Managed relational databases · November 2026 Edition
Azure SQL Database vs Amazon Aurora
Zero of fourteen models named Azure SQL Database first on the direct prompt; one named Amazon Aurora. Azure SQL Database was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Amazon Aurora by thirteen and Azure SQL Database carries 59 labels and Amazon Aurora 50, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share9%8%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate17%20%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#4A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels5950A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Azure SQL Database 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 Azure SQL Database · Amazon RDS vs Amazon Aurora · Azure SQL Database vs Google Cloud SQL
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.
Azure SQL DatabaseFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAmazon Aurora
Direct012 against Amazon Aurora
Paraphrase531 against Amazon Aurora
Comparative14
Budget-constrained001 against Amazon Aurora
Scale-constrained001 against Amazon Aurora
Negative0010 against Azure SQL Database · 5 against Amazon Aurora
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, Azure SQL Database and Amazon Aurora were named in the same answer 100 times, of the 164 answers naming Azure SQL Database and the 139 naming Amazon Aurora. In those answers Amazon Aurora took the first choice thirty times and Azure SQL Database six.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Azure SQL Database and Amazon Aurora 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 | | | | |
Azure SQL Database Amazon Aurora first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Azure SQL Database on the left and Amazon Aurora on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Azure SQL Database and Amazon Aurora stood in it.
Amazon Aurora first, Azure SQL Database an alternative
1 of 14 modelsAzure SQL Database was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashAmazon Aurora alternatives: AlloyDB for PostgreSQL, Azure SQL Database, CockroachDB Cloud, Google Cloud SQL, Neon, Supabase
Neither was the first choice, one was named
13 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.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
Grok 4.20Google Cloud SQL alternatives: Amazon RDS, Azure SQL Database
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
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 Aurora leads by two points.
Amazon Aurora5%#6 of 8Azure SQL Database3%#7 of 8Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Azure SQL Database leads at mid-market.
Azure SQL Database9%#2 of 11Amazon Aurora8%#4 of 11Enterprise
The order flips: Amazon Aurora leads at enterprise.
Amazon Aurora43%#1 of 8Azure SQL Database16%#3 of 8What 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
What the models said about Amazon Aurora
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
“Experts advise caution or avoidance for production core systems unless absolutely necessary.” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid Overkill: Skip premium options like Amazon Aurora or Azure SQL Managed Instance” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · hard negative
“If your infrastructure is already on AWS, choose Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. It balances reliability, compliance, auto-scaling, and industry-standard adoption.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“Best Overall for AWS Infrastructure: Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL ... is the gold standard for mid-sized B2B platforms.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Choose Amazon Aurora if you're on AWS or need maximum scalability — it provides the best price/performance ratio” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Amazon RDS vs Azure SQL DatabaseAmazon RDS vs Amazon AuroraAzure SQL Database vs Google Cloud SQLAzure SQL Database vs SupabaseAzure SQL Database vs DigitalOcean Managed DatabasesAzure SQL Database vs NeonGoogle Cloud SQL vs Amazon AuroraAmazon Aurora vs SupabaseAmazon Aurora vs DigitalOcean Managed DatabasesAmazon Aurora 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.