Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon Web Services: Cloud Comparison

AWS overview

AWS offers more than 200 fully featured services across its global cloud infrastructure. These capabilities span nearly every part of modern IT and business operations, with core categories that include:

• Analytics: Tools that help businesses process and analyze data from multiple sources to improve reporting, forecasting and business decision-making.
• Application integration: Services that connect and coordinate applications through workflows, APIs and event-driven architectures.
• Artificial intelligence (AI): A broad suite that includes Amazon SageMaker for machine learning, Amazon Bedrock for generative AI, and Amazon Q for business intelligence. These tools support natural language processing, computer vision, predictive analytics and more.
• Blockchain: Managed services that let developers create and run secure distributed ledgers and decentralized applications. [Read related article: How Will Blockchain Impact Digital Marketing?]
• Business applications: Productivity, communication and operations tools that support customer engagement, supply chain management, omnichannel communication and other core workflows.
• Cloud financial management: AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets help organizations track spending, plan budgets and receive alerts to keep cloud investments under control.
• Compute: Amazon EC2 offers scalable virtual servers with more than 750 instance types optimized for everything from general workloads to high-performance computing.
• Containers: AWS provides Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) for deploying and managing containerized applications at scale.
• Database: A wide range of relational, NoSQL, in-memory and purpose-built databases to support different applications and performance needs.
• Developer tools: Integrated tools that support source control, CI/CD pipelines, testing and automated deployment.
• End-user computing: Amazon WorkSpaces delivers secure virtual desktops accessible from any device, which is ideal for remote work plans and hybrid teams.
• Front-end web and mobile: Services that help developers build, test and deploy modern web and mobile applications with seamless backend integration.
• Games: Backend and development tools for building, testing and scaling gaming applications.
• Internet of Things (IoT): AWS IoT Core connects billions of devices and routes trillions of messages for real-time monitoring and analytics.
• Management and governance: Tools to monitor, secure and optimize cloud resources while enforcing compliance policies.
• Media services: Cloud services for processing, encoding and streaming audio and video content at scale.
• Migration and modernization: AWS Transform unifies migration tracking and automation, using AI-driven insights to streamline cloud transitions. (Existing customers can continue using AWS Migration Hub.)
• Networking and content delivery: Services for creating and managing networks, load balancers and global content delivery through Amazon CloudFront.
• Quantum technologies: Amazon Braket gives developers a unified environment to experiment with quantum computing hardware and simulators.
• Robotics: Tools for building, testing and simulating robotics applications before real-world deployment.
• Satellite: Fully managed ground-station-as-a-service that lets companies control satellites and process data without physical infrastructure.
• Security, identity and compliance: A comprehensive suite for identity management, threat detection, cloud encryption, governance and application security.
• Serverless: AWS Lambda runs code without provisioning servers and automatically scales to meet demand.
• Storage: Amazon S3 provides industry-leading scalability and 11 9’s of durability for storing and protecting data of any size.
• Supply chain: Machine learning-powered tools to forecast demand, optimize inventory and improve supply chain distribution and visibility.

Microsoft Azure overview

Microsoft Azure provides over 200 products and cloud services designed to help businesses solve today’s challenges and build for the future. Here are the primary service categories Azure offers:

