Self-hosted MariaDB vs AWS RDS vs managed: TCO, pros and cons
Total cost of ownership, pros and cons, failover, GDPR: what you need to choose between running MariaDB yourself, moving to AWS RDS or handing operations to an external DBA.
The short answers
Self-hosted or RDS: which one costs less?
On infrastructure alone, self-hosting is almost always cheaper than RDS. Total cost of ownership shifts with human time: a senior DBA costs €70k–110k a year loaded, and without one your developers end up handling upgrades, replication and restores. RDS includes instance operations in its price (for 16 GB / 4 vCPU with Multi-AZ in Paris, about $540/month on demand and $258 with a 3-year reservation, AWS pricing as of October 6, 2026), but still no DBA.
AWS RDS pros and cons
Provisioning in minutes, automated backups and patching, Multi-AZ with a simple setting. On the other hand: no Galera Cluster, no SUPER privilege or OS access, limited plugins, Multi-AZ failover typically taking one to two minutes, data subject to the CLOUD Act, and egress fees the day you leave.
Self-hosted pros and cons
Full control (version, my.cnf, plugins, Galera), lower infrastructure cost, data where you decide. On the other hand, everything rests on you: monitoring, on-call, restore-tested backups, failover. The typical risk: a backup never restored or a broken replica nobody noticed.
What about a middle ground?
Keep your infrastructure and outsource operations: RDEM MariaDB / MySQL Remote DBA starts at €90 per server per month excl. VAT. Or hand over hosting too: MariaDB as a Service from €75/month, hosted in France.
| Criteria | RDEM + Signal18 | AWS RDS | Self-hosted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Location | France (Equinix, Paris region) | Paris possible (eu-west-3), US operator | Your choice |
| Expert DBA included | Yes (RDEM team + Signal18 escalation) | No (generic support) | Must recruit |
| Automated failover | Yes (Signal18 Replication Manager) | Multi-AZ (slow switchover) | Self-configured |
| Galera Cluster (3 DC) | Yes, synchronous replication | Not available | Self-managed |
| GDPR compliance | Easier (hosted in France) | Complex (contractual clauses) | Depends on your infrastructure |
| Dedicated network | BGP AS206014 (own network) | Shared network | Depends on datacenter |
| Backups | Daily, stored in France/EU | Automatic, stored in US/EU | Self-configured |
| Price (16G RAM / 4 CPU) | €275/month all-inclusive | ≈ $540/month on demand, $383 1-yr reserved, $258 3-yr reserved (as of Oct 6, 2026) | Server + DBA to recruit |
| On-premise available | Yes, management in your DCs | No (cloud only) | Yes, but without support |
Indicative pricing. AWS RDS: MariaDB db.m6g.xlarge Multi-AZ, 100 GB gp3, Paris region (eu-west-3), AWS pricing as of October 6, 2026, excluding taxes and outbound traffic; 1-year reserved with no upfront, 3-year reserved paid upfront. With a long commitment, the prices converge.
Request a custom quoteWhy choose RDEM Systems managed MariaDB?
Data sovereignty: unlike AWS RDS, run by a US operator even when your data sits in Paris, RDEM Systems hosts your production databases in Equinix datacenters in the Paris region (France), on its own autonomous BGP network AS206014.
Technical expertise: your MariaDB infrastructure is managed by specialized DBAs at RDEM Systems, with support from Signal18, publisher of Replication Manager and founded by MySQL and MariaDB veterans. No generic support — a dedicated French expert DBA.
Native Galera Cluster: synchronous replication across 3 datacenters, a feature unavailable on AWS RDS and complex to manage self-hosted.
Complete infrastructure: RDEM Systems also offers managed Proxmox virtualization, sovereign cloud backup and 24/7 server management.
Want to go further?
The comparison is clear — here are the concrete next steps depending on your starting point.
You're on AWS RDS / Aurora
Progressive exit to sovereign MariaDB hosted in France. CLOUD Act, sizing, replication, short cutover.
Migrate from AWS RDSYou're self-hosting MySQL
MySQL → MariaDB migration with compatibility audit, pilot environment, and rollback when possible.
Migrate from MySQLYou keep your infra, without a DBA
MariaDB / MySQL Remote DBA from €90 per server per month excl. VAT (monitoring, incidents, on-call), or a one-shot audit co-reviewed by Signal18.
See Remote DBAStart your managed MariaDB project
Let's discuss your database needs. Our DBA team advises you on the optimal architecture for your use case.
RDEM Systems SAS — SIREN 820 338 671 — 5 B rue des Noyers, 95300 Pontoise