Azure SQL Managed Instance vs. Azure SQL Database

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Azure SQL Managed Instance is a scalable cloud database service that combines SQL Server database engine compatibility with a fully managed and evergreen platform as a service.N/A
Azure SQL Database
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Azure SQL Database is Microsoft's relational database as a service (DBaaS).
$0.50
Per Hour
Pricing
Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure SQL Database
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
2 vCORE
$0.5044
Per Hour
6 vCORE
$1.5131
Per Hour
10 vCORE
$2.52
Per Hour
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure SQL Database
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure SQL Database
Features
Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure SQL Database
Platform-as-a-Service
Comparison of Platform-as-a-Service features of Product A and Product B
Azure SQL Managed Instance
9.0
2 Ratings
13% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
Ease of building user interfaces9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Scalability9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform management overhead9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow engine capability9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform access control9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Services-enabled integration9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Development environment creation9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Development environment replication9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue monitoring and notification9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue recovery9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Upgrades and platform fixes9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Database-as-a-Service
Comparison of Database-as-a-Service features of Product A and Product B
Azure SQL Managed Instance
-
Ratings
Azure SQL Database
9.2
28 Ratings
7% above category average
Automatic software patching00 Ratings9.026 Ratings
Database scalability00 Ratings9.028 Ratings
Automated backups00 Ratings10.028 Ratings
Database security provisions00 Ratings9.028 Ratings
Monitoring and metrics00 Ratings8.027 Ratings
Automatic host deployment00 Ratings10.023 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure SQL Database
Small Businesses
AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda
Score 8.5 out of 10
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat OpenShift
Score 9.2 out of 10
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat OpenShift
Score 9.2 out of 10
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure SQL Database
Likelihood to Recommend
6.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(28 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure SQL Database
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Data management scenarios where there is a strong need to provide dynamic context for web based applications. Also can work as an infrastructure piece for ticketing systems without relying on another set of database software. The ease of importing data from Microsoft Excel &/or .csv files makes this really easy to use when importing data into the managed instance.
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Microsoft
Your upcoming app can be built faster on a fully managed SQL database and can be moved into Azure with a few to no application code changes. Flexible and responsive server less computing and Hyperscale storage can cope with your changing requirements and one of the main benefits is the reduction in costs, which is noticeable.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • executes the queries efficiently
  • has tools/dashboards to show where the query problems lie
  • alerting for problems
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Microsoft
  • Maintenance is always an issue, so using a cloud solution saves a lot of trouble.
  • On premise solutions always suffer from fragmented implementations here and there, where several "dba's" keep track of security and maintenance. With a cloud database it's much easier to keep a central overview.
  • Security options in SQL database are next level... data masking, hiding sensitive data where always neglected on premise, whereas you'll get this automatically in the cloud.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • hard to use without Microsoft knowledge
  • Intimidating CLI
  • Commands are not intuitive
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Microsoft
  • One needs to be aware that some T-SQL features are simply not available.
  • The programmatic access to server, trace flags, hardware from within Azure SQL Database is taken away (for a good reason).
  • No SQL Agent so your jobs need to be orchestrated differently.
  • The maximum concurrent logins maybe an unexpected problem.
  • Sudden disconnects.
  • The developers and admin must study the capacity and tier usage limits https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-subscription-service-limits otherwise some errors or even transaction aborts never seen before can occur.
  • Only one Latin Collation choice.
  • There is no way to debug T-SQL ( a big drawback in my point of view).
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
This is best solution as a DBA one could expect from a service provider and as a cloud service, it removes all your hassles.
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Usability
Microsoft
it runs the workload very well without causing any issues to the business. there are many applications running on Azure SQL Managed Instances in my organization. Most users are happy with its performance. Is able to provide good dashboard for the visibility of the workload. Can add cpu without a downtime to deal with high workload.
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Microsoft
It just works!
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Support Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
We give the support a high rating simply because every time we've had issues or questions, representatives were in contact with us quickly. Without fail, our issues/questions were handled in a timely matter. That kind of response is integral when client data integrity and availability is in question. There is also a wealth of documentation for resolving issues on your own.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Azure to our enviironment where we have everything integrated stacks up far better than MySQL where we would have to reinvent and use everything to fit a MySQL environment including the data and the commands within that data. Furthermore, doesn't work really well on SQL Management Studio which makes it completely useless for what we are trying to do.
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Microsoft
We moved away from Oracle and NoSQL because we had been so reliant on them for the last 25 years, the pricing was too much and we were looking for a way to cut the cord. Snowflake is just too up in the air, feels like it is soon to be just another line item to add to your Azure subscription. Azure was just priced right, easy to migrate to and plenty of resources to hire to support/maintain it. Very easy to learn, too.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • it had a positive impact to my business and allowed me to be able to move my workload from on-premise to cloud.
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Microsoft
  • Perfect for small and medium databases, being very cost effective.
  • As a Platform as a Service, there is no concern about patches, upgrades and end of life.
  • Be aware of security and network capabilities. The service cannot run in the VNET as Azure Virtual Machines do.
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ScreenShots