AWS RDS Schedule Start & Stop

Schedule when your RDS instances start and stop with Server Scheduler. Without writing code.

Start Scheduling
Updated 31st May, 2025

How To Start & Stop AWS RDS Databases On A Schedule

Reduce your AWS costs by starting and stoping RDS instances on a schedule with our elegant time grid. Using ServerScheduler, you can precisly control when your RDS resources are on/off so they are not burning cash when nobody is using them.



Don't worry, this is not some complex Infrastrucure as Code exercise. Everything can be performed via clicks in our dashboard. Some people don't like click ops. We believe there is a time and place and it is exactly this use case.

Why Schedule RDS Start & Stop?

Amazon RDS is a powerful managed database service, but running database instances 24/7 can quickly become one of your largest AWS expenses. This is especially true for development, staging, or testing databases. By using Server Scheduler, you unlock all of the following benefits:


  • ✅ Save up to 80% on RDS costs: run databases only when needed
  • ✅ No scripting: forget terraform and Infrastructure as code. Visually click the time grid instead.
  • ✅ Database engine support: Works with all RDS engines including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, and SQL Server
  • ✅ Multi-AZ handling: Properly manages Multi-AZ deployments during start/stop operations
  • ✅ Database parameter groups: Maintains custom parameter group configurations across start/stop cycles
  • ✅ Improve security: limit database exposure when not needed

How ServerScheduler Makes RDS Scheduling Easy



ServerScheduler is built to make scheduling RDS database start and stop times simple. Our platform offers:


  • 👉 Intuitive database scheduling UI: Control every hour of every day with just a few clicks.
  • 👉 Automated discovery: We automatically locate all databases in your account.
  • 👉 Team management: Assign roles, manage permissions, and collaborate securely on database schedules.
  • 👉 Database notifications: Get alerts when databases are started, stopped, or encounter issues.
  • 👉 Audit logs: Track all database scheduling and activity for compliance and monitoring.
  • 👉 Start/Stop EC2 also: accounts can also schedule start/stop times for EC2 incase your database is on a plain server.

Use Cases For RDS Scheduling

Use Case Description
Development DBs Automatically start dev databases at 8am and stop them at 7pm to save costs overnight and weekends.
QA & Testing DBs Spin up test databases only during testing hours or for scheduled test runs.
ML Training Schedule ML databases to be available only during training.
Staging Envs Start staging databases before deployments and stop them when not actively testing.
Analytics & Reporting Schedule reporting databases to run only during specific reporting windows.
Global Development Teams Set database schedules based on team timezones, ensuring data availability when developers are active.

Cost Savings Examples

  • Development Team: db.t3.medium instance running 24/7 = $613/month → 12 hours/day = $306/month (50% savings)
  • QA Environment: db.r5.large instance running 24/7 = $1,314/month → 8 hours/day, 5 days/week = $394/month (70% savings)
  • Training Database: db.t3.large instance running 24/7 = $1,226/month → 4 hours/week = $73/month (94% savings)

How to Get Started with ServerScheduler

Getting started is quick and easy. Here’s how you can automate your RDS instance scheduling in a few clicks:
  1. 1 Create Your Trial Account:
    Visit our registration page and sign up with your email or Google account.
  2. 2 Connect Your Cloud Account:
    After logging in, go to the “Cloud Providers” section in your dashboard. Click “Add Cloud Provider” and select AWS. You’ll be prompted to paste your AWS API key and secret. (We recommend creating a dedicated IAM user with the necessary permissions for security.)
  3. 3 Discover Your RDS Instances:
    Once connected, select RDS in the left nav and ServerScheduler will automatically discover all your RDS instances. You’ll see them listed in your dashboard, along with their current status.
  4. 4 Set Up Your Schedule:
    Click Manage to select the instance you want to automate, choose your preferred start and stop times and save your schedule. ServerScheduler will handle the rest! Default times are UTC. Change to your local time for less headaches. Everything is still stored in our system as UTC

Get Started Today

Ready to take control of your RDS costs and automate your RDS instance management?

Sign up for ServerScheduler and start scheduling your RDS instances today!

Start Scheduling