Link copied to clipboard

# Amazon Athena vs Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) Comparison - What are their main differences?

Share
[
Export
](/compare/amazon-athena/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/export.csv)

Amazon AthenaAmazon Relational Database...[+ Add Product](#)

Pricing

**Amazon Athena**
No pricing available

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**
Free Trial

**$0.01** per\_feature Per Month · Basic

**Pricing Insights**
from reviews

Perceived Cost

**Amazon Athena**
$$$$$

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**
$$$$$

Average Discount

**Amazon Athena**
10%

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**
11%1% more

Uncover valuable pricing insights from real user feedback to improve your shopping experience.
See it for free

Time to Implement

**Amazon Athena** 6 months
Based on 100 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**6 months
Based on 100 responses

Return on Investment

**Amazon Athena** 6 months
Based on 100 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**6 months
Based on 100 responses

**Pros & Cons**
from reviews

**Amazon Athena**
[
Analytics (1)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2486686&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Big Data Handling (1)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2486676&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Function Limitations (1)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2241438&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Limited SQL (1)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2241424&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**
[
Ease of Use (32)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1444317&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Scalability (30)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1443896&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Expensive (34)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1443813&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Cost Issues (10)
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1444392&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)

Integrations

**Amazon Athena**
[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_216cb0c86043deb458f3480253d7d5e9/amazon-quick.jpg "Product Avatar Image")

Amazon Quick

](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-quick/reviews)[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_3a97b9f1db5fb047add69c0bdedf5939/amazon-simple-storage-service-s3.jpg "Product Avatar Image")

Amazon Simple Storage...

](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-simple-storage-service-s3/reviews)[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_b3390b4cc3d92e87d570895f7358c003/aws-glue.jpg "Product Avatar Image")

AWS Glue

](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-glue/reviews)[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_b8b49f2b6f9cd484b0efa52a4abd8269/microsoft-microsoft-power-bi.png "Product Avatar Image")

Microsoft Power BI

](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-microsoft-power-bi/reviews)[
View all
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/integrations)

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**
[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_b3390b4cc3d92e87d570895f7358c003/amazon-aurora.jpg "Product Avatar Image")

Amazon Aurora

](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-aurora/reviews)[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_764bdd3b0bc81b470d93f18d12c826d2/amazon-web-services-aws-amazon-dynamodb.png "Product Avatar Image")

Amazon DynamoDB

](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-web-services-aws-amazon-dynamodb/reviews)[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_cacdec8b8edeace9b3c89e0c2cded695/amazon-ec2.jpg "Product Avatar Image")

Amazon EC2

](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-ec2/reviews)[

 ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_cacdec8b8edeace9b3c89e0c2cded695/amazon-elastic-container-service-amazon-ecs.jpg "Product Avatar Image")

Amazon Elastic Container...

](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-elastic-container-service-amazon-ecs/reviews)[
View all
](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/integrations)

Screenshots

**Amazon Athena**
No screenshot available

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**
 ![Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) screenshot](https://images.g2crowd.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,height=600,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,/https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/attachment/file/146057/RDS-Console-Screenshot.png)

**Ratings**
from reviews

Meets Requirements

**Amazon Athena**

**8.4** /10

Based on 127 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**

**9.0** /10

Based on 745 responses

Ease of Use

**Amazon Athena**

**8.9** /10

Based on 127 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**

**8.8** /10

Based on 753 responses

Ease of Setup

**Amazon Athena**

**9.1** /10

Based on 62 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**

**8.9** /10

Based on 529 responses

Ease of Admin

**Amazon Athena**

**8.5** /10

Based on 55 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**

**8.7** /10

Based on 436 responses

Quality of Support

**Amazon Athena**

**8.5** /10

Based on 109 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**

**8.6** /10

Based on 717 responses

Has the product been a good partner in doing business?