• AI and ML: Azure AI Studio provides a unified platform for building and deploying generative AI applications. Azure OpenAI Service gives organizations secure, enterprise-grade access to models like GPT-4, GPT-4o and DALL-E 3.
• Analytics: Azure’s data analytics tools help businesses gather, store, process and analyze data to support decision-making. Azure also includes multiple visualization and real-time analytics services.
• Compute: Azure Virtual Machines support both Windows and Linux workloads with more than 400 instance types across six categories, including GPU-accelerated and high-memory options.
• Containers: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) provides a fully managed Kubernetes environment that integrates with Microsoft Entra ID and Azure Monitor for streamlined orchestration and lifecycle management.
• Databases: Azure offers fully managed database options such as Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB for globally distributed workloads and Azure Database for PostgreSQL with built-in high availability.
• Developer tools: GitHub integration, Visual Studio and Azure DevTest Labs provide end-to-end environments for building, testing and deploying applications.
• DevOps: Azure DevOps delivers integrated CI/CD pipelines, artifact management and agile planning tools that support cloud-native and hybrid deployments.
• Hybrid and multicloud environments: Azure Arc extends Azure services to any infrastructure, enabling consistent operations across on-premises, multicloud and edge environments.
• Identity: Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) offers enterprise-grade identity and access management, integrating with thousands of SaaS apps and securing authentication for millions of global users.
• Integration: Azure’s integration tools allow businesses to connect cloud and on-premises systems, synchronize data and streamline processes across applications and databases.
• IoT: Azure IoT Hub enables bi-directional communication between IoT applications and billions of devices with secure, per-device authentication and built-in device management.
• Management and governance: Azure’s governance suite helps monitor, secure and optimize cloud resources while maintaining compliance across environments.
• Media: Azure Media Services allows companies to encode, process and stream audio and video content securely on a global scale.
• Migration: Azure Migrate provides a centralized hub to discover, assess and migrate servers, databases and applications to Azure with minimal downtime.
• Mixed reality: Azure Digital Twins builds digital models of real-world environments, combining IoT data, spatial intelligence and simulation capabilities.
• Mobile: Azure supports building, testing and managing mobile applications with tools for backend integration, authentication and push notifications.
• Networking: Azure Virtual Network provides secure isolation and segmentation with DDoS protection and Azure Firewall for advanced network security.
• Security: Microsoft Defender for Cloud delivers unified security management, threat protection and regulatory compliance across hybrid and multicloud environments.
• Storage: Azure Storage offers multiple redundancy options with up to 16 nines (99.99999999999999 percent) of durability for archive storage and automatic tiering to help optimize costs.
• Virtual desktop infrastructure: Azure Virtual Desktop delivers Windows 10 and Windows 11 desktops and apps virtually anywhere with built-in security and compliance.
• Web: Azure provides tools for developing and hosting web applications, managing APIs and delivering online content reliably at scale.

AWS and Microsoft Azure compared

AWS and Microsoft Azure share many similarities, but they also differ in pricing models, integrations and how they handle key cloud workloads. The sections below break down how the two platforms compare across the areas that matter most to businesses.

Feature for feature

AWS and Azure offer parallel services across most major cloud categories. Here’s a side-by-side look at how their core offerings compare:

Verdict: AWS offers the broader and more mature portfolio of cloud services, while Azure excels in identity, productivity and enterprise integrations. If your business needs maximum service depth and global reach, AWS has the edge; if you’re heavily invested in Microsoft, Azure delivers a more seamless environment.

Costs

Pricing is one of the biggest factors businesses weigh when choosing between AWS and Azure. Both platforms use a pay-as-you-go model for most services, with steep discounts available for long-term commitments or spare-capacity options. 

However, actual costs can vary widely based on factors like region, workload type, storage tier, data transfer needs and how efficiently your team provisions and scales resources day to day.

AWS Pricing

• Model: AWS uses a flexible consumption-based model across all services. 
• Discounts: For companies with predictable workloads, AWS offers Savings Plans that provide up to 72 percent off standard on-demand rates when you commit to one or three years. Compute-heavy environments can also use EC2 Spot Instances, which offer as much as 90 percent savings for workloads that can tolerate interruptions.
• Calculate your costs: There’s a detailed AWS pricing calculator to help businesses estimate monthly costs. However, actual spending often comes down to user behavior, for example, whether teams shut down development instances outside business hours or monitor idle resources.

