Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure
AWS leads in market share (32%) and service breadth with 200+ services, while Azure excels in enterprise integration with 98% of Fortune 500 companies using Microsoft products, giving it a native advantage for Windows-based workloads and Microsoft stack users.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Comprehensive cloud infrastructure platform with 200+ services for compute, storage, databases, and enterprise solutions.
Enterprise cloud platform with 200+ services, advanced AI/ML, and global infrastructure for large organizations.
Global Market Share. Total Services Offered. Enterprise 500 Integration. Starting EC2/VM Pricing (t3.micro/B1s). Global Data Center Regions. SQL Server Native Support. Hybrid Cloud Integration
Choose AWS if you need maximum service variety, prefer vendor independence, or are building greenfield cloud infrastructure with cost optimization as priority. Choose Microsoft Azure if you're deeply invested in Microsoft's ecosystem (Office 365, Dynamics 365, Windows Server), require hybrid cloud capabilities, or need superior enterprise support integration across 95% of Fortune 500 companies.
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.023 | Microsoft Azure: $0.018
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.004 | Microsoft Azure: $0.002
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Multiple models via Bedrock | Microsoft Azure: Exclusive OpenAI partnership
Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS Outposts (limited) | Microsoft Azure: Azure Stack Hub (enterprise-grade)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Fargate (feature-rich) | Microsoft Azure: Container Instances (mature)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32% | Microsoft Azure: 23%
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ | Microsoft Azure: 200+
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33 | Microsoft Azure: 60+
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 5/10 | Microsoft Azure: 6/10
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 8/10 | Microsoft Azure: 7/10
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Moderate (Outposts) | Microsoft Azure: Excellent (Stack/Arc)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 4/10 | Microsoft Azure: 10/10
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Largest | Microsoft Azure: Large
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Strong (ECS/EKS) | Microsoft Azure: Strong (AKS)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Via Athena/Redshift | Microsoft Azure: Via Synapse
Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS only | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Pay-per-use only | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33 regions | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 105+ zones | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 190+ native services | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 30-45 (via Console/CLI) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS CloudFormation requires manual GitHub setup | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Monthly Cost (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, Standard Instance)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $9.50 (t3.micro on-demand) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.0116 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33 regions | Microsoft Azure: 60 regions
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 32% of global cloud infrastructure (2024) | Microsoft Azure: 23%
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.0416 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.02 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 8-12 hours (SageMaker) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 15-30 seconds (Athena, 1TB scan) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $15,000 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 18-25 steps (EKS setup) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 12 months + always-free services | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 1 hour (Business Support) | Microsoft Azure: 15 minutes
Amazon Web Services (AWS): SageMaker, Bedrock, Forecast, Lookout, Kendra | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Monthly Cost for 10TB Egress Data Transfer
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $116 (after 1GB free) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 120 minutes | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 280+ CloudFront locations | Microsoft Azure: 60+ regions
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 125ms (Lambda standard) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 45-60 (configure VPC, IAM, EC2, security groups) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 8+ (RDS, DynamoDB, Aurora, ElastiCache, Neptune, DocumentDB, Keyspaces, Timestream) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 99.99% (us-east-1 region) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 50,000+ (t3.large EC2) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Estimated Learning Time for New Developer
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 80-100 hours | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A (not a single GitHub repo) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 3 languages (YAML, JSON, TypeScript/Python/Java via CDK) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS only | Microsoft Azure: Azure only (with hybrid via Stack)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ AWS-specific services (largest portfolio in cloud) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Free (1 year, then pay-as-you-go infrastructure costs) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 33+ geographic regions with 105+ availability zones | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 1M+ AWS Certified professionals | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0 (free tier + pay-per-use) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $100-150 (EC2 Reserved + RDS) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 60-480 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 24,576 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 100-3000 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): No, requires CodePipeline ($0.02/active pipeline) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 31 | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 108 availability zones in 33 regions | Microsoft Azure: 60+ regions
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 200+ services | Microsoft Azure: 200+ services
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0 (free tier), pay-as-you-go | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): No (Shield Advanced: $3,000/month) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 120+ minutes (full configuration) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): 15+ (RDS, DynamoDB, Redshift, etc.) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): ~80ms (median global) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): ~700 Gbps (AWS Shield Advanced) | Microsoft Azure: N/A
Amazon Web Services (AWS): ~75% | Microsoft Azure: ~95%
Compute Instance Starting Price (hourly)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): $0.0116/hour (t3.micro) | Microsoft Azure: $0.0120/hour (B1s)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): up to 72% | Microsoft Azure: up to 72%
