Managed database services handle backups, patches, and often HA; you get less control and usually higher cost. Self-hosted on a VPS or dedicated server gives full control and can be cheaper at scale, but you handle backups, tuning, and failover. Choose by team size, compliance, and whether you prefer to focus on app logic or infra.
Managed databases
- Provider handles: Backups, OS/DB patches, high availability (replicas, failover), monitoring.
- You get: Less ops burden; focus on schema, queries, and app.
- Trade-offs: Higher cost; less control over version, config, and scaling; possible vendor lock-in.
Self-hosted (VPS or dedicated)
- You handle: Installation, backups, tuning, replication/failover, security patches.
- You get: Full control; often lower cost at scale; choice of version and extensions.
- Trade-offs: Need DB and OS skills; responsibility for availability and recovery.
When to choose which
- Managed: Small team, need for compliance (e.g. managed backups/SLA), want to focus on product.
- Self-hosted: Large or steady workload, in-house DB expertise, need for specific config or cost control.
Summary
Managed = provider runs backups, patches, HA; you focus on app. Self-hosted = you run the DB on your server; full control, more ops. Choose by team, compliance, and cost.
