AWS vs Azure

The two leading cloud platforms compared across services, pricing, ease of use, and enterprise features.

AWS

Amazon Web Services - the most comprehensive cloud platform with 200+ services worldwide.

Pay-as-you-go, free tier available

Best For

Startups, tech companies, and organizations needing the broadest service catalog

Pros

Widest range of services (200+)
Largest market share and community
Most mature serverless (Lambda)
Excellent documentation
Global infrastructure (30+ regions)

Cons

Complex pricing model
Steep learning curve
Vendor lock-in risk
Console UI can be overwhelming

Azure

Microsoft Azure - enterprise-focused cloud platform with deep Microsoft ecosystem integration.

Pay-as-you-go, free tier available

Best For

Enterprises using Microsoft stack, hybrid cloud scenarios, and .NET developers

Pros

Best Microsoft/Windows integration
Strong enterprise and hybrid cloud
Azure AD for identity management
Great .NET and Visual Studio support
Competitive pricing for enterprise

Cons

Confusing service naming conventions
Documentation can be inconsistent
Fewer regions than AWS
Portal can be slow

Feature Comparison

Feature	AWS	Azure
Compute	EC2, Lambda, ECS, EKS	VMs, Functions, ACI, AKS
Storage	S3, EBS, EFS	Blob Storage, Managed Disks
Database	RDS, DynamoDB, Aurora	SQL Database, Cosmos DB
AI/ML	SageMaker, Bedrock	Azure AI, OpenAI Service
DevOps	CodePipeline, CodeBuild	Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions
CDN	CloudFront	Azure CDN, Front Door
Market Share	~32%	~23%
Free Tier	12 months + always free	12 months + always free

Community Vote

AWS (50%)Azure (50%)

0 total votes

Our Verdict

AWS leads in breadth of services and is the default choice for startups and cloud-native companies. Azure excels in enterprise environments, especially those already invested in Microsoft technologies. Both platforms are capable of handling any workload; the best choice often depends on your existing tech stack and team expertise.