Updated October 25, 2026
· ~2 min read
AWS now has three serious answers for a new application's primary database. DynamoDB is key-value with predictable latency at any scale. Aurora PostgreSQL is Postgres with Aurora's storage underneath. Aurora DSQL, generally available since May 2025, is a distributed, serverless, PostgreSQL-compatible database with active-active multi-Region writes and nothing to size.
DSQL launched without foreign keys, sequences or identity columns, which ruled it out for most ORMs and most migrations. Sequences and identity columns arrived in February 2026 and foreign keys in August. That makes it a real contender. It is still not Postgres, and the differences decide where it fits.
DSQL does not lock rows. Two transactions that touch the same row both proceed, and the second to commit gets a serialization error. That removes deadlocks and lets the database spread across nodes and Regions, and it moves work into the application. Every write path needs retry logic, and the transaction has to be idempotent so a retry is safe. Hot rows (a global counter, an inventory row everyone decrements) become retry storms. AWS's guidance is to use random keys and spread updates across the key range. Sequences are supported, but a sequential key concentrates writes in one place, which is the pattern OCC handles worst.
Question 1 of 3
Do you need full PostgreSQL: extensions, triggers, stored procedures, long or large transactions?
**Aurora PostgreSQL:** you want Postgres: extensions, PL/pgSQL, triggers, long transactions, pgvector, and any ORM or tool without caveats. The default for most products. **DynamoDB:** access patterns you can name up front, very high or very spiky traffic, single-digit-millisecond reads at any size, and a team comfortable designing for keys rather than queries. **Aurora DSQL:** new apps that want SQL with no capacity to manage, scale to zero, or active-active writes across Regions, and can live with optimistic concurrency and a 3,000-row transaction limit.
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As of October 25, 2026. Provided as is, for general information, and accurate to the best of our knowledge on the date shown. Not legal, compliance, tax, financial or other professional advice. Prices, limits and vendor services change; check current vendor documentation before relying on anything here. Terms of use.