Since September 30, 2026, Aurora PostgreSQL 17 and 18 can query Apache Iceberg and Parquet in S3, S3 Tables and Glue-catalogued lakes in the same SQL as live operational data, using an embedded DuckDB engine. No extra charge. What it is good for, its limits, and when you still want Redshift or Athena.
The usual pattern for joining application data with lake data is a pipeline: copy one into the other, keep it fresh, pay for both copies. Aurora PostgreSQL removes that pipeline for many cases. Enable the aurora_analytics extension, attach an IAM role, define foreign tables over Iceberg or Parquet data, and query them alongside your tables. DuckDB, embedded in Aurora, does the analytical scanning.
Book a free 30-minute call. You'll leave knowing what we'd do first and roughly what it costs, whether or not you hire us.
Iceberg tables in the Glue Data Catalog, Parquet and Iceberg data in S3 and S3 Tables, and external Iceberg REST catalogs through Glue federation, several in one join.
Schemas inferred from file metadata, predicate pushdown and column pruning, and a cache for frequently read data.
Read replicas can run the analytical queries; CREATE TABLE AS SELECT on the writer materializes hot data into Aurora for millisecond reads.
Aurora PostgreSQL 17.11 and later, and 18.6 and later, in all commercial Regions and GovCloud (US).
No feature charge: you pay for the Aurora compute the queries use and S3 requests.
Once a month: what changed in tech that month and what it means for you, from cloud and AI to security and the tools you build with. Every item links to its source. No sales pitch, unsubscribe in one click.
Book a free 30-minute call about it. Bring your setup and your bill; you'll leave knowing what we'd do first and roughly what it costs, whether or not you hire us.
Or keep reading
Scaling an Event Pipeline on AWS: From Firehose and Athena to Iceberg and S3 Tables
The same analytics design works from a thousand events a day to billions: if you change the right piece at the right time. The four stages, what breaks at each, and when Iceberg, S3 Tables, Parquet and a warehouse start earning their cost.
Read
AWS Data Lakehouse Architecture in 2026: S3 Tables, Apache Iceberg, Glue and Athena
A lakehouse on AWS in 2026 is Apache Iceberg tables in S3, a Glue Data Catalog, and engines like Athena, Redshift and EMR reading the same data. S3 Tables now manages the Iceberg upkeep for you. The layers, what S3 Tables costs on top of storage, when plain Parquet is enough, and the gotchas that make tables invisible.
Read
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.