Side by side
Amazon Database Migration Service vs pgloader
Both stand on cloud migration tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APIWeb
AWS DMS supports several migration patterns and ongoing replication, with schema conversion and resumption after interruptions. Confirm that an endpoint can be hosted on RDS or EC2 and account for the usage-based pricing options.
Visit Amazon Database Migration Service Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
pgloader covers several common database and file migration paths, with schema translation, parallel loading and custom casting rules. Check the source coverage and release status: v3 is the stable packaged release, while v4 is a pre-release.
Visit pgloaderThe facts
| Amazon Database Migration Service | pgloader | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Web | Linux, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Professional: €800 a month |
| Plans published | 4 | 6 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | aws.amazon.com | pgloader.io |
| On cloud migration tools | #3 of 32 | #10 of 32 |
Amazon Database Migration Service: what it does well
- Supports one-time migration and ongoing replication.
- Works with more than 20 database and warehouse types.
- Schema Conversion flags objects needing manual work.
- Migrations can resume after interruptions.
- Offers Multi-AZ replication instances.
What to know first
- On-premises-to-on-premises replication is unsupported.
- At least one endpoint must be Amazon RDS or on EC2.
- Free-tier credits last up to 12 months.
- Usage prices vary by capacity, instance type, or region.
pgloader: what it does well
- Supports database and flat-file migration sources.
- Parallel COPY and index creation.
- Custom casting rules in .load files.
- Free Community tier with GitHub support.
What to know first
- Oracle support is not built yet.
- Continuous replication is not supported.
- Version 4 is a pre-release.
- Version 4 requires Java 21 or later.
Alternatives to Amazon Database Migration Service Alternatives to pgloader The whole list

