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Amazon DocumentDB
What Amazon DocumentDB is
Amazon DocumentDB is a managed cloud document database compatible with MongoDB APIs and drivers. Applications can typically migrate without code changes or downtime, although Amazon DocumentDB does not support every MongoDB API. It stores JSON and BSON documents, supports transactions and vector search, and allows documents up to 16 MB. Serverless deployments automatically adjust capacity to workload demand and support Multi-AZ configurations and read replicas. A cluster can have up to 15 read replicas with one endpoint for read queries. Storage grows automatically in 10 GiB increments to a maximum of 4 PiB. Native integrations include Amazon CloudWatch, AWS IAM, AWS Backup, and Amazon OpenSearch Service zero-ETL integration. AWS KMS encryption at rest, TLS encryption in transit, and CloudWatch monitoring are available at no additional cost. AWS lists content management, e-commerce, mobile and web applications, and generative or agentic AI as use cases. Pricing varies by configuration and includes separate dimensions for instances, storage, I/O, and backups. A 30-day trial is available to eligible new users, except in AWS GovCloud (US) and China (Ningxia).
Who it suits
It suits teams building cloud applications that use MongoDB APIs and need managed scaling, replicas, or large document storage. Listed use cases include content, commerce, mobile, web, and AI applications.
What it does well
- MongoDB API and driver compatibility
- Serverless automatic capacity scaling
- Up to 15 read replicas
- Storage up to 4 PiB
- 30-day trial for eligible users
What to know first
- Not every MongoDB API is supported
- Trial excludes some AWS regions
- Pricing has multiple usage dimensions
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Serverless — Standard | 0.5 DCU starting capacity · 0.5 DCU capacity increments · Up to 15 read replicas | On request |
| Serverless — I/O-Optimized | 0.5 DCU starting capacity · 0.5 DCU capacity increments · Up to 15 read replicas | On request |
| Provisioned On-Demand — Standard | 10-minute minimum billing period · Up to 15 read replicas | On request |
| Provisioned On-Demand — I/O-Optimized | 10-minute minimum billing period · Up to 15 read replicas | On request |
| Amazon DocumentDB free trial | Free for 30 days for eligible new users · 750 hours/month of db.t3.medium · 30 million I/Os · 5 GB storage · 5 GB backup storage | Free |
| Free trial | 30 days · 750 db.t3.medium instance-hours/month · 30 million I/Os · 5 GB storage · 5 GB backup storage | Free |
| Amazon DocumentDB Serverless (Standard) | $0.0822 per DCU-hour in the US East (N. Virginia) pricing example; capacity billed per second · 0.5 DCU minimum · 0.5 DCU increments · compute example excludes storage and other costs | $0.08 a month |
| Amazon DocumentDB Serverless (I/O-Optimized) | $0.0905 per DCU-hour in the US East (N. Virginia) pricing example; capacity billed per second · 0.5 DCU minimum · 0.5 DCU increments · compute example excludes storage and other costs | $0.09 a month |
The first 8 of 11 plans, as aws.amazon.com lists them, read 22 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word. Every plan
Verdict
Amazon DocumentDB offers managed document storage with MongoDB compatibility, serverless scaling, replicas, and integrated AWS services. Teams should verify API compatibility and account for configuration-based charges before migrating.
Facts from Amazon DocumentDB's own pages
- API and SDKs
- The management API is available through HTTP, the AWS CLI, AWS SDKs and CloudFormation, with documented operations, parameters, errors and examples. · aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- AWS background
- AWS says it launched in 2006 and is part of Amazon. · aws.amazon.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Backups
- Point-in-time recovery can restore to any second within a configurable retention period of up to 35 days. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Cluster types
- The service offers instance-based clusters and elastic clusters; elastic clusters target millions of reads and writes per second with petabyte-scale storage. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Compatibility limit
- Amazon DocumentDB supports a vast majority of MongoDB APIs customers use, but not every MongoDB API. · aws.amazon.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- AWS publishes a developer guide, API reference, CLI reference, compatibility tables, quotas, tutorials, migration tools and SDK code examples. · aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Encryption and monitoring
- The pricing page says encryption at rest with AWS KMS, encryption in transit with TLS, and CloudWatch monitoring are available at no additional cost. · aws.amazon.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2006 · aws.amazon.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- No · aws.amazon.com, 22 Sept 2026
- High availability
- The storage volume keeps six copies across three Availability Zones and replicas can provide automated failover. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- DocumentDB integrates with CloudWatch metrics and alarms, AWS Lambda change-stream event sources, IAM, KMS, AWS Backup and OpenSearch zero-ETL pipelines. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Lambda limitation
- Lambda event-source mappings support DocumentDB 4.0 and 5.0 instance-based regional clusters, but not 3.6, elastic or global clusters. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Latest release
- DocumentDB 8.0.2 was released September 28, 2026 with planner, indexing and query improvements. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: G2 reviewers
- Repeated complaints mention higher cost, vendor lock-in, migration difficulty, missing MongoDB features, slow feature updates and limited multi-region or instance choices. · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: Gartner reviewers
- Reviewers cite VPC-only access requiring SSH tunneling for Compass, high minimum instance and I/O costs, reduced customization and AWS lock-in. · gartner.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: PeerSpot reviewers
- PeerSpot feedback includes high cost, difficult performance tuning, custom data pipelines for analysts, network setup delays and uneven support. · peerspot.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: Software Advice
- One review says the product could be more user-friendly for nontechnical users. · softwareadvice.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: TrustRadius reviewers
- Users report lagging MongoDB-version support, limited data types, a 32-shard cluster ceiling and desire for deeper MongoDB expertise. · trustradius.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Maker identity
- Amazon Web Services, Inc. is headquartered in Seattle, launched in 2006 and reports more than 10,001 employees on LinkedIn. · aw.linkedin.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Migration
- AWS documents migration from MongoDB 3.6 or 4.0 using Database Migration Service or mongodump, mongorestore, mongoimport and mongoexport. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Mobile availability
- TrustRadius lists the deployment as SaaS and says there is no mobile application; no dedicated app-store listing was found. · trustradius.com, 15 Oct 2026
- MongoDB compatibility
- Engine 8.0 supports MongoDB API drivers for versions 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0, and adds views and collation support. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- MongoDB drivers
- Applications can connect with MongoDB drivers, while AWS documents JDBC, ODBC, Studio 3T and DataGrip connectivity. · docs.aws.amazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Parent legal company
- Amazon.com, Inc. is a Delaware corporation incorporated in 1996 with its registered office in Wilmington, Delaware. · ir.aboutamazon.com, 15 Oct 2026
Where Amazon DocumentDB stands on Freedom251
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