Quick answer
Azure Database for PostgreSQL is cheaper than Amazon RDS for a starter database and costs the same for a production database and a high-availability database. For a starter database (burstable, about 2 GB of memory, 20 GB of storage) in US East, it costs $14.71 a month against $25.66. Playxoft's comparison uses official list prices checked October 14, 2026, with the always-free allowances applied.
- Official list prices
- 3 usage levels
- 12 regions
- Feature comparison
- Free calculator
How to compare Amazon RDS and Azure Database for PostgreSQL costs
- 1Pick a usage level (Starter, Production, High availability), then change the numbers or add more items with the + buttons.
- 2Choose the Region where your users are. Prices differ by region.
- 3Adjust the numbers in each card. Every field has an i tip explaining it.
- 4Compare the two monthly totals, then open Cost breakdown to see exactly how Amazon RDS and Azure Database for PostgreSQL bill each line.
Which is cheaper, Amazon RDS or Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
Monthly list prices in US East with the always-free allowances applied:
| Usage per month | Amazon RDS | Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter: burstable, about 2 GB memory, 20 GB storage | $25.66 | $14.71 | Azure Database for PostgreSQL by $10.95 |
| Production: 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 100 GB storage | $141.44 | $141.44 | Same |
| High availability: 8 vCPU, 32 GB, 500 GB, standby in a second zone | $1,154.52 | $1,154.52 | Same |
Azure Database for PostgreSQL is cheaper for a production database in 5 of the 12 regions the calculator covers and Amazon RDS in 3, and they cost the same in 4. Azure does not offer high availability on Burstable servers; the high-availability level uses General Purpose sizes on both clouds.
What are the RDS and Azure PostgreSQL unit prices?
List prices in AWS us-east-1 (N. Virginia) and Azure eastus (East US), read on October 14, 2026:
| Price (US East, on-demand) | AWS | Azure |
|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL, 2 vCPU / 8 GB, per hour | $0.178 | $0.178 |
| Database storage, per GB-month | $0.115 | $0.115 |
Is Amazon RDS or Azure Database for PostgreSQL cheaper in your region?
A production database (2 vCPU, 8 GB of memory, 100 GB of storage), priced in each of the 12 regions the calculator covers:
| Region | Amazon RDS | Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| US East | $141.44 | $141.44 | Same |
| US West | $141.44 | $141.44 | Same |
| Canada | $155.78 | $156.90 | RDS |
| Brazil (São Paulo) | $191.99 | $197.05 | RDS |
| Ireland | $156.51 | $156.90 | RDS |
| UK (London) | $163.68 | $163.68 | Same |
| Germany (Frankfurt) | $168.46 | $168.46 | Same |
| India | $197.79 | $195.60 | Azure PostgreSQL |
| Singapore | $194.11 | $191.92 | Azure PostgreSQL |
| Japan (Tokyo) | $194.11 | $191.92 | Azure PostgreSQL |
| South Korea (Seoul) | $193.41 | $192.68 | Azure PostgreSQL |
| Australia (Sydney) | $194.11 | $191.92 | Azure PostgreSQL |
How do Amazon RDS and Azure Database for PostgreSQL compare on features?
| Amazon RDS | Azure Database for PostgreSQL | |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | PostgreSQL (up to 18) | PostgreSQL (up to 18) |
| Largest database | 64 TiB | 64 TiB (Premium SSD v2) |
| High availability | Multi-AZ, 99.95% SLA | Zone-redundant HA, 99.99% SLA |
| SLA without HA | 99.5% | 99.9% |
| Backup retention | Up to 35 days | Up to 35 days |
| Read replicas | Up to 15 | Up to 5 (30 cascading) |
Facts from each provider's own documentation, checked October 14, 2026.
What are the key differences between Amazon RDS and Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
- Price. A 2 vCPU, 8 GB general-purpose server costs the same per hour on both in US East; burstable starter sizes differ.
- HA and SLA. Azure's zone-redundant HA carries 99.99%; RDS Multi-AZ 99.95%. Without HA, Azure gives 99.9% and RDS 99.5%.
- Replicas. RDS allows up to 15 read replicas; Azure 5 per primary, or 30 with cascading.
- Backups. Both keep automated backups for up to 35 days.
Should you choose Amazon RDS or Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
Choose Amazon RDS if
- you need many read replicas
- you want a burstable instance with high availability
- your app runs on AWS
Choose Azure Database for PostgreSQL if
- you need the highest SLA (99.99%) for your database
- your app runs on Azure or uses Entra ID authentication
- you want 99.9% even without high availability
More comparisons: AWS vs Azure · Amazon EC2 vs Azure Virtual Machines · AWS Lambda vs Azure Functions · Amazon S3 vs Azure Blob Storage · Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL · Amazon DynamoDB vs Azure Cosmos DB.
Where do these prices come from?
Both sides use the provider's own published price list, read on October 14, 2026, for the same region, with the always-free allowances applied.
Prices are in US dollars, on-demand, for Linux, with no commitments. Every figure on this page is generated from the same price snapshot as the calculator, and automated tests check each claim whenever the prices change. A month is 730 hours and 1 TB is 1,024 GB. Providers change prices from time to time, so for a purchase decision confirm the final figure in the provider's console.
Moving between Amazon RDS and Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
Playxoft builds and runs production backends on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure and Cloudflare, and plans migrations between them with no surprise downtime, including white-label work for agencies. Send us your architecture or last month's invoice and we will tell you, free, which side is cheaper for your real usage. Get a free cloud cost review.
Frequently asked questions
Last updated by the Playxoft engineering team.