**Amazon Athena**

**8.7** /10

Based on 55 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**

**8.8** /10

Based on 424 responses

Product Direction (% positive)

**Amazon Athena**

**9.2** /10

Based on 100 responses

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)**

**9.5** /10

Based on 705 responses

**Features**
ratings from reviews

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

**8.9** /10

Based on 56 responses

**8.7** /10

Based on 282 responses

Database Management Systems (DBMS)

**8.5** /10

Based on 33 responses

Not enough data

Relational Databases

Not enough data

**8.8** /10

Based on 468 responses

User Insights

**Reviewers' Company Size**

Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
22.2%

Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
25.9%

Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.)
51.9%

Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
22.2%

Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
25.9%

Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.)
51.9%

Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
28.9%

Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
37.6%

Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.)
33.4%

Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
28.9%

Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
37.6%

Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.)
33.4%

**Reviewers' Industry**

[![Amazon Athena](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1528476462/amazon-athena.svg "Amazon Athena")](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews)
Amazon Athena

Information Technology and Services
14.9%

Computer Software
12.4%

Financial Services
8.1%

Computer & Network Security
4.3%

Retail
4.3%

Other
55.9%

[![Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1533130188/amazon-relational-database-service-rds.svg "Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)")](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews)
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

Information Technology and Services
22.6%

Computer Software
17.1%

Financial Services
6.0%

Computer & Network Security
3.7%

Telecommunications
3.2%

Other
47.3%

Alternatives

**Amazon Athena Alternatives**

 ![Snowflake](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1544409170/snowflake.svg "Snowflake")

[
Snowflake
](/products/snowflake/reviews)

 ![Microsoft SQL Server](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/a8a99a96fda235658139f710592f8a53/microsoft-sql-server.svg "Microsoft SQL Server")

[
MS SQL
](/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews)

 ![DBeaver](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/c70ecec3baa906b4d9eec0752e0a20c1/dbeaver.svg "DBeaver")

[
DBeaver
](/products/dbeaver/reviews)

 ![SAP HANA Cloud](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/b5f8f986beca96ab0027c693ee762fb9/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01.svg "SAP HANA Cloud")

[
SAP HANA Cloud
](/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews)

**Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) Alternatives**

 ![Oracle Database](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_82f55e945509bff7b8009e8024cfe73c/oracle-database.jpg "Oracle Database")

[
Oracle Database
](/products/oracle-database/reviews)

 ![IBM Db2](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/1553782253/ibm-db2.svg "IBM Db2")

[
IBM Db2
](/products/ibm-db2/reviews)

 ![SAP HANA Cloud](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/b5f8f986beca96ab0027c693ee762fb9/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01.svg "SAP HANA Cloud")

[
SAP HANA Cloud
](/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews)

 ![Google Cloud SQL](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/a4f97d6f742e657968c8830b1a97c42e/google-cloud-sql.svg "Google Cloud SQL")

[
Cloud SQL
](/products/google-cloud-sql/reviews)

## Amazon Athena vs Amazon Relational Database... FAQs

Generated using AI

Last updated: August 14, 2026

### What is the difference between Amazon Relational Database... vs Amazon Athena?

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is favored for managed relational database operations and scalability, while Amazon Athena is preferred for serverless, ad-hoc querying of data stored in Amazon S3.

| [Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews) | [Amazon Athena](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews) |
| --- | --- |
| 4.5/5 (909 reviews) | 4.4/5 (173 reviews) |
| Mid-Market | Enterprise |
| 8.9 | 9.1 |
| 8.6 | 8.5 |
| Scalability (30 all-time mentions) | Big Data Handling (recent reviews) |

### How do the pricing models of Amazon Relational Database... and Amazon Athena compare?

Amazon Athena is rated higher for value, with reviewers expressing greater satisfaction with its pricing compared to Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS).

- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS):** Reviewers frequently cite high and sometimes unpredictable costs, especially as workloads scale, with 34 all-time mentions of "Expensive" and 10 of "Cost Issues."
- **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers highlight Athena as cost-effective for querying large datasets, with positive sentiment around its pay-as-you-go model and lower operational overhead.
- **Switching reasons:** Recent reviews indicate that buyers move to Athena for its serverless pricing and to avoid infrastructure management costs.

### What are the best alternatives to Amazon Relational Database... and Amazon Athena?

The top 3 alternatives to Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) and Amazon Athena are Snowflake, Oracle Database, and IBM Db2.

| Product | G2 Rating (reviews) | Largest Segment | Pricing Insight | Top Reviewer-Cited Strength |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews) | 4.5/5 (909 reviews) | Mid-Market | Costs can escalate quickly as workloads grow | Scalability (30 all-time mentions) |
| [Amazon Athena](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-athena/reviews) | 4.4/5 (173 reviews) | Enterprise | Cost-effective for ad-hoc queries on large datasets | Big Data Handling (recent reviews) |
| [Snowflake](https://www.g2.com/products/snowflake/reviews) | 4.5/5 (763 reviews) | Mid-Market | — | Performance and scalability (recent reviews) |
| [Oracle Database](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-database/reviews) | 4.3/5 (1020 reviews) | Enterprise | — | Reliability and enterprise features (recent reviews) |
| [IBM Db2](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-db2/reviews) | 4.1/5 (683 reviews) | Enterprise | — | Stability and integration (recent reviews) |

### Which Database as a Service (DBaaS) features should I prioritize when comparing Amazon Relational Database... and Amazon Athena?

