Compare Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) and Microsoft SQL Server 
Featured Products
At a Glance
Market Segments
Mid-Market (37.6% of reviews)
Enterprise (45.5% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
No pricing available
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)
Star Rating
(901)4.5 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (37.6% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)Microsoft SQL Server
Star Rating
(2,261)4.4 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (45.5% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about Microsoft SQL ServerAmazon Relational Database Service (RDS) vs Microsoft SQL Server
When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) easier to use, set up, and administer. Reviewers also preferred doing business with Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) overall.
- Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) and Microsoft SQL Server both meet the requirements of our reviewers at a comparable rate.
- 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 Microsoft SQL Server.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)
No pricing availableMicrosoft SQL Server
No pricing availableFree Trial
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)
Free Trial is available
Microsoft SQL Server
No trial information availableRatings
Meets Requirements
9.0
739
9.0
1,854
Ease of Use
8.8
747
8.6
1,870
Ease of Setup
8.9
523
8.1
992
Ease of Admin
8.7
435
8.3
950
Quality of Support
8.6
711
8.3
1,649
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.8
423
8.4
900
Product Direction (% positive)
9.5
701
8.4
1,825
Features by Category
Management
Not enough data
8.9
153
Not enough data
8.8
153
Not enough data
9.2
158
Not enough data
8.9
153
Not enough data
8.9
156
Maintenance
Not enough data
8.9
154
Not enough data
9.0
159
Not enough data
9.0
154
Security
Not enough data
8.9
153
Not enough data
9.1
155
Management
8.8
305
9.0
149
8.9
309
9.2
151
8.8
294
8.8
137
8.9
304
8.8
142
Support
8.3
300
8.6
145
8.7
311
9.0
149
8.6
305
8.6
144
8.8
309
8.4
151
Security
8.6
298
8.8
148
8.7
314
9.0
148
8.8
308
8.8
145
8.8
311
9.0
149
Performance
8.8
305
8.7
144
8.6
299
8.8
141
8.7
307
8.7
147
8.5
293
8.6
145
8.5
297
8.8
146
Database Features
9.0
437
8.9
1287
9.2
437
9.0
1291
9.0
433
8.9
1299
9.2
423
8.7
1266
9.1
431
8.8
1267
8.5
402
8.8
1271
8.7
419
9.1
1291
Configuration
8.8
245
Not enough data
8.4
240
Not enough data
8.6
248
Not enough data
8.0
225
Not enough data
8.9
239
Not enough data
Database Administration
8.8
240
Not enough data
8.6
230
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Availability
9.1
245
Not enough data
9.1
249
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.7
231
Not enough data
Security
8.3
170
Not enough data
8.6
179
Not enough data
8.4
169
Not enough data
Data Management
8.8
185
Not enough data
8.6
174
Not enough data
Database
Not enough data
8.5
56
Not enough data
8.8
57
Not enough data
8.4
54
Integrations
Not enough data
7.8
45
Not enough data
8.2
45
Platform
Not enough data
8.2
50
Not enough data
8.5
53
Not enough data
8.2
45
Processing
Not enough data
8.5
52
Not enough data
8.5
55
Building Reports
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Platform
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) and Microsoft SQL Server are categorized as Relational Databases
Unique Categories
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is categorized as Database as a Service (DBaaS)
Microsoft SQL Server is categorized as Database Management Systems (DBMS), Big Data Processing and Distribution, and On-Premise Data Integration
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Microsoft SQL Server
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Information Technology and Services
22.7%
Computer Software
17.0%
Financial Services
6.1%
Computer & Network Security
3.7%
Telecommunications
3.3%
Other
47.2%
Information Technology and Services
24.1%
Computer Software
13.7%
Hospital & Health Care
5.4%
Financial Services
4.3%
Higher Education
2.9%
Other
49.6%
Alternatives
Discussions
What is Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) used for?
2 Comments
AJ
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is a cloud-based service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that is used for managing and operating relational...Read more
An Amazon RDS performance best practice is to allocate enough RAM so that your working set resides almost completely in memory.
1 Comment
SS
niceRead more
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) has no more discussions with answers
How could I make much easier the experience with the order of my database?
4 Comments
AF
You can create different tables with your employee information eg employee table, employee roles etc. Then you can create a single view that will pull data...Read more
What is the best way to save your queries?
4 Comments
CA
I recommend that you use the saved querys in plain text or .sql or txt format you can use the same sql server query creator or a notepad +++ tool, they are...Read more
How can I work on the same query if the connection is lost (timeout) and then I reconnect?
4 Comments
JE
When this happens to me in SQL Server Management Studio, I just have to type USE {your database name here} and then select only that statement and execute...Read more
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