Managed relational databases · November 2026 Edition
Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL
Twelve of fourteen models named Amazon RDS first on the direct prompt; two named Google Cloud SQL. Both were named by all fourteen models and Amazon RDS carries 72 labels and Google Cloud SQL 73, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share51%8%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate18%16%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels7273A 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.Azure SQL Database was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Amazon RDS vs Azure SQL Database · 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 modelsGoogle Cloud SQL
Direct122
Paraphrase110
Comparative71
Budget-constrained423 against Amazon RDS · 3 against Google Cloud SQL
Scale-constrained00
Negative1010 against Amazon RDS · 9 against Google Cloud SQL
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 Google Cloud SQL were named in the same answer 164 times, of the 200 answers naming Amazon RDS and the 192 naming Google Cloud SQL. In those answers Google Cloud SQL took the first choice five times and Amazon RDS fifty-four.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Amazon RDS and Google Cloud SQL 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 Google Cloud SQL first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Amazon RDS on the left and Google Cloud SQL on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Amazon RDS and Google Cloud SQL stood in it.
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.Claude Haiku 4.5Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL alternatives: Azure SQL Database
Amazon RDS first, Google Cloud SQL an alternative
11 of 14 modelsGoogle Cloud SQL was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.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
Google Cloud SQL first, Amazon RDS an alternative
1 of 14 modelsAmazon RDS was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Grok 4.20Google Cloud SQL alternatives: Amazon RDS, Azure SQL Database
Neither was the first choice, one was named
1 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
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 nineteen points.
Amazon RDS24%#2 of 8Google Cloud SQL5%#5 of 8Mid-marketThe figures above
Amazon RDS leads by forty-three points.
Amazon RDS51%#1 of 11Google Cloud SQL8%#3 of 11Enterprise
Amazon RDS leads by twelve points.
Amazon RDS20%#2 of 8Google Cloud SQL8%#4 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 Google Cloud SQL
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Avoid (or treat with extreme caution): - Google Cloud SQL – accidental deletion risk, limited backup/recovery, low control over storage.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“Why avoid the "Big Three" (AWS, Azure, Google)?” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“Cloud SQL is primarily designed for single-zone or cross-replication setups within a region. It lacks native, synchronous horizontal scaling” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Google Cloud SQL (particularly its Enterprise Plus edition for PostgreSQL) stands out as the best managed relational database service for most mid-market B2B companies” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · first choice
“Supabase (PostgreSQL) and Google Cloud SQL (PostgreSQL or MySQL) are your best bets” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“Google Cloud SQL keeps things centralized for those already invested in Google's ecosystem” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Amazon RDS vs Azure SQL DatabaseAmazon RDS vs Amazon AuroraAmazon RDS vs SupabaseAmazon RDS vs DigitalOcean Managed DatabasesAmazon RDS vs NeonAzure SQL Database vs Google Cloud SQLGoogle Cloud SQL vs Amazon AuroraGoogle Cloud SQL vs SupabaseGoogle Cloud SQL vs DigitalOcean Managed DatabasesGoogle Cloud SQL 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.