# MariaDB, PostgreSQL vs Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) Comparison

| | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Star Rating** | 4.4 out of 5 | 4.4 out of 5 | 4.5 out of 5 | 
| **Total Reviews** | 226 | 682 | 908 | 
| **Largest Market Segment** | Small-Business (41.3% of reviews) | Small-Business (35.9% of reviews) | Mid-Market (37.6% of reviews) | 
| **Entry Level Price** | No pricing available | No pricing available | No pricing available | 

---
## Top Pros & Cons

### MariaDB

Pros:
- Ease of Use (2 reviews)
- Easy Integrations (2 reviews)

Cons:
- Beginner Unfriendliness (1 reviews)
- Connectivity Issues (1 reviews)

### PostgreSQL

Pros:
- Features (13 reviews)
- Ease of Use (11 reviews)

Cons:
- Beginner Unfriendliness (7 reviews)
- Complexity (6 reviews)

### Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

Pros:
- Ease of Use (15 reviews)
- Scalability (13 reviews)

Cons:
- Expensive (18 reviews)
- Complexity (7 reviews)

---
## Ratings Comparison
| Rating | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
  | **Meets Requirements** | 8.9 (183 reviews) | 9.1 (557 reviews) | 9.0 (745 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Use** | 8.9 (185 reviews) | 8.5 (562 reviews) | 8.8 (753 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Setup** | 8.7 (115 reviews) | 8.4 (291 reviews) | 8.9 (529 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Admin** | 8.4 (110 reviews) | 8.2 (251 reviews) | 8.7 (436 reviews) | 
  | **Quality of Support** | 7.9 (142 reviews) | 7.9 (450 reviews) | 8.6 (717 reviews) | 
  | **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?** | 8.1 (88 reviews) | 8.5 (199 reviews) | 8.8 (424 reviews) | 
  | **Product Direction (% positive)** | 8.9 (176 reviews) | 8.5 (542 reviews) | 9.5 (705 reviews) | 

---
## Pricing

### MariaDB

#### Entry-Level Pricing

No pricing available

#### Free Trial

Yes

### PostgreSQL

#### Entry-Level Pricing

No pricing available

#### Free Trial

No information available

### Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

#### Entry-Level Pricing

No pricing available

#### Free Trial

Yes

---
## Features Comparison By Category

### Relational Databases

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **MariaDB** | 8.7/10 | 175 |
| **PostgreSQL** | 8.9/10 | 519 |
| **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)** | 8.8/10 | 468 |

#### Management 

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Data Schema** | 9.2 (28 reviews) | 9.1 (127 reviews) | 8.8 (306 reviews) | 
| **Query Language** | 9.2 (29 reviews) | 9.1 (123 reviews) | 8.9 (310 reviews) | 
| **ACID - Complaint** | 8.5 (25 reviews) | 9.2 (114 reviews) | 8.8 (295 reviews) | 
| **Data Replication** | 8.5 (23 reviews) | 8.9 (114 reviews) | 8.9 (304 reviews) | 

#### Support 

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Text Search** | 8.6 (26 reviews) | 8.7 (116 reviews) | 8.3 (300 reviews) | 
| **Data Types** | 8.9 (28 reviews) | 9.2 (132 reviews) | 8.7 (312 reviews) | 
| **Languages** | 8.5 (23 reviews) | 9.1 (113 reviews) | 8.6 (306 reviews) | 
| **Operating Systems** | 8.9 (22 reviews) | 9.1 (118 reviews) | 8.8 (310 reviews) | 

#### Security

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Database Locking** | 8.7 (27 reviews) | 8.7 (119 reviews) | 8.6 (299 reviews) | 
| **Access Control** | 8.8 (28 reviews) | 9.0 (121 reviews) | 8.7 (315 reviews) | 
| **Encryption** | 8.8 (22 reviews) | 8.6 (112 reviews) | 8.9 (309 reviews) | 
| **Authentication** | 8.7 (23 reviews) | 8.9 (114 reviews) | 8.8 (312 reviews) | 

#### Performance 

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Disaster Recovery** | 8.3 (21 reviews) | 8.6 (109 reviews) | 8.8 (305 reviews) | 
| **Data Concurrency** | 8.6 (22 reviews) | 8.8 (119 reviews) | 8.6 (299 reviews) | 
| **Workload Management** | 8.4 (24 reviews) | 8.7 (110 reviews) | 8.7 (307 reviews) | 
| **Advanced Indexing** | 8.4 (20 reviews) | 8.7 (119 reviews) | 8.5 (293 reviews) | 
| **Query Optimizer** | 8.5 (27 reviews) | 8.6 (116 reviews) | 8.5 (297 reviews) | 

