Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Observable VS AWS Amplify

Compare Observable VS AWS Amplify and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Observable logo Observable

Interactive code examples/posts

AWS Amplify logo AWS Amplify

JavaScript library for app development using cloud services
  • Observable Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09
  • AWS Amplify Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-07-18

Observable features and specs

  • Collaborative Environment
    Observable allows multiple users to collaborate in real-time, making it easier for teams to work together on data visualizations and analyses.
  • Reactive Programming
    The platform supports reactive programming, where changes in data automatically trigger updates in the visualizations, enhancing interactivity and reducing the need for manual updates.
  • Built-in Data Visualization Libraries
    Observable integrates seamlessly with popular libraries like D3, Plotly, and Leaflet, providing powerful tools for creating complex and interactive data visualizations.
  • Notebook Interface
    The notebook interface is user-friendly and allows for easy documentation and sharing. Users can combine code, visualizations, and markdown text in a single document.
  • Extensive Resources and Community Support
    Observable has a rich set of tutorials, examples, and a strong community, making it easier for new users to learn and get help.
  • Customizability
    Users have the flexibility to customize their visualizations extensively, thanks to the open-ended nature of JavaScript and the supported libraries.

Possible disadvantages of Observable

  • Steeper Learning Curve for Beginners
    New users, especially those without a background in JavaScript, might find the platform challenging to learn compared to more specialized data visualization tools.
  • Performance Issues
    For very large datasets or highly complex visualizations, performance can become an issue, potentially leading to slow rendering times.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    Observable notebooks currently require an internet connection to run, which can be a limitation for users needing offline access.
  • Limited Integration with Other Tools
    While Observable is powerful, its integration with other enterprise tools and platforms is somewhat limited compared to more established data analysis tools.
  • Subscription Costs
    Access to some of Observable's more advanced features requires a paid subscription, which might be a barrier for individual users or small teams with limited budgets.

AWS Amplify features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    AWS Amplify provides a straightforward and user-friendly interface, making it easier for developers to deploy, manage, and scale full-stack applications.
  • Integration with AWS Services
    Amplify seamlessly integrates with a wide range of AWS services such as DynamoDB, S3, Lambda, and more, allowing developers to leverage the power of the AWS ecosystem.
  • Speed of Deployment
    It enables rapid deployment of web and mobile applications, reducing the time to market for new features and updates.
  • Automated Workflows
    With features like CI/CD, Amplify automates many aspects of the development workflow, particularly deploying and hosting applications, which saves time and reduces manual effort.
  • Scalability
    Amplify inherits AWS's robust scalability features, enabling your application to handle a growing number of users seamlessly.
  • Custom Domain Management
    The service offers easy management of custom domains and SSL certificates, enhancing the security and professionalism of your application.
  • Real-time and Offline Support
    Provides built-in support for real-time data and offline functionality, which is important for modern web and mobile applications.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Amplify

  • Cost
    While Amplify offers a range of pricing plans, costs can accumulate quickly depending on the usage of various AWS services, especially for startups and small businesses.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Using Amplify extensively can lead to significant dependency on AWS services, making it difficult to migrate to other cloud providers in the future.
  • Learning Curve
    Although it's user-friendly, there can still be a learning curve for those unfamiliar with the wider AWS ecosystem, which might require an investment in training and education.
  • Limited Customization
    While it covers a broad range of functionalities, some developers find the customization options limited compared to setting up and managing AWS services independently.
  • Complexity for Simple Apps
    For simpler applications, the full suite of AWS Amplify's features might be overkill, introducing unnecessary complexity.
  • Debugging Challenges
    Debugging issues can sometimes be more complicated due to the abstraction layers that Amplify adds, which can make it less transparent compared to traditional setups.

Observable videos

Observable Overview

More videos:

  • Review - observablehq.com review observable hq data analysis
  • Review - Hands-on Data Visualization with Observable Plot

AWS Amplify videos

Delivering Mobile Apps Using AWS Mobile Services

More videos:

  • Review - Firebase vs AWS Amplify
  • Review - What is AWS Amplify
  • Tutorial - AWS Amplify with React Tutorial - 1. Setup
  • Review - What is AWS Amplify? Pros and Cons?
  • Tutorial - AWS Amplify in Plain English | Getting Started Tutorial for Beginners

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Observable and AWS Amplify)
Data Visualization
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Data Dashboard
100 100%
0% 0
Realtime Backend / API
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Observable and AWS Amplify

Observable Reviews

Top 10 Grafana Alternatives in 2024
Observable is a Grafana alternative that enables users to visualize data via charts and dashboards using code.
Source: middleware.io
Embedded analytics in B2B SaaS: A comparison
A few options were disregarded from the start due to a hefty price tag, these were Looker, Tableau, Power BI, GoodData. A few options like Trevor.io, Preset, Observable were disregarded as they did not seem to fit our criteria (based on the evaluation matrix).
Source: medium.com

