Managed relational databases · November 2026 Edition
Google Cloud SQL vs Amazon Aurora
Two of fourteen models named Google Cloud SQL first on the direct prompt; one named Amazon Aurora. Google Cloud SQL was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Amazon Aurora by thirteen and Google Cloud SQL carries 73 labels and Amazon Aurora 50, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share8%8%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate16%20%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels7350A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Google Cloud SQL reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Amazon RDS was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud SQL · 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.
Google Cloud SQLFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAmazon Aurora
Direct212 against Amazon Aurora
Paraphrase031 against Amazon Aurora
Comparative14
Budget-constrained203 against Google Cloud SQL · 1 against Amazon Aurora
Scale-constrained001 against Amazon Aurora
Negative009 against Google Cloud SQL · 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, Google Cloud SQL and Amazon Aurora were named in the same answer 111 times, of the 192 answers naming Google Cloud SQL and the 139 naming Amazon Aurora. In those answers Amazon Aurora took the first choice twenty-seven times and Google Cloud SQL five.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Google Cloud SQL 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 | | | | |
Google Cloud SQL Amazon Aurora first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Google Cloud SQL on the left and Amazon Aurora on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Google Cloud SQL and Amazon Aurora stood in it.
Google Cloud SQL first, Amazon Aurora not the choice
2 of 14 modelsAmazon Aurora 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
Grok 4.20Google Cloud SQL alternatives: Amazon RDS, Azure SQL Database
Amazon Aurora first, Google Cloud SQL an alternative
1 of 14 modelsGoogle Cloud SQL 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
11 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.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
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
Level: the same share of first choices.
Google Cloud SQL5%#5 of 8Amazon Aurora5%#6 of 8Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
Google Cloud SQL8%#3 of 11Amazon Aurora8%#4 of 11Enterprise
Amazon Aurora leads by thirty-five points.
Amazon Aurora43%#1 of 8Google Cloud SQL8%#4 of 8What 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
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 Google Cloud SQLAmazon RDS vs Amazon AuroraAzure SQL Database vs Google Cloud SQLAzure SQL Database vs Amazon AuroraGoogle Cloud SQL vs SupabaseGoogle Cloud SQL vs DigitalOcean Managed DatabasesGoogle Cloud SQL vs NeonAmazon 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.