AWS RDS vs Aurora PostgreSQL vs DynamoDB — UK Database Hosting (2026)
Aurora PostgreSQL is ClickMasters' default for UK production databases requiring high availability: 6-way replication across 3 AZs, automatic failover < 30 seconds (vs RDS Multi-AZ 60–120 seconds), and FCA PS21/3 IBS resilience. RDS PostgreSQL is right for simpler workloads or cost-sensitive environments where Aurora premium is not justified. DynamoDB is right for high-throughput key-value access at millisecond latency — not a relational database replacement. AWS database choice affects NHS DTAC data residency, FCA PS21/3 failover time, UK GDPR encryption at rest, and operational cost.
| Factor | Aurora PostgreSQL | RDS PostgreSQL | DynamoDB |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK GDPR data residency (eu-west-2) | ✅ eu-west-2 — 6 copies across 3 AZs | ✅ eu-west-2 — Multi-AZ (2 copies) | ✅ eu-west-2 — 3 AZ replication |
| FCA PS21/3 failover time | ✅ < 30 seconds automated failover | 60–120 seconds (Multi-AZ) | No failover — single-region by default |
| NHS DTAC Domain 2 encryption | ✅ Encryption at rest (KMS) — default | ✅ Encryption at rest (KMS) — must enable | ✅ Encryption at rest (KMS) — default |
| PostgreSQL feature compatibility | ✅ 100% PostgreSQL compatible | ✅ 100% PostgreSQL | Not PostgreSQL — NoSQL key-value |
| FHIR R4 JSONB queries | ✅ PostGIS + JSONB — excellent | ✅ JSONB — excellent | Not suitable for complex FHIR queries |
| Cost at medium scale (UK startup) | ~£200–£400/month (db.t3.medium) | ✅ ~£120–£200/month (db.t3.medium) | Pay-per-request — £0.00135/million reads |
| Serverless (scale to zero) | Aurora Serverless v2 — scales to 0 ACUs | Not serverless | ✅ Native serverless — scale to zero |
| ClickMasters default | ✅ All NHS/FCA production (HA required) | Dev/staging, cost-sensitive non-critical | High-throughput key-value (sessions, caching) |
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