Azure Pricing

• Model: Azure follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model across its services, with rates that vary by region, instance type, storage tier and licensing requirements — especially for Windows-based workloads.
• Discounts: Businesses with predictable usage can save significantly with Reserved Virtual Machine Instances, which offer up to 80 percent off pay-as-you-go rates when you commit to one or three years and apply Azure Hybrid Benefit licensing. Azure Spot Virtual Machines provide additional savings for interruptible workloads, similar to AWS Spot Instances, but can be reclaimed at any time when Azure needs the capacity.
• Calculate your costs: You can estimate your costs with a comprehensive Azure pricing calculator, but real-world costs depend on how efficiently teams manage resources. Factors like shutting down unused VMs, selecting the right storage tier and monitoring egress fees often have more influence on monthly spending than the list prices alone.

Verdict: Pricing is comparable across both platforms, but the better value depends on your workload patterns. AWS offers broader flexibility for variable workloads, while Azure delivers strong savings for businesses already invested in Microsoft licensing. Actual costs come down to how well your team manages resource usage on either platform.

License mobility

Microsoft’s licensing rules can have a major impact on your cloud costs, especially if you’re running Windows Server or SQL Server. Here’s how License Mobility and Microsoft’s bring-your-own-license (BYOL) rules apply to AWS and Azure.

License Mobility on AWS

Here’s what you can bring — these licenses are eligible for Microsoft’s License Mobility through Software Assurance:

• SQL Server (with active Software Assurance)
• SharePoint Server
• Exchange Server
• System Center
• Remote Desktop Services (client access licenses)
• BizTalk Server

(All eligible products are listed under Microsoft’s License Mobility program.)

Here’s what you can’t bring — these licenses are not eligible for License Mobility:

• Windows Server
• Any product without active Software Assurance
• Windows 10/11 desktop OS licenses

While Windows Server isn’t eligible for License Mobility, customers can use qualifying Windows Server and SQL Server licenses on AWS Dedicated Hosts under Microsoft’s BYOL rules. This applies only to dedicated hardware and requires compliance with Microsoft’s Product Terms. Learn more in AWS’s guide to bringing existing Microsoft licenses to Amazon EC2.

License Mobility on Azure

What you can bring — Azure supports all the same License Mobility-eligible products as AWS:

• SQL Server (with Software Assurance)
• Exchange, SharePoint, System Center, BizTalk and other eligible Microsoft server apps

Azure also offers two exclusive advantages for Microsoft workloads:

• Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server
• Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server

These benefits let businesses apply existing licenses to Azure VMs, significantly reducing compute costs, especially for Windows-heavy environments.

What you can’t bring — these licenses are not eligible for License Mobility:

• Windows Server through License Mobility (same rule as AWS)
• Any license without Software Assurance

Like AWS, Azure also allows Windows Server and SQL Server licenses to run on Azure Dedicated Host under BYOL rules for dedicated hardware.

Verdict: Both platforms support Microsoft’s License Mobility benefits, but Azure has a structural advantage thanks to Azure Hybrid Benefit and first-party licensing alignment. AWS remains fully viable for SQL Server-heavy workloads, but Windows-heavy shops may find lower total licensing costs on Azure.

Hybrid and multicloud options

As hybrid and multicloud adoption grows, both AWS and Microsoft Azure offer robust solutions for companies running workloads across on-premises environments and the cloud.

AWS

AWS Outposts brings native AWS services, hardware and operational models directly into your data center or on-premises facility. Outposts uses the same infrastructure found in AWS Regions, starting with a single 42U rack configuration, to deliver a consistent hybrid experience.

AWS also extends its container orchestration services on customer-managed hardware through ECS Anywhere and EKS Anywhere, allowing teams to run containerized workloads outside the AWS cloud with centralized governance.

Azure

Azure Local (formerly part of the Azure Stack family) provides a hyperconverged infrastructure solution for running virtual machines, containers and select Azure services on-premises with native integration into Azure’s management tools and APIs. Unlike AWS Outposts, Azure Local runs on validated hardware from multiple OEM vendors — including Dell, HPE and Lenovo — and supports flexible deployments from small configurations to larger clusters. Production environments require a minimum two-node cluster, with disconnected operations available in preview. 