Buyers comparing Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) and Amazon Athena should prioritize scalability, ease of setup, integration capabilities, cost management, and support experience.

- **Scalability:** Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) has 30 all-time mentions for scalability; Amazon Athena is cited for big data handling in recent reviews.
- **Ease of Setup:** Amazon Athena scores 9.1, while Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) scores 8.9.
- **Integration Capabilities:** Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is mentioned in 13 reviews for integrations; Amazon Athena is frequently cited for AWS Glue integration in recent reviews.
- **Cost Management:** Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) has 34 all-time mentions of being expensive; Amazon Athena is praised for cost-effectiveness in recent reviews.
- **Support Experience:** Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) scores 8.6 for Quality of Support; Amazon Athena scores 8.5.

### What are the pros and cons of Amazon Relational Database... vs Amazon Athena?

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is strongest in scalability and managed database operations, while Amazon Athena excels in cost-effective, serverless querying of large datasets.

- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) strengths:** Scalability (30 all-time mentions), ease of use (32), security (19), setup ease (18), backup services (16), high availability (13), and integrations (13).
- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) trade-offs:** Expensive (34 all-time mentions), cost issues (10), limited customization, and initial setup complexity for beginners.
- **Amazon Athena strengths:** Big data handling, analytics, and cost-effectiveness for ad-hoc queries, as highlighted in recent reviews.
- **Amazon Athena trade-offs:** Limited SQL functionality, performance drops with large or poorly organized datasets, and less suitability for high-concurrency or low-latency workloads.

### Is Amazon Relational Database... or Amazon Athena better for small businesses?

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is a better fit for small businesses based on its strong mid-market presence and positive sentiment from reviewers in that segment.

- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS):** Largest segment is Mid-Market, with reviewers highlighting ease of use, managed services, and scalability as key benefits for smaller organizations.
- **Amazon Athena:** Largest segment is Enterprise, with reviewers noting its strengths in big data analytics and serverless querying, but less focus on small-business use cases.

### Which Database as a Service (DBaaS) platform has better integrations?

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is favored for integrations, with more reviewer-cited integration mentions and broader AWS ecosystem compatibility.

- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS):** Frequently cited integrations include Amazon Aurora (9 all-time mentions) and AWS Lambda (7 all-time mentions).
- **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers highlight integration with AWS Glue (7 all-time mentions) and Python in recent reviews.

### How do Amazon Relational Database... and Amazon Athena compare on customer support?

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) and Amazon Athena are rated at near-parity for Quality of Support, with scores of 8.6 and 8.5 respectively.

- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS):** Reviewers mention responsive support and strong AWS customer service, with 10 all-time mentions of customer support.
- **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers describe helpful support experiences, especially for onboarding and troubleshooting, with positive sentiment in recent reviews.

### Which is easier to implement, Amazon Relational Database... or Amazon Athena?

Amazon Athena scores higher on Ease of Setup (9.1 vs. 8.9), indicating it is easier to implement than Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS).

- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS):** Reviewers note that initial setup can be complex for beginners, but appreciate automation and managed services once configured.
- **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers consistently highlight fast, straightforward setup and minimal infrastructure management, making it easy to get started.

### Which product has better Scalability?

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is the stronger choice for scalability, with the highest all-time mention count for this feature.

- **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS):** Scalability is cited in 30 all-time reviews, with reviewers praising its ability to handle growing workloads and automated scaling features.
- **Amazon Athena:** Reviewers highlight big data handling and serverless scaling for analytics, but scalability is not cited as frequently as with Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS).

## Amazon Athena vs Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found Amazon Athena easier to use and set up. However, Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is easier to administer. Reviewers also preferred doing business with Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) overall.

- Reviewers felt that Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) meets the needs of their business better than Amazon Athena.
- When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is the preferred option.
- For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) over Amazon Athena.