--- title: Improve query performance with EXPLAIN plans in Amazon... description: A deep-dive guide on using EXPLAIN plans to optimize query performance in Amazon Aurora DSQL. Covers the key architectural differences from standard PostgreSQL... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/improve-query-performance-with-explain-plans-in-amazon-aurora-dsql-n9nu4ezma twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Improve query performance with EXPLAIN plans in Amazon Aurora DSQL | daily.dev og:description: A deep-dive guide on using EXPLAIN plans to optimize query performance in Amazon Aurora DSQL. Covers the key architectural differences from standard PostgreSQL... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/improve-query-performance-with-explain-plans-in-amazon-aurora-dsql-n9nu4ezma og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/n9NU4ezMA.png og:image:alt: Improve query performance with EXPLAIN plans in Amazon Aurora DSQL og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Improve query performance with EXPLAIN plans in Amazon Aurora DSQL **[AWS Database Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/aws-database-blog)** · 30 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A deep-dive guide on using EXPLAIN plans to optimize query performance in Amazon Aurora DSQL. Covers the key architectural differences from standard PostgreSQL (no heap storage, compute/storage separation), introduces a three-layer filter model (Index Condition, Storage Filter, Query Processor Filter), and walks through a practical optimization workflow. Includes seven Aurora DSQL-specific patterns: incomplete covering indexes, LIKE wildcard behavior, SELECT * projection bloat, redundant predicates for join optimization, CTE late materialization, multi-Region timing considerations, and interpreting distributed cost numbers. Worked examples show an 81% DPU reduction by adding an index, and elimination of Storage Lookup nodes by adding INCLUDE columns. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [PostgreSQL 18 on Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS: Performance enhancements](https://daily.dev/posts/postgresql-18-on-amazon-aurora-and-amazon-rds-performance-enhancements-lag8ehltp) · AWS Database Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#backend](https://daily.dev/tags/backend), [#postgresql](https://daily.dev/tags/postgresql), [#distributed-systems](https://daily.dev/tags/distributed-systems) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/improve-query-performance-with-explain-plans-in-amazon-aurora-dsql-n9nu4ezma) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Improve query performance with EXPLAIN plans in Amazon Aurora DSQL","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/improve-query-performance-with-explain-plans-in-amazon-aurora-dsql-n9nu4ezma","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/improve-query-performance-with-explain-plans-in-amazon-aurora-dsql-n9nu4ezma"},"datePublished":"2026-06-16T18:33:34.168Z","dateModified":"2026-06-16T19:38:08.022Z","description":"A deep-dive guide on using EXPLAIN plans to optimize query performance in Amazon Aurora DSQL. 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