Cloud Comparisons

This Cloud Comparisons page features content that helps readers understand common use cases for when to use one cloud solution or another. Compare and contrast cloud solutions and learn the nuances of different use cases that work best for your situation.

AWS service comparisons

What's the difference between Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS?

Both are fully managed relational database services on AWS, but Aurora is a cloud-native engine built for higher performance and availability, while RDS gives you familiar open-source and commercial engines with less operational overhead than self-managed.

What's the difference between Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon RDS?

DynamoDB is a serverless NoSQL database for applications with well-defined access patterns that need consistent single-digit millisecond performance. RDS is a managed relational database for applications that need SQL, joins, and transactional integrity across multiple engines.

What's the difference between Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Keyspaces?

Both are fully managed, serverless-capable NoSQL databases on AWS. DynamoDB is AWS-native with its own API and data model; Keyspaces is Apache Cassandra-compatible, letting you use existing Cassandra drivers, tools, and expertise.

What are the differences between Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon DocumentDB?

Both are fully managed NoSQL databases on AWS, but they serve different data models. DynamoDB is a key-value store optimized for known access patterns at massive scale; DocumentDB is a document database for flexible JSON schemas with MongoDB compatibility.

What's the difference between Amazon DocumentDB and Amazon Neptune?

Both handle semi-structured data, but they're optimized for different query patterns. DocumentDB stores and queries JSON documents; Neptune stores and traverses relationships between entities.

What's the difference between Amazon Aurora and Amazon DynamoDB?

Both are fully managed AWS database services, but they serve fundamentally different data models and access patterns. Aurora is a relational database for structured data with relationships; DynamoDB is a NoSQL key-value store built for single-digit millisecond performance at any scale.

What's the difference between Amazon RDS and Amazon Redshift?

Both run SQL queries, but they're optimized for fundamentally different workloads. RDS handles transactional operations (inserts, updates, lookups) for your application. Redshift handles analytical queries (aggregations, scans, joins across billions of rows) for your data team.

Most recent cloud comparison topics

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What's the difference between containers and virtual machines?

Containers and virtual machines are technologies that make your applications independent from your IT infrastructure resources. A container is a software code package containing an application’s code, its libraries, and other dependencies.A virtual machine is a digital copy of a physical machine.

Read more about the differences here.

What are the differences among a data lake, data warehouse, and data mart?

Data warehouses, data lakes, and data marts are different cloud storage solutions. A data warehouse stores data in a structured format. A data mart is a data warehouse that serves the needs of a specific business unit. On the other hand, a data lake is a central repository for raw data and unstructured data.

Read more about the differences here.

What are the differences among hybrid apps, native apps, and web apps?

An application is a software that lets you exchange information with customers and help them complete specific tasks. Different types of apps are based on their development method and internal functionality. Web apps are delivered over an internet browser. Native apps are built for a specific platform or device type. On the otherhand, hybrid apps are native applications with a web browser embedded inside them.

Read more about the differences here.

What's The Difference Between Kubernetes And Docker?

Kubernetes and Docker are both container technologies. Kubernetes is a container orchestration tool that allows you to manage multiple container runtimes. Docker is a container runtime technology that allows you to build, test, and deploy applications applications faster than traditional methodsquickly.

Read more about the differences here.

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FRONT-END WEB & MOBILE, SERVERLESS

What’s the Difference Between Web Apps, Native Apps, and Hybrid Apps?

An application is a software that lets you exchange information with customers and help them complete specific tasks. Different types of applications, or apps, are based on their development method and internal functionality. Web apps are delivered over an internet browser. Users don't need to install them on their devices. Native apps, on the other hand, are built for a specific platform or device type. The user must install the appropriate software version on their device of choice. Hybrid apps are native applications with a web browser embedded inside them.

What’s the Difference Between a Data Warehouse, Data Lake, and Data Mart?

Data warehouses, data lakes, and data marts are different cloud storage solutions. A data warehouse stores data in a structured format. It is a central repository of preprocessed data for analytics and business intelligence. A data mart is a data warehouse that serves the needs of a specific business unit, like a company’s finance, marketing, or sales department. On the other hand, a data lake is a central repository for raw data and unstructured data. You can store data first and process it later on.

What’s the Difference Between Containers and Virtual Machines?

Containers and virtual machines are technologies that make your applications independent from your IT infrastructure resources. A container is a software code package containing an application’s code, its libraries, and other dependencies. Containerization makes your applications portable so that the same code can run on any device. A virtual machine is a digital copy of a physical machine. You can have multiple virtual machines with their own individual operating systems running on the same host operating system. In addition, you can create a virtual machine that contains everything required to run your application.

Developer Tools

What’s the Difference Between Kubernetes and Docker?

Docker is a container runtime technology that allows you to build, test, and deploy applications applications faster than traditional methodsquickly. It packages software into standardized units called containers with everything the software needs to run—including libraries, system tools, and code. Kubernetes is a container orchestration tool that allows you to manage multiple container runtimes. It lets you scale your container management systems so you can manage, easily coordinate and schedule several hundred containers at a vast scale.

What’s the Difference Between GPUs and CPUs?

A CPU, or central processing unit, is a hardware component that is the core computational unit in a server. It handles all types of computing tasks required for the operating system and applications to run. A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a similar hardware component but more specialized. It can more efficiently handle complex mathematical operations that run in parallel than a general CPU. While GPUs were initially created to handle graphics rendering tasks in gaming and animation, their uses now extend far beyond that.

Networking & Content Delivery

What’s the Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS?

Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) is a protocol or set of communication rules for client-server communication. When you visit a website, your browser sends a HTTP request to the web server, which responds with an HTTP response. The web server and your browser exchange data as plaintext. In short, HTTP protocol is the underlying technology that powers network communication. As the name suggests, hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is a more secure version or an extension of HTTP. In HTTPS, the browser and server establish a secure, encrypted connection before transferring data.

What’s the Difference Between MySQL and PostgreSQL?

MySQL is a relational database management system that lets you store data as tables with rows and columns. It’s a popular system that powers many web applications, dynamic websites, and embedded systems. PostgreSQL is an object-relational database management system that offers more features than MySQL. It gives you more flexibility in data types, scalability, concurrency, and data integrity.

Application Integration

What's the Difference Between SOAP and REST?

SOAP and REST are two internet data exchange mechanisms. For example, imagine that your internal accounts system shares data with your customer's accounting system to automate invoicing tasks. The two applications share data by using an API that defines communication rules. SOAP and REST are two different approaches to API design. The SOAP approach is highly structured and uses XML data format. REST is more flexible and allows applications to exchange data in multiple formats.

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AWS database service comparisons

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Compute, container, and storage comparisons

Compare AWS compute, container, storage, and media services

Compute

Containers

Storage

Media Services

Data, AI, and developer comparisons

Compare AWS analytics, AI/ML, developer, application integration, and IoT services

Analytics

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Developer Tools

Front-End Web & Mobile / Application Integration

Internet of Things

Network, security, and operations comparisons

Compare AWS networking, security, management, and migration services

Networking & Content Delivery

Security, Identity & Compliance

Management & Governance

Migration & Transfer

Learn more about cloud computing

Learn more about cloud computing with the Cloud Computing Concepts Hub, the centralized place where you can browse or search for informative articles about cloud computing. You'll find easy-to-understand info about broad topics such as "What is Machine Learning?" and "What is Data Science?"

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