Actian Zen vs Amazon RDS
Actian Zen
actian.com
Amazon RDS
aws.amazon.comSide by side
| Figure | Actian Zen | Amazon RDS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Relational Databases | 8.4 (#7) | 8.8 (#5) |
| Founded | 1980 | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, California, United States | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Interfaces | Zen supports both SQL and NoSQL access; the Enterprise datasheet lists ODBC and JDBC for SQL and Btrieve and Btrieve 2 APIs for NoSQL. | Administrators can use the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI and Amazon RDS APIs. |
Plans
Amazon RDS
- AWS Free TierFree
- AWS Free Tier for RDSFree
- On-demandPrice not published
- On-Demand InstancesPrice not published
- Reserved InstancePrice not published
- Reserved InstancesPrice not published
In their own words
Actian Zen
Actian Zen is an embedded database for managing data from edge devices through on-premises and cloud applications. Its lightweight engine combines relational storage, native vector search, semantic queries, and connectivity for AI agents. Vector search supports up to 1 million vectors, while hybrid queries combine relational filters with semantic similarity. A native MCP server allows agents such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to query local data. Zen supports SQL through ODBC and JDBC, and NoSQL through Btrieve and Btrieve 2 APIs. Semantic search, vector queries, and agent workflows can run offline, including in air-gapped environments. Zen Enterprise is designed for embedded, on-premises, and cloud deployments, including branch and remote field settings, and supports Windows, Linux, macOS, Intel, ARM, VMware, Hyper-V, and Docker. Zen Mobile supports Android and iOS with AES 256-bit encryption for stored data. Edge supports over 100 concurrent users; Enterprise is designed for thousands. A 30-day trial is available, with paid pricing from $417/mo (annual).
Amazon RDS
Amazon RDS has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.