#### Database Features

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Storage** | 9.0 (153 reviews) | 9.0 (466 reviews) | 9.0 (438 reviews) | 
| **Availability** | 9.1 (156 reviews) | 9.0 (472 reviews) | 9.2 (438 reviews) | 
| **Stability** | 9.2 (156 reviews) | 9.0 (479 reviews) | 9.0 (435 reviews) | 
| **Scalability** | 8.6 (148 reviews) | 8.6 (462 reviews) | 9.2 (425 reviews) | 
| **Security** | 8.6 (150 reviews) | 8.7 (446 reviews) | 9.1 (432 reviews) | 
| **Data Manipulation** | 8.7 (150 reviews) | 8.8 (461 reviews) | 8.5 (403 reviews) | 
| **Query Language** | 9.0 (154 reviews) | 9.0 (469 reviews) | 8.8 (420 reviews) | 

### Columnar Databases

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **MariaDB** | 9.0/10 | 10 |
| **PostgreSQL** | N/A | N/A |
| **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)** | N/A | N/A |

#### Storage

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Data Model** | 8.8 (8 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Data Types** | 8.9 (9 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

#### Availability

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Auto Sharding** | 9.0 (5 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Auto Recovery** | 8.8 (7 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Data Replication** | 8.6 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

#### Performance

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Integrated Cache** | 9.0 (8 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

#### Security

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Role-Based Authorization** | 9.4 (8 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Authentication** | 9.5 (7 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Audit Logs** | 8.6 (7 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Encryption** | 9.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

#### Support

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Multi-Model** | 9.7 (5 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Operating Systems** | 8.8 (7 reviews) | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

### AWS Marketplace

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **MariaDB** | N/A | N/A |
| **PostgreSQL** | N/A | N/A |
| **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)** | N/A | N/A |

#### Agentic AI - AWS Marketplace

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Autonomous Task Execution** | Not enough data | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Multi-step Planning** | Not enough data | Not enough data | Not enough data | 
| **Cross-system Integration** | Not enough data | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

### Database as a Service (DBaaS)

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **MariaDB** | N/A | N/A |
| **PostgreSQL** | N/A | N/A |
| **Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)** | 8.7/10 | 282 |

#### Configuration

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Application Performance** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.8 (248 reviews) | 
| **Orchestration** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.4 (243 reviews) | 
| **Database Monitoring** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.6 (252 reviews) | 
| **Anomaly Detection** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.1 (228 reviews) | 
| **Network Security** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.9 (245 reviews) | 

#### Database Administration

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Provisioning** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.8 (242 reviews) | 
| **Governance** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.6 (232 reviews) | 
| **Auditing** | Not enough data | Not enough data | Feature Not Available | 

#### Availability

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Scalability** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 9.1 (250 reviews) | 
| **Backup** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 9.1 (253 reviews) | 
| **Archiving** | Not enough data | Not enough data | Feature Not Available | 
| **Indexing** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.7 (232 reviews) | 

#### Security

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Data Masking** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.4 (171 reviews) | 
| **Authentication And Single Sign-On** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.6 (181 reviews) | 
| **Data Anonymization** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.4 (170 reviews) | 

#### Data Management

| Feature | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Data Replication** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.8 (188 reviews) | 
| **Advanced Data Analytics** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 8.6 (175 reviews) | 

---
## Categories
**Shared Categories (1):** [Relational Databases](https://www.g2.com/categories/relational-databases)

**Unique to MariaDB (2):** [Columnar Databases](https://www.g2.com/categories/columnar-databases), [AWS Marketplace Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/aws-marketplace)


**Unique to Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) (1):** [Database as a Service (DBaaS) Providers](https://www.g2.com/categories/database-as-a-service-dbaas)


---
## Reviewer Demographics

### By Company Size

| Segment | MariaDB | PostgreSQL | Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| **Small-Business** | 41.3% | 35.9% | 28.9% | 
| **Mid-Market** | 31.7% | 34.4% | 37.6% | 
| **Enterprise** | 27.1% | 29.7% | 33.4% | 

### By Industry

#### MariaDB

- **Information Technology and Services:** 26.1%
- **Computer Software:** 20.2%
- **Internet:** 5.0%
- **Telecommunications:** 5.0%
- **Computer & Network Security:** 3.7%
- **Education Management:** 3.7%
- **Marketing and Advertising:** 2.8%
- **Computer Networking:** 2.3%
- **Higher Education:** 2.3%
- **Retail:** 1.8%
- **Other:** 27.1%

#### PostgreSQL

- **Information Technology and Services:** 27.5%
- **Computer Software:** 22.9%
- **Financial Services:** 4.2%
- **Internet:** 4.2%
- **Telecommunications:** 2.8%
- **Hospital & Health Care:** 2.8%
- **Higher Education:** 2.7%
- **Computer & Network Security:** 2.2%
- **Retail:** 2.0%
- **Marketing and Advertising:** 2.0%
- **Other:** 26.7%

#### 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%
- **Hospital & Health Care:** 3.1%
- **Health, Wellness and Fitness:** 2.7%
- **Banking:** 2.5%
- **Retail:** 2.4%
- **Internet:** 2.2%
- **Other:** 34.4%

