backups & Recovery: MySQL has Manual configuration required, while Amazon Aurora has Automated with 35-day retention default.
Scaling Approach: MySQL has Vertical scaling or manual sharding, while Amazon Aurora has Automatic horizontal scaling with read replicas.
Community & Support: MySQL has Large open-source community, forums, while Amazon Aurora has AWS-backed support with SLA guarantees.