Azure Arc expands Azure’s management plane across any environment, enabling unified governance and policy control across on-premises systems, edge deployments and even other cloud providers. Because Arc is built into Azure Local, customers get consistent tooling whether they’re managing Azure, AWS or on-premises resources.

Verdict: AWS excels at delivering a consistent hybrid experience using its own infrastructure, while Azure offers broader multicloud management through Azure Arc. If you need deep AWS integration on-prem, choose Outposts; if you want unified governance across clouds, Azure is the stronger fit.

Government in the cloud

Both AWS GovCloud and Azure Government offer isolated cloud environments built for government agencies and highly regulated workloads. 

• AWS: AWS GovCloud operates two dedicated U.S. regions (US-East and US-West) with support for requirements like FedRAMP High and DoD Impact Level 4 and 5. 
• Azure: Azure Government spans multiple U.S. regions, including dedicated DoD environments, and offers deep integration with Microsoft 365, Entra ID and hybrid governance tools.

Verdict: AWS GovCloud is ideal if you want the widest service availability in a U.S.-sovereign environment, while Azure Government is the stronger fit for agencies already standardized on Microsoft tools and hybrid governance.

Open-source capabilities

The open-source landscape has shifted significantly in recent years. 

• AWS: AWS remains deeply rooted in open-source technologies. It maintains its own Linux distribution (Amazon Linux 2023), leads the OpenSearch project (a fork of Elasticsearch) and contributes heavily to Kubernetes, Apache Kafka, PostgreSQL and other major community projects. AWS also offers a wide range of fully managed services for popular open-source databases, analytics tools and developer stacks.
• Azure: Microsoft’s acquisition of GitHub, growing Linux kernel contributions and expanding OSS partnerships have repositioned Azure as a strong home for open-source workloads. Today, more than 60 percent of Azure virtual machines run Linux, reflecting how widely the platform now supports open-source ecosystems.

Verdict: AWS still has the broader open-source ecosystem and deeper managed OSS offerings, but Azure has closed much of the historical gap, making both platforms strong choices depending on your workloads and developer stack.

Alternatives to AWS and Azure

While AWS and Azure dominate the cloud market, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) has firmly established itself as the third-largest provider, now holding about 13 percent of the global cloud infrastructure market share. GCP stands out for its leadership in data analytics, machine learning, and Kubernetes orchestration, making it an attractive option for organizations with data-heavy or container-centric workloads.

Beyond the “big three,” additional platforms may fit niche or industry-specific needs. IBM Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) offer compelling solutions for specialized workloads, while SAP Business Technology Platform supports enterprises running SAP applications.

OCI in particular has gained traction with businesses already invested in the Oracle ecosystem. Its tight integration with products like Oracle NetSuite (as noted in our NetSuite accounting software review) makes it especially appealing for companies standardizing on Oracle. OCI is also known for competitive pricing and strong performance for database workloads, especially its Autonomous Database and high-bandwidth networking options.

Testing the clouds

Both AWS and Azure offer generous free tiers to help businesses test their services before committing. 

• AWS: AWS includes a 12-month free tier with popular offerings like 750 hours per month of EC2 t2.micro or t3.micro instances (depending on region and availability), plus free usage for services such as Amazon S3, Lambda and RDS. 
• Azure: Azure gives new users $200 in credits for the first 30 days, followed by 12 months of free access to commonly used services, including Linux and Windows virtual machines, Blob Storage and SQL Database.

When evaluating either platform, focus on testing your real-world scenarios. Spin up a proof of concept that mirrors your production environment, experiment with the management consoles, check how easily each platform integrates with the tools you already use, and calculate total cost of ownership — including data egress, support fees and how efficiently your team manages resources.

And if AWS ultimately isn’t the right cloud fit, the features of Amazon Business may still be worth exploring. We’re pretty sure Microsoft won’t mind.