AWS Transform MGN (formerly AWS Application Migration Service) vs pgloader
AWS Transform MGN (formerly AWS Application Migration Service)
aws.amazon.com
pgloader
pgloader.ioSide by side
| Figure | AWS Transform MGN (formerly AWS Application Migration Service) | pgloader |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | €100/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Cloud Migration Tools | 8.2 (#4) | 7.8 (#13) |
| Founded | 2006 | 2005 |
| Migration sources | MGN supports migrations from physical servers, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, other on-premises infrastructure, other public clouds, and across AWS Regions, Availability Zones, or accounts. | The site lists MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL Server, SQLite, CSV, fixed-width, and DBF sources; Oracle support is not built yet. |
| Purpose | AWS Transform MGN automates rehosting physical, virtual, and cloud servers as native Amazon EC2 instances. | pgloader migrates data into PostgreSQL from databases and flat files using schema translation, casting rules, and parallel loading. |
| Security | MGN requires TLS 1.2 or later, uses TLS and IAM for authentication, and recommends EBS encryption and limiting replication server exposure to the public internet. | The site mentions Azure AD authentication for MS SQL Server but does not state security certifications or compliance attestations. |
| Support | AWS documentation says support for installation or replication issues is limited to operating systems listed as supported. | The free Community tier receives best-effort help through GitHub, while paid tiers offer priority handling and related support benefits. |
Plans
AWS Transform MGN (formerly AWS Application Migration Service)
- Free periodFree
AWS Transform MGN (formerly AWS Application Migration Service) pricing →
pgloader
- CommunityFree
- Supporter€100 a month
- Professional€800 a month
- Sponsor€2,000 a month
- Fast-Lane€3,000, paid once
- Per-Release Sponsor€10,000, paid once
In their own words
AWS Transform MGN (formerly AWS Application Migration Service)
AWS Transform MGN automates rehosting physical, virtual, and cloud servers as native Amazon EC2 instances. It continuously replicates source-server data at the block level, converts servers for AWS, and coordinates cutover with minimal downtime. Teams can use an agentic AWS Transform workflow or manage migration steps in the MGN console, switching paths without losing progress. Sources include physical servers, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, other on-premises infrastructure, public clouds, and migrations across AWS Regions, Availability Zones, or accounts. After launch, built-in or custom actions can configure disaster recovery, upgrade operating systems, convert licenses, or install CloudWatch Agent. Servers can be organized into applications and waves for launch, cutover, archival, and configuration operations. MGN supports x86 sources and replication volumes up to 16 TB; larger volumes are not supported. A 90-day free period covers 2,160 hours per source server when used continuously. AWS infrastructure for replication, testing, or cutover is charged separately, and continued replication is charged per hour after the free period.
pgloader
pgloader migrates database and flat-file data into PostgreSQL using schema translation, casting rules, and parallel loading. Listed sources are MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL Server, SQLite, CSV, fixed-width files, and DBF; Oracle support is not built yet. Its pipeline fetches the source catalog, prepares the PostgreSQL target, runs parallel COPY, creates indexes in parallel, and completes the schema. MySQL handling includes enum translation, converting TINYINT(1) to boolean, zero-date handling, and looking up credentials in .my.cnf. The MS SQL Server path includes Azure AD authentication, sequence migration, and multi-column foreign keys. For file imports, rejected rows can be separated after a failed COPY transaction while accepted rows continue loading. Custom casting rules go in a .load file. Version 3 in Common Lisp is the stable packaged release; version 4 is a pre-release JAR requiring Java 21 or later. The free Community tier has best-effort GitHub support. Paid support starts at €100/mo, with higher tiers offering priority handling, SLA-triaged patches, roadmap input, or issue-based support. It is self-hosted on Linux.