Managed relational databases · November 2026 Edition
Amazon RDS vs Azure SQL Database
Twelve of fourteen models named Amazon RDS first on the direct prompt; zero named Azure SQL Database. Both were named by all fourteen models and Amazon RDS carries 72 labels and Azure SQL Database 59, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share51%9%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate18%17%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#2A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels7259A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Amazon RDS reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Google Cloud SQL was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL · Amazon RDS vs Amazon Aurora · Amazon RDS vs Supabase
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the managed relational databases page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Amazon RDSFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAzure SQL Database
Direct120
Paraphrase115
Comparative71
Budget-constrained403 against Amazon RDS
Scale-constrained00
Negative1010 against Amazon RDS · 10 against Azure SQL Database
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Amazon RDS and Azure SQL Database were named in the same answer 135 times, of the 200 answers naming Amazon RDS and the 164 naming Azure SQL Database. In those answers Azure SQL Database took the first choice five times and Amazon RDS forty-six.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Amazon RDS and Azure SQL Database stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | | |
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | | | |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | |
Amazon RDS Azure SQL Database first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Amazon RDS on the left and Azure SQL Database on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Amazon RDS and Azure SQL Database stood in it.
Amazon RDS first, Azure SQL Database an alternative
12 of 14 modelsAzure SQL Database was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL alternatives: Azure SQL Database
GPT-5.4 miniAmazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Azure SQL Database
Perplexity SonarAmazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Azure SQL Database, CockroachDB, Google Cloud SQL, Supabase
Mistral SmallAmazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL
DeepSeek V4 FlashAmazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Azure SQL Database, Google Cloud SQL
Llama 4 MaverickAmazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL
Qwen 3.7 FlashAmazon RDS alternatives: Azure SQL Database, Google Cloud SQL
Kimi K2Amazon RDS alternatives: Azure SQL Database, Google Cloud SQL
GLM 4.7 FlashXAmazon RDS alternatives: Azure SQL Database, Google Cloud SQL
MiniMax M2.5Amazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Azure SQL Database, Google Cloud SQL
GPT-6 LunaAmazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Azure SQL Database, Google Cloud SQL
Muse Glimmer 30BAmazon RDS alternatives: Amazon Aurora, Azure SQL Database, Google Cloud SQL
Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashAmazon Aurora alternatives: AlloyDB for PostgreSQL, Azure SQL Database, CockroachDB Cloud, Google Cloud SQL, Neon, Supabase
Grok 4.20Google Cloud SQL alternatives: Amazon RDS, Azure SQL Database
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Amazon RDS leads by twenty-one points.
Amazon RDS24%#2 of 8Azure SQL Database3%#7 of 8Mid-marketThe figures above
Amazon RDS leads by forty-two points.
Amazon RDS51%#1 of 11Azure SQL Database9%#2 of 11Enterprise
Amazon RDS leads by four points.
Amazon RDS20%#2 of 8Azure SQL Database16%#3 of 8What the models said about Amazon RDS
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Some models explicitly recommend avoiding RDS for production core systems unless absolutely necessary.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“Some models explicitly recommend avoiding RDS for production core systems unless absolutely necessary.” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · hard negative
“AWS RDS – hidden markup, vendor lock‑in, limited operational control.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“AWS RDS or Azure SQL Database are solid default choices due to their maturity, reliability, compliance certifications, and strong support ecosystems” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Amazon's Relational Database Service offers a free tier for the first 12 months... AWS Lightsail is also budget-friendly for smaller workloads.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“Broad engine choice and familiar database behavior... You're already on AWS, want a conventional engine, or need Oracle, SQL Server, or Db2.” GPT-6 Luna · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about Azure SQL Database
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“frequent 60‑second storage stalls, IOPS throttling, memory‑to‑core mismatches” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“Also shows a high negative share (20% negative labels)” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“Azure SQL Database, while generally robust, has resource caps and licensing implications that require careful planning” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“Start with Azure SQL Database if you're Microsoft-centric — it offers the best integration and cost optimization for predictable workloads.” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Azure SQL Database provides managed SQL Server capabilities across Azure with usage-based pricing and a free tier available.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“The Overall Leader: Amazon RDS / Aurora ... or Azure SQL Database, depending on your existing technology stack” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQLAmazon RDS vs Amazon AuroraAmazon RDS vs SupabaseAmazon RDS vs DigitalOcean Managed DatabasesAmazon RDS vs NeonAzure SQL Database vs Google Cloud SQLAzure SQL Database vs Amazon AuroraAzure SQL Database vs SupabaseAzure SQL Database vs DigitalOcean Managed DatabasesAzure SQL Database vs NeonAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full managed databases standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.