Amazon Web Services (AWS): RDS for SQL Server (third-party) | Microsoft Azure: Azure SQL Database (native)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): SageMaker (launched 2017) | Microsoft Azure: Azure ML (launched 2014)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 5-15 seconds (Synapse)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 1-2x faster (HDInsight baseline)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 200+ services across all categories
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $0.40-$2.00 (VM-dependent)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Azure ML, AutoML (separate setup)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Deep (Office 365, Teams, Dynamics, Power BI native)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Azure Purview, Synapse governance, encryption
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 6-12 months (full cloud migration)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 420 seconds
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 1x baseline
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 40+ frameworks
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Database and table-level basic
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 60+ native
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 500+
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $2,000-$4,000
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Limited (requires workarounds)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Limited free tier; specific allocations by service
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 10 Tbps standard protection
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $21.77/month (B1s instance)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Varies ($25-500+ for multi-service bundle)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: ~50-100ms (varies by region)
Supported Programming Languages (Workers/Serverless)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, Go, C# (Functions)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 60 minutes (Premium Support)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $15-20
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $30-50
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 200+
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 99.95%
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 30-60
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 25+
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $200 (30 days)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $290
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 70+ services
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 60 regions
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 90+
Oracle Database Performance Optimization
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Third-party optimization
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Native (Office 365, Teams, Dynamics, AD)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Not applicable
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 23%
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 45+ services
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $15-30
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Available (separate purchase)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Native, optimized licensing
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 99.99%
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 12+ databases
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $0.0106/hour
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $7.60/month
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 200+ services
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 11,904 GB
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 8/10 (steep)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: $15/month (1-core VM)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 30 days ($200 credit)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 15-20 minutes (average)
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: 50+ pre-built AI models, full ML platform
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: HIPAA, FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, SOC2, ISO 27001
Amazon Web Services (AWS): N/A | Microsoft Azure: Complex: 100+ pricing tiers, reserved instances, spot pricing
How to choose between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure
Compare Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure
Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure. Contains 136 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure.
AWS generally offers 3-5% lower baseline compute costs through aggressive pricing and Reserved Instances up to 72% off. However, Azure costs less if you already own Microsoft licenses due to Azure Hybrid Benefit, which allows Windows Server and SQL Server license mobility, saving up to $4,000 per 16-core server annually.
Is Azure better for Microsoft-heavy companies?
Yes, significantly. Azure provides native integration with Active Directory, Office 365, Dynamics 365, and SQL Server without additional licensing. 95% of Fortune 500 companies already use Microsoft products, making Azure the default choice. AWS requires additional middleware and management overhead for Microsoft stack integration.
Can AWS match Azure's hybrid capabilities?
AWS Outposts (launched 2019) provides hybrid capabilities but is newer and less mature than Azure Stack (launched 2015). Azure Stack has broader enterprise support and integration with on-premises Active Directory, making it preferable for companies requiring true hybrid cloud continuity.
Azure has 60+ regions vs AWS's 33 regions, covering more geographies including additional coverage in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and government clouds. For multi-region deployments prioritizing latency, Azure offers better geographic distribution and is particularly stronger in European and sovereign cloud markets.
Which is better for machine learning projects?
AWS SageMaker is generally preferred by ML practitioners with 78% of surveys favoring AWS for AI/ML due to more mature tools, stronger community support, and superior documentation. However, Azure ML is catching up with better integration for enterprises already using Microsoft Cognitive Services and enterprise ML governance tools.
How to Choose Between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure
Global Market Share: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has 32%, while Microsoft Azure has 23%.
Total Services Offered: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has 200+, while Microsoft Azure has 200+.
Enterprise 500 Integration: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has ~75% of Fortune 500, while Microsoft Azure has ~95% of Fortune 500.
Consider: Starting EC2/VM Pricing (t3.micro/B1s)
Starting EC2/VM Pricing (t3.micro/B1s): Amazon Web Services (AWS) has $0.0116/hour, while Microsoft Azure has $0.0120/hour.
Global Data Center Regions: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has 33 regions, while Microsoft Azure has 60+ regions.
SQL Server Native Support: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has Limited (RDS for SQL Server), while Microsoft Azure has Native (Azure SQL Database).
Hybrid Cloud Integration: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has AWS Outposts (newer), while Microsoft Azure has Azure Stack (mature).