Aiven for PostgreSQL vs Google Cloud SQL

Aiven for PostgreSQL is a managed, hosted relational database service built on open-source PostgreSQL. It automates setup, maintenance, patching, and scaling, and includes automatic failover and point-in-time recovery. The cloud service can run across providers including AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. Aiven lists more than 50 PostgreSQL extensions, including PostGIS, pgvector, TimescaleDB, and pg_cron, and describes uses in vector search and AI applications. It can integrate with Aiven for Grafana and send metrics to external endpoints such as Datadog. The free tier has a single node, 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 1 GB storage; it has no integrations or connection pooling and a max_connections limit of 20. That tier is excluded from the advertised 99.99% uptime SLA and receives no support services. The Free plan is free; Developer is $5 a month, Startup starts at $75 a month, and Business starts at $180 a month. Paid services include Basic support.

Google Cloud SQL is a managed cloud service for relational databases, supporting MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. It provides automated backups, high availability, read replicas, scaling, and point-in-time restoration; retention can extend to 35 days. Database Migration Service can move databases from on-premises systems, Compute Engine, or other clouds, and lift-and-shift migrations to Cloud SQL are available at no additional charge. The service connects with Google Cloud products including Compute Engine, Cloud Run, Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud IAM, BigQuery, and Datastream, as well as tools such as Looker and Terraform. It encrypts data in transit on Google’s internal networks and at rest, and supports private VPC connectivity and network firewalls. The dedicated trial provides PostgreSQL and MySQL Enterprise Plus instances for 30 days, with no automatic charge, followed by a 90-day stopped state. Cloud SQL is paid, from $0.04; there is no free plan. MySQL use is limited to the InnoDB storage engine.