AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are all leading cloud service providers that offer a wide range of services and features.
AWS, or Amazon Web Services, is the oldest and most mature of the three, with a wide range of services and a strong focus on security and compliance. It is also the most widely used cloud platform, with a large ecosystem of partners and third-party developers.
Azure, from Microsoft, has been rapidly gaining market share and is known for its strong integration with other Microsoft products and services, as well as its wide range of artificial intelligence and machine learning services.
Google Cloud, from Google, is known for its strong focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as its powerful data analytics and big data capabilities. It also has a strong focus on open-source technologies.
All three providers offer similar services, including virtual machines, storage, databases, and networking. However, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the best choice will depend on the specific needs of your organization.
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud
This article focuses on highlighting every aspect of the world’s 3 leading cloud computing providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. While all providers have excellent services, it’s important to choose something that’s available and suitable for your personal needs.
Let’s get started in comparing AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud.
Features and services
Being in the industry for the longest time, AWS is the most feature-rich cloud giant you can go with. However, the other two services still provide users with powerful capabilities that need to be highlighted in order to draw a fair comparison. That said, to learn more about Azure specifically, resources like AZ-900 Exam Dumps can be a great way to test and expand your knowledge.
Compute services
Services |
Amazon (AWS) |
Microsoft Azure |
Google Cloud (GCP) |
IaaS |
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud |
Virtual Machines (VMs) |
Google Compute Engine |
PaaS |
AWS Elastic Beanstalk |
App Service and Cloud Services |
Google App Engine |
Containers |
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud Container Service |
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) |
Google Kubernetes Engine |
Serverless Functions |
AWS Lambda |
Azure Functions |
Google Cloud Functions |
Storage services
Services |
Amazon (AWS) |
Microsoft Azure |
Google Cloud (GCP) |
Object Storage |
Amazon Simple Storage Service |
Blob Storage |
Google Cloud Storage |
Virtual Server Disks |
Amazon Elastic Block Store |
Managed Disks |
Google Compute Engine Persistent Disks |
Cold Storage |
Amazon Glacier |
Azure Archive Blob Storage |
Google Cloud Storage Nearline |
File Storage |
Amazon Elastic File System |
Azure File Storage |
ZFS/Avere |
Database services
Services |
Amazon (AWS) |
Microsoft Azure |
Google Cloud (GCP) |
RDBMS |
Amazon Relational Database Service |
SQL Database |
Google Cloud SQL |
NoSQL: Key–Value |
Amazon DynamoDB |
Table Storage |
Google Cloud Datastore |
NoSQL: Indexed |
Amazon SimpleDB |
Azure Cosmos DB |
Google Cloud Datastore |
Strengths and weaknesses
Each of the 3 cloud computing giants has its own pros and cons. To come to a fair conclusion, we need to highlight what the providers do right and what they could improve on.
Provider |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
Amazon (AWS) |
• Dominant market position with a 5-year head start • Feature-rich • Extensive training • Global reach |
• Difficult to use without training • Cost management |
Microsoft Azure |
• Integrate with Microsoft tools and software • Hybrid cloud • Support for open source |
• Inefficient documentation |
Google Cloud (GCP) |
• Aims to be portable • Discounts and flexible contracts • DevOps expertise • Support for open source • Steadily increasing reach worldwide |
• Fewer features and services |
Availability zones
As mentioned above, AWS has a 5-year headstart when it comes to cloud computing. This also shows in the worldwide coverage of the service, taking the first place in availability. Don’t let this discourage you from other solutions, however. Both GCP and Azure are available in multiple zones and regions worldwide.
Let’s take a look at the respective availability zones for all 3 of the cloud computing giants:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) is currently available in 66 zones. It has been announced that 12 additional zones are currently on the way. For a more detailed view, visit the official AWS website.
- Microsoft Azure is currently available in 54 regions worldwide, in 140 countries all around the globe. Be on the lookout for more zone announcements by following the Microsoft Azure blog.
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is already available in 24 regions with 73 total zones. GCP offers three zones per region with a few exceptions.
Pricing
It’s hard to draw a clear comparison when it comes to the pricing of various cloud providers. As each and every provider comes with different plans, discounts, and features, comparing the price of everything is hard. Instead, we’ll cover the estimated amount of money you can expect to spend as an average user. Nevertheless, proper cloud spends management is a useful instrument to reduce cloud costs and save the budget.
- For a small Amazon Web Services instance, you can expect to pay around $69 USD per month. The price of a large instance however increases to around $3.97 USD per hour.
- A small Azure instance will cost you nearly the same price as AWS’ option, coming at a $70 USD per month fee. However, the largest Azure instance is almost double the price, charging you $6.79 USD per hour.
- Google Cloud will provide you a basic instance for only $52 USD per month. A large GCP instance will cost you $5.32 per hour, coming right in the middle.
As you can see, generally speaking, AWS and Azure have almost the same pricing due to the same free tier offer and additional pricing options. Google Cloud is usually the cheapest provider for serverless computing compared to the other two because of its low compute price.
High-profile customers
Your vendor’s customer base shouldn’t be the key point when choosing them, but it may help highlight the kind of services they provide. All three cloud computing giants have accommodated a high-profile customer base, allowing us to take a look at what and who they provide.
Let's take a look at some notable customers:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is currently used by Netflix, Twitch, Facebook, BBC, Airbnb, Lamborghini, etc.
Microsoft Azure is currently used by Verizon, Fujifilm, Apple, HP, Xbox, LG Electronics, Coca-Cola, etc.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is currently used by PayPal, 20th Century Fox, eBay, Intel, Yahoo, Target, Twitter, etc.
Final thoughts
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