AWS Amplify Reviews

Top 7 Firebase Alternatives for App Development in 2024
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amplify is a comprehensive development platform designed to provide the tools necessary to build scalable mobile and web applications. AWS Amplify offers a suite of services that mirror many of the core functionalities of Firebase, such as authentication, analytics, and storage, while leveraging the robust infrastructure of AWS.
Source: signoz.io
Best Serverless Backend Tools of 2023: Pros & Cons, Features & Code Examples
AWS Amplify packs several tools in the Amazon ecosystem to allow you to build full-stack web and mobile apps in hours.
Source: www.rowy.io
What is AWS Amplify? - AWS Amplify Alternatives
This article briefly introduces you to "What is AWS Amplify." All aspects of AWS Amplify, including its features, integrations, pricing models, benefits, and drawbacks, will be explored in detail by the end of this article. We'll also explain how it may be applied to develop and launch applications quickly. Here, you'll know exactly what AWS Amplify is and whether it's a...
Source: mindmajix.com
2023 Firebase Alternatives: Top 10 Open-Source & Free
AWS Amplify is acknowledged as one of the best Firebase alternatives because of its full-stack development products. Amazon Web Services launched this cloud platform in 2017, and it has the ability to confer huge support to build the backend and client side of mobile and web applications. Similarly, the developer team can also benefit from the outstanding hosting of this CSP.
Exploring alternatives to Vercel: A guide for web developers
AWS Amplify is a powerful platform that goes beyond static site hosting, offering a full suite of tools for building, deploying, and managing modern web and mobile applications. Amplify is part of the broader AWS ecosystem, providing deep integration with other AWS services.
Source: fleek.xyz

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Observable seems to be a lot more popular than AWS Amplify. While we know about 312 links to Observable, we've tracked only 2 mentions of AWS Amplify. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Observable mentions (312)

  • Apache ECharts
    "Observable is obnoxious if you want to add a D3 pie chart to your Vue application and have to untangle calls to D3’s API from reactive cell values, which look like ordinary JavaScript, but are not, and will cause compilation and runtime errors when copied." Yep - as I wrote: "If you want to just blindly copy and paste d3 code, you may have issues with the docs being hosted on observable." If instead you learn the... - Source: Hacker News / 25 days ago
  • Natural occurring molecule rivals Ozempic in weight loss, sidesteps side effects
    I'd imagine many nested named capturing groups may trip even the best automated system! I do like the solution though. I would've probably approached it differently, trying to first get the 'inverted' match (i.e. Not matching anything that isn't a currency like pattern) and refine from there. A bit like this one I did a while back, to parse garbled strings that may occur after OCR [0]. I imagine the approach does... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Visualizing Data Is an Art – We Should Treat It Like One
    Was looking for some mention of Mike Bostock and his epic odyssey into this space. For those who aren't familiar https://observablehq.com/@mbostock. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ohm: A user-friendly parsing toolkit for JavaScript and TypeScript
    I experimented with an Ohm/CodeMirror bridge that would map an Ohm grammar to CodeMirror classes for marks and syntax highlighting. It might be an interesting starting point for you: https://observablehq.com/@ajbouh/editor. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • WebGL Fluid Simulation
    I have a fork of this that inverts the light model from additive to subtractive and suddenly its like ink in water https://observablehq.com/@tomlarkworthy/ink. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
View more

AWS Amplify mentions (2)

  • Comprehensive Guide for Understanding the Self-Taught Web Developer Path in 2025
    Mastering fundamental skills is essential. Focus on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, ensuring confidence in areas like Flexbox, responsive design, and jQuery. Practical experience is gained through personal projects, which should be original and functional. Start with a portfolio site, ensuring performance and accessibility using tools like Lighthouse, and expand to projects like utility apps leveraging APIs. Hosting on... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Advance Features and Deploying the Project (Nerd Streetwear Online Store) Part III
    AWS Amplify: Strengths: AWS Amplify is a robust platform for deploying full-stack applications. It’s backed by AWS infrastructure and offers scalability and a wide range of services, including hosting, authentication, and real-time data. Integration: Amplify integrates with popular Git services and offers a CI/CD pipeline that supports automatic deployments. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Remix Authentication with Amazon Cognito
    Many guides for integrating Amazon's Cognito service recommend using AWS's Amplify library. While Amplify works well for the traditional, client-side rendered single-page application (SPA), it doesn't yet support newer SSR paradigms. At the time of this writing, AWS Amplify doesn't support SSR in Remix source, though Amplify's Hosting service recently added support for SSR in Next versions 12 and greater. While... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • DC Bat Cowls with Amplify Gen 2 Fullstack Typescript
    I built an application that helps users find the DC Bat Cowls trait rarity using Amplify Gen 2 with Typescript. What a Bat Cowl is can be found here. The marketplace for them is here. Summary on Bat Cowls is a really cool project that has enabled me to create our own DC Comic... And created our own super villain within the DC Universe. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Build a React genAI APP with Amazon Bedrock & AWS SDK
    In this blog you will learn how to use Amazon Cognito credentials and IAM Roles to invoke Amazon Bedrock API in a react-based application with JavaScript and the CloudScape design system. You will deploy all the resources and host the app using AWS Amplify. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Observable and AWS Amplify, you can also consider the following products

RunKit - RunKit notebooks are interactive javascript playgrounds connected to a complete node environment right in your browser. Every npm module pre-installed.

Firebase - Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications for mobile and web.

D3.js - D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG, and CSS.

Parse - Build applications faster with object and file storage, user authentication, push notifications, dashboard and more out of the box.

Vega-Lite - High-level grammar of interactive graphics

Supabase - An open source Firebase alternative