Is DynamoDB a NoSQL database?

Yes. DynamoDB is a NoSQL database — a nonrelational, fully managed key-value and document store. It holds schemaless items rather than rows in fixed-schema tables, and trades SQL joins and ad-hoc queries for predictable single-digit-millisecond performance and horizontal scaling to virtually any size.

What kind of NoSQL

DynamoDB supports both the key-value and document data models. Every item is addressed by a primary key, and attributes can nest arbitrarily as maps and lists — the document side of the model.

How it differs from SQL

• No fixed schema — only the primary key is defined up front; other attributes vary per item.
• No joins — you denormalize and model around access patterns instead.
• Predictable performance — reads target a partition key, so latency stays flat as data grows.

When it fits

DynamoDB is built for OLTP workloads: high-volume, known point-and-range reads and writes. Heavy analytics belongs in a separate columnar store fed by export.

Go deeper

See when to use DynamoDB and how to shape data with how to model data in DynamoDB. Download DynoTable to browse your NoSQL tables.