- The hyperscaler services (Amazon RDS, Cloud SQL, Azure Flexible Server) run MySQL Community Edition and support MySQL 8.0 and 8.4; Cloud SQL also lists MySQL 9.7.
- Aurora MySQL and PlanetScale (Vitess) are MySQL-compatible engines with different architectures and pricing models, not plain MySQL instances.
- For a small 2 vCPU, 8 GiB workload with 50 GB of storage, list prices put Cloud SQL and Azure Flexible Server near 110 to 131 USD a month; an Aurora db.r6i.large is about twice that.
- Managed MariaDB is narrower: Amazon RDS for MariaDB is the main hyperscaler option.
Managed MySQL services at a glance
A managed MySQL database takes patching, backups, replication and failover off your hands; you still own the schema, queries and cost. The services below differ mainly in engine (plain MySQL or a compatible re-implementation), how high availability works, and how they bill. MySQL as a service is offered by every large cloud, plus developer-focused providers such as DigitalOcean and PlanetScale.
| Service | Engine and versions | Billing model | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon RDS for MySQL | MySQL Community Edition 8.4 and 8.0 | Per instance-hour plus storage, backups beyond free allowance, I/O on some storage types | AWS Free Tier (see free options) |
| Amazon Aurora MySQL | MySQL-compatible Aurora engine | Instance-hours or Serverless ACU-hours, plus storage and I/O (Standard) or I/O-Optimized | AWS Free Tier credits |
| Cloud SQL for MySQL | MySQL 5.7, 8.0, 8.4 and 9.7 (feature notes per version) | Per vCPU and GiB-hour, or shared-core machines, plus storage | 300 USD in free credits for new Google Cloud customers |
| Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server | MySQL Community Edition 5.7, 8.0 and 8.4 | Per instance by tier (Burstable, General Purpose, Business Critical) plus storage | 12 months for first-time users |
| DigitalOcean Managed MySQL | MySQL (8.0 clusters move to 8.4 from 30 October 2026) | Flat monthly price per node size | None |
| PlanetScale (Vitess) | MySQL-compatible, horizontal sharding with Vitess | Resource-based by cluster size, VTGate configuration and storage | None |
AWS managed MySQL, Cloud SQL and Azure
Amazon RDS for MySQL handles backups, upgrades, patching, monitoring, scaling and replication, and supports MySQL Community Edition 8.4 and 8.0. Versions past community end of life can stay on RDS Extended Support for up to three years for an extra per-vCPU charge. Aurora MySQL keeps MySQL compatibility but uses AWS's own storage layer, offers Aurora Serverless (billed per Aurora Capacity Unit hour), and lets you choose between Aurora Standard (pay per I/O) and I/O-Optimized (higher instance and storage rates, no I/O charge). For the trade-offs, see Amazon Aurora vs MySQL and Amazon RDS vs Amazon Aurora.
Cloud SQL for MySQL bills vCPUs and memory separately in Enterprise and Enterprise Plus editions, with two shared-core machines for small workloads. Google documents version-specific gaps, for example tagged GTIDs are not supported on MySQL 8.4, and some plugins (such as the X plugin and the clone plugin) are not available. Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server is based on MySQL Community Edition (GPLv2) 5.7, 8.0 and 8.4, with zone-redundant or local high availability, a low-cost Burstable tier, and the ability to stop the server and pay only for storage. See AWS RDS vs Google Cloud SQL.
DigitalOcean managed MySQL and PlanetScale
DigitalOcean Managed MySQL uses flat monthly pricing by node size. Its documentation says Standard Edition single-node clusters begin at 15.00 USD a month, are not highly available but have automatic failover, and are recommended for development and testing; high-availability clusters add standby nodes. DigitalOcean has announced two changes to plan for: from 15 October 2026 for accounts that have never created a PostgreSQL or MySQL cluster, and from 30 November 2026 for all accounts, Standard Edition stops offering plans above 4 GiB of RAM and standby or read-only nodes, while Advanced Edition adds larger shared-CPU plans; existing clusters are not affected; and MySQL 8.0 clusters are scheduled for forced upgrades to 8.4 from 30 October 2026.
PlanetScale runs Vitess, which PlanetScale describes as MySQL-compatible with horizontal sharding, on network-attached storage or its Metal (local NVMe) option. Clusters are highly available across three availability zones, pricing is resource-based by cluster size, VTGate configuration and storage, and there is no free MySQL plan on the pricing page. See PlanetScale vs AWS RDS.
Managed MariaDB hosting
If you need MariaDB rather than MySQL, the choice is smaller. Amazon RDS for MariaDB is a managed MariaDB service from AWS, described as "an open source relational database created by the original developers of MySQL". We could not find a current Microsoft Learn page for Azure Database for MariaDB (its former overview address returns a "page not found" response), so we do not list it here. For the engine differences, see MariaDB vs MySQL.
Which managed MySQL to choose
- Already on AWS: RDS for MySQL for a standard MySQL instance; Aurora MySQL for higher availability, Serverless or very read-heavy workloads.
- Already on Google Cloud or Azure: Cloud SQL for MySQL or Azure Flexible Server, which keep you on community MySQL.
- Small team wanting predictable bills: DigitalOcean's flat monthly plans.
- Very large or fast-growing datasets that need sharding: PlanetScale (Vitess), after checking Vitess compatibility.
For MySQL tools to manage any of these, see the best MySQL GUI tools; for MySQL against PostgreSQL in the cloud, see AWS RDS MySQL vs RDS PostgreSQL.
