What are the differences between Amazon DocumentDB and Amazon DynamoDB?
Both are fully managed NoSQL databases on AWS, but they serve different data models. DynamoDB is a key-value store optimized for known access patterns at massive scale; DocumentDB is a document database for flexible JSON schemas with MongoDB compatibility.
Compare side-by-side
*Content generated by AI and reviewed for accuracy
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Comparisons
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Amazon DocumentDB
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Amazon DynamoDB
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Category
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Databases, Document databases |
Databases, NoSQL databases, Non-relational databases |
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Description
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Fast, scalable, highly available MongoDB-compatible document database service. |
Serverless, NoSQL, fully managed database designed for single-digit millisecond performance at any scale. |
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Best for
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Key features
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Pricing model
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On-Demand or Serverless |
On-demand or provisioned capacity |
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Free Tier
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Yes — 750 hours/month for 1 month |
Yes — 25GB + 25 read/write units |
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Expert take
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DocumentDB gives you the MongoDB developer experience you know with the operational reliability of a fully managed AWS service. If your team thinks in documents and your schemas evolve frequently, DocumentDB lets you move fast without sacrificing durability. |
DynamoDB gives you single-digit millisecond reads and writes at any scale with zero operational overhead. The key is data modeling — when you design your access patterns upfront, DynamoDB rewards you with consistent performance that doesn't degrade as your table grows to petabytes. |
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Customer story
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View product pages
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How DynamoDB and DocumentDB compare
Both Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon DocumentDB are fully managed with encryption at rest and in transit, IAM integration, and point-in-time recovery. The features listed in the table above highlight where the services differ.
Choose DynamoDB when you know your access patterns upfront, need predictable single-digit millisecond latency regardless of scale, or want zero operational overhead with a serverless model. DynamoDB excels when your queries follow well-defined key-value or key-document patterns.
Choose DocumentDB when your data is naturally document-shaped (nested JSON), your schemas evolve frequently, you need MongoDB compatibility for existing applications, or you want rich query capabilities (secondary indexes, aggregation pipelines) across your document data.
Key distinction: DynamoDB requires you to design access patterns upfront and rewards that discipline with unlimited scale. DocumentDB gives you more query flexibility (ad-hoc queries, aggregations) but with traditional instance-based scaling.
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