---
## Alternatives

### Alternatives to MariaDB

- [Microsoft SQL Server](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (2284 reviews)
- [MySQL](https://www.g2.com/products/mysql/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (1677 reviews)
- [Oracle Database](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-database/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1010 reviews)
- [IBM Db2](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-db2/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (682 reviews)
- [Amazon Aurora](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-aurora/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (457 reviews)
- [SQLite](https://www.g2.com/products/sqlite/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (261 reviews)
- [Google Cloud SQL](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-sql/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (366 reviews)
- [SAP HANA Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (621 reviews)
- [OpenText Vertica](https://www.g2.com/products/opentext-vertica/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (216 reviews)
- [Firebird](https://www.g2.com/products/firebird/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (24 reviews)

### Alternatives to PostgreSQL

- [Microsoft SQL Server](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (2284 reviews)
- [MySQL](https://www.g2.com/products/mysql/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (1677 reviews)
- [Oracle Database](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-database/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1010 reviews)
- [IBM Db2](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-db2/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (682 reviews)
- [SAP HANA Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (621 reviews)
- [Teradata Autonomous Knowledge Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/teradata-autonomous-knowledge-platform/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (375 reviews)
- [SQLite](https://www.g2.com/products/sqlite/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (261 reviews)
- [Azure SQL Database](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-sql-database/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (241 reviews)
- [Google Cloud SQL](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-sql/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (366 reviews)
- [IBM Informix](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-informix/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (111 reviews)

### Alternatives to Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

- [Oracle Database](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-database/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1010 reviews)
- [IBM Db2](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-db2/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (682 reviews)
- [SAP HANA Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (621 reviews)
- [Google Cloud SQL](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-sql/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (366 reviews)
- [Azure SQL Database](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-sql-database/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (241 reviews)
- [EDB Postgres Advanced Server](https://www.g2.com/products/edb-postgres-advanced-server/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (37 reviews)
- [Microsoft SQL Server](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (2284 reviews)
- [MySQL](https://www.g2.com/products/mysql/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (1677 reviews)
- [DigitalOcean](https://www.g2.com/products/digitalocean/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (749 reviews)
- [MongoDB Atlas](https://www.g2.com/products/mongodb-atlas/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (371 reviews)

---
## Top Discussions

### MariaDB

- Title: [What is MariaDB used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/mariadb-what-is-mariadb-used-for) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "It is a fork of MySQL used for data warehouse, e-com services and usage for similar kind of data manipulation tasks. "
- Title: [Is MariaDB compatible with MySQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-mariadb-compatible-with-mysql) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "Yes"
- Title: [What is MariaDB server?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-mariadb-server) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "MariaDB server is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that is compatible with MySQL. I'm pretty sure it was a fork of MySQLs..."
- Title: [What is MariaDB used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-mariadb-used-for) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "It is a relational database that stores data in form of row and column coming as input from a source like application softwares"
- Title: [Improvements in the mechanism of replication](https://www.g2.com/discussions/12584-improvements-in-the-mechanism-of-replication) — 1 comment, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "MarieDB Galera cluster is the way to go https://mariadb.com/kb/en/what-is-mariadb-galera-cluster/"

### PostgreSQL

- Title: [What are the advantages and disadvantages of PostgreSQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-postgresql) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Advantages: A different resource for your SQL needs without the tag of a legacy system"
- Title: [What is PostgreSQL used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-postgresql-used-for) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "PostgreSQL is an open-source database used to store, manage, and retrieve data. It's known for its reliability, scalability, and support for complex queries,..."
- Title: [What is special about PostgreSQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-special-about-postgresql) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "Provides features like scalability, reliability, and provides security which makes PostgreSQL more special.   "
- Title: [What programs use PostgreSQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-programs-use-postgresql) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "SQL"
- Title: [Can we get some video tutorials on usage? Also how do we connect them over cloud ?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/can-we-get-some-video-tutorials-on-usage-also-how-do-we-connect-them-over-cloud) — 1 comment, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "Hey Jay,

We use Postgresql on all of our cloud servers. We connect via SSL connections to the specific..."

### Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

- Title: [What is Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-amazon-relational-database-service-rds-used-for) — 2 comments, 2 upvotes
  > **Top comment:** "Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is a cloud-based service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that is used for managing and operating relational..."
- Title: [An Amazon RDS performance best practice is to allocate enough RAM so that your working set resides almost completely in memory.](https://www.g2.com/discussions/an-amazon-rds-performance-best-practice-is-to-allocate-enough-ram-so-that-your-working-set-resides-almost-completely-in-memory) — 1 comment, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "nice"

---
**Source:** [G2.com](https://www.g2.com) | [Comparison Page](https://www.g2.com/compare/mariadb-vs-postgresql-vs-amazon-relational-database-service-rds)