Pricing
Prices from the provider's official pricing pages, checked 8 October 2026, region Azure East US; Google Cloud Iowa (us-central1); AWS US East (N. Virginia) for the Aurora example rate; DigitalOcean flat global list price, in USD, excluding tax. List prices only; discounts, commitments and your actual usage change the bill.
Amazon RDS for MySQL instance prices and PlanetScale Vitess cluster prices are published in interactive tables that our verification tool could not read, so they are not quoted; use the AWS Pricing Calculator and PlanetScale's pricing calculator for those. The Aurora rate below is the db.r6i.large price AWS uses in its own Aurora pricing example.
| Service and size | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Flexible Server, Burstable B1ms (1 vCore, 2 GiB) | 12.41 USD per month | Storage 0.115 USD per GB-month extra |
| Azure Flexible Server, General Purpose D2ds v4 (2 vCores, 8 GiB) | 124.83 USD per month | East US |
| Cloud SQL db-f1-micro (shared core, 0.6 GiB) | 0.0105 USD per hour | No SLA on shared-core machines |
| Cloud SQL Enterprise vCPU / memory | 0.0413 USD per vCPU-hour / 0.007 USD per GiB-hour | Iowa; SSD storage 0.000232877 USD per GiB-hour |
| DigitalOcean MySQL, 1 GiB, 1 vCPU | 15.15 USD per month (0.02254 USD per hour) | Single node |
| DigitalOcean MySQL, 4 GiB, 2 vCPUs | 60.90 USD per month (0.09063 USD per hour) | Single node |
| Aurora, db.r6i.large (AWS example) | 0.29 USD per hour | Aurora Standard storage 0.10 USD per GB-month; I/O 0.20 USD per million |
| Amazon RDS for MySQL T-class CPU credits | 0.075 USD per vCPU-hour | Charged only above baseline in Unlimited mode |
Cloud SQL for MySQL: 2 vCPUs, 8 GiB, 50 GB SSD, single zone
- Enterprise edition, Iowa (us-central1), 730 hours
- Excludes backups, network egress and taxes
| Item | Basis | Estimated per month |
|---|---|---|
| vCPUs | 2 x 0.0413 USD x 730 hours | 60.30 USD |
| Memory | 8 GiB x 0.007 USD x 730 hours | 40.88 USD |
| SSD storage | 50 GiB x 0.000232877 USD x 730 hours | 8.50 USD |
| Estimated total | 109.68 USD per month |
Azure Flexible Server: D2ds v4 (2 vCores, 8 GiB), 50 GB storage
- General Purpose, East US, pay as you go, no high availability
- Excludes additional IOPS, backups beyond the free allowance and taxes
| Item | Basis | Estimated per month |
|---|---|---|
| Compute | Listed monthly price | 124.83 USD |
| Storage | 50 GB x 0.115 USD | 5.75 USD |
| Estimated total | 130.58 USD per month |
Aurora MySQL: db.r6i.large (2 vCPUs, 16 GiB), 50 GB, Aurora Standard
- Rate from AWS's Aurora pricing example, US East (N. Virginia), 730 hours
- 10 million I/Os a month at 0.20 USD per million
- Excludes backups beyond the free allowance, data transfer and taxes
| Item | Basis | Estimated per month |
|---|---|---|
| Instance | 730 hours x 0.29 USD | 211.70 USD |
| Storage | 50 GB x 0.10 USD | 5.00 USD |
| I/O | 10 million x 0.20 USD per million | 2.00 USD |
| Estimated total | 218.70 USD per month (with twice the memory of the other two) |
Worked examples are estimates calculated from the list prices above; they are not quotes or measured bills.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest managed MySQL database?
At list price, the smallest options are an Azure Flexible Server B1ms at 12.41 USD a month (East US), a Cloud SQL db-f1-micro at 0.0105 USD an hour, and DigitalOcean's 1 GiB node at 15.15 USD a month. These suit development; production usually needs more memory and high availability.
Is Aurora MySQL the same as MySQL?
No. Aurora MySQL is compatible with MySQL but uses AWS's own storage architecture and billing (instance or Serverless capacity plus storage and I/O). Most MySQL applications run on it, but it is a different engine from community MySQL on RDS.
Which managed MySQL services support MySQL 8.4?
Amazon RDS for MySQL, Cloud SQL for MySQL and Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server all document MySQL 8.4 support, and DigitalOcean is upgrading its MySQL 8.0 clusters to 8.4 from 30 October 2026.
Is DigitalOcean managed MySQL highly available?
Only with standby nodes. DigitalOcean documents that single-node clusters are not highly available, though they have automatic failover, and recommends them for development and testing.
Can I get managed MariaDB?
Yes, Amazon RDS for MariaDB is a managed MariaDB service. Most other providers in this comparison offer MySQL only.
Sources
- Amazon RDS for MySQL
- Amazon RDS for MySQL pricing
- Amazon Aurora pricing
- Amazon RDS for MariaDB
- Cloud SQL pricing
- Cloud SQL for MySQL features
- Microsoft Learn: Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server overview
- Azure Database for MySQL pricing
- DigitalOcean Managed Databases pricing
- DigitalOcean docs: MySQL pricing
- DigitalOcean docs: Managed MySQL
- PlanetScale pricing
Checked 8 October 2026.
How we research cloud database guides: our editorial method. CodeWithSQL earns nothing from the providers mentioned.