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AWS Database Migration Service

AWS Database Migration Service moves and continuously replicates data between supported databases, data warehouses, and data stores, including heterogeneous migrations that need separate schema conversion.

Explore pricing models, common use cases, infrastructure support, and the AWS services that commonly work with AWS Database Migration Service.

AWS Database Migration Service pricing and cost programs

Pricing model: Migration compute and serverless capacity

On-Demand
Available
Reserved Instances or reserved capacity
Not applicable
Savings Plans
Not applicable
Spot
Not applicable

Billing dimensions: Replication instance time · Serverless capacity · Storage · Data transfer

Programs and modes: On-Demand replication instances · DMS Serverless

Replication instances and serverless migrations use different billing dimensions.

Free Tier: Service-specific — verify current offers

Pricing reviewed 2026-07-25. Reviewed against the linked official AWS pricing page. Recheck regional rates and program terms before purchase.

Official AWS pricing

Official AWS sources reviewed 2026-07-21.

Why implement AWS Database Migration Service?

  • Supports full-load and change-data-capture tasks so applications can migrate with a controlled, short write outage instead of a long offline export and import.
  • Handles many homogeneous and heterogeneous source-target combinations with managed replication infrastructure, retries, logging, and metrics.
  • Can continuously replicate operational changes into analytics or integration targets after an initial load.

How to implement AWS Database Migration Service

  1. Assess engine, version, extension, data-type, large-object, key, and schema compatibility; use the appropriate schema-conversion tooling for heterogeneous moves before starting data replication.
  2. Establish private network paths and least-privilege endpoint credentials, then create a replication instance or DMS Serverless configuration sized for the data and change rate.
  3. Create table mappings and a full-load, CDC, or combined task; enable logs and data validation, rehearse cutover and rollback, and stop replication only after target reconciliation.

AWS Database Migration Service best practices

  • Test a representative subset that includes large tables, LOB columns, unsupported objects, sustained write volume, and application queries before committing to a cutover window.
  • Monitor source and target health, replication capacity, free storage, full-load progress, CDC latency, task errors, and table statistics throughout the migration.
  • Keep schema changes controlled during replication, validate row and data consistency, preserve recovery points, and document an explicit fallback plan.

AWS Database Migration Service use cases and server impact

  • Low-downtime database migration to AWS
  • Heterogeneous engine modernization
  • Continuous replication into analytics targets

Replaces custom migration and change-capture pipelines for supported engines, but schema conversion, application compatibility, network readiness, validation, and cutover remain customer responsibilities.

Official implementation resources

Commonly paired AWS services