{ "id": "amazon-web-services-vs-microsoft-azure", "ids": [ "amazon-web-services", "microsoft-azure" ], "title": "AWS vs Azure: cloud workload scope and cost controls", "heading": "AWS vs Microsoft Azure", "kicker": "Cloud platform comparison", "deck": "Compare AWS and Azure through application architecture, identity, licence assumptions, free access and a workload-level cost estimate.", "description": "Compare AWS and Azure through application architecture, identity, licence assumptions, free access and a workload-level cost estimate.", "answerHeading": "Which buying model fits the workload?", "answer": "Shortlist AWS or Azure against the exact application, data locations and operating team. AWS and Azure are service portfolios, so a provider-level winner is less useful than a resource-by-resource design. Azure deserves a focused review when Microsoft identity and eligible software licences shape the estate; AWS should be assessed against the services and skills already required by the workload. Price both beyond temporary credits.", "checkedAt": "2026-10-15", "researchTag": "Platform buying comparison", "researchLimit": "Published capabilities and commercial access are compared. Evaluation briefs are hypothetical; no hands-on benchmark, vendor rating or measured performance result is implied.", "datasetDescription": "Seven platform differences, four hypothetical buying briefs and a four-row evaluation checklist.", "type": "workflow-buying", "rows": [ [ "Purchase scope", "AWS services assembled into a workload", "Azure resources and services assembled into a workload" ], [ "Compute examples", "EC2 instances and Lambda functions", "Virtual Machines, App Service and Functions" ], [ "Identity context", "AWS account and access policies", "Azure subscription and Microsoft Entra context" ], [ "Introductory access", "Current Free plan up to six months or credit exhaustion", "New-customer credit for up to 30 days" ], [ "Recurring free scope", "Specified Always Free service allowances", "Specified always-free and separate new-customer 12-month amounts" ], [ "Licence review", "Selected service and marketplace software terms", "Selected service terms and eligible existing-licence benefits" ], [ "Cost comparison unit", "A region-specific architecture and support scope", "The same application scope and support requirement" ] ], "scenarios": [ { "name": "Existing Microsoft application", "question": "Which licence rights and identity dependencies are actually reusable?", "left": "Map application dependencies and any separately licensed software.", "right": "Validate Azure benefit eligibility and the required Entra integration.", "note": "An existing Microsoft subscription is an input to entitlement review, not proof of free cloud hosting." }, { "name": "Event-driven API", "question": "What happens at idle, during bursts and after a failed event?", "left": "Estimate Lambda and dependent storage, network and monitoring services.", "right": "Estimate Functions or the chosen application runtime and its dependencies.", "note": "Use an identical traffic trace and recovery target; do not compare runtime charges alone." }, { "name": "New free-account pilot", "question": "Can the prototype survive after promotional access ends?", "left": "Identify the current account plan and the end of its credit window.", "right": "Record the pay-as-you-go upgrade decision and expiring allowances.", "note": "Prepare export and resource cleanup before the introductory period ends." }, { "name": "UK production service", "question": "Can every required component run in the approved location?", "left": "Confirm region support for each service in the proposed design.", "right": "Confirm location support for every resource and supporting service.", "note": "A provider having a UK region does not establish that every product is available there." } ], "exampleTable": { "caption": "Hypothetical evaluation checklist; acceptance criteria are proposed, not measured vendor results.", "headers": [ "Requirement", "Proof to collect", "Acceptance condition" ], "rows": [ [ "Application boundary", "A diagram including compute, data, identity and outbound calls", "Both estimates include the same dependencies" ], [ "Licence scope", "Written eligibility for reused commercial software rights", "No discount depends on an unverified entitlement" ], [ "Monthly cost", "A forecast after credits, with quiet and busy periods", "Finance can identify the largest cost drivers" ], [ "Operations", "A named owner and recovery rehearsal plan", "Support boundaries and application recovery are understood" ] ] }, "sections": [ { "id": "service-map", "title": "Compare a service map before a provider name", "navLabel": "Service map", "paragraphs": [ "Begin with a deployment that the team could actually operate: request volume, stateful data, authentication, backups and support hours. Give every component an owner. A managed database and a database installed on a virtual machine can satisfy the same functional need while transferring very different work to the buyer.", "Ask each architect to explain which assumptions change if traffic doubles or a zone becomes unavailable. This reveals the design decisions hidden behind a monthly calculator total. Keep optional platform services separate until the application needs them." ] }, { "id": "billing-horizon", "title": "Separate the pilot budget from the production budget", "navLabel": "Cost horizon", "paragraphs": [ "Promotional credits can make initial invoices unrepresentative. Prepare one estimate for evaluation and another for the period after credits and introductory allowances expire. State whether a commitment is assumed, how long it lasts and what happens when usage is below the commitment.", "Include the cost of maintaining the environment: incident response, identity administration, patching that remains with the team and periodic restore tests. A lower resource estimate is useful only when the operating responsibilities are also acceptable." ] } ], "faqs": [ { "question": "Is AWS still a 12-month free trial for every new account?", "answer": "No. The current new-customer programme uses a Free plan lasting up to six months or credit exhaustion. Older accounts can follow legacy terms; check account eligibility." }, { "question": "Does Microsoft 365 include Azure hosting?", "answer": "Do not assume so. Microsoft 365 and Azure infrastructure are separate commercial scopes. Verify the specific licence and benefit before applying it to a cost model." }, { "question": "Which is cheaper for a UK application?", "answer": "That requires a specified architecture, region, usage pattern and contract. This comparison does not claim a measured cost winner." }, { "question": "Can workloads move unchanged between them?", "answer": "Not generally. Application code may be reusable, while identity, managed services, networking and deployment configuration can require changes." } ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/products/", "facts": "Compute, storage, database and managed-service portfolio; AWS is a platform rather than one subscription." }, { "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/free/free-tier-faqs/", "facts": "Current new-account Free plan, credits, Always Free service allowances and legacy-account distinction." }, { "url": "https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/", "facts": "Azure compute, managed application, database and hybrid service scope." }, { "url": "https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/", "facts": "30-day credit, pay-as-you-go continuation, recurring limits and separate 12-month new-customer allowances." } ], "relatedLinks": [ { "path": "/guides/cloud-cost-checklist/", "title": "Build a cloud workload cost checklist" }, { "path": "/guides/software-total-cost/", "title": "Include migration and operating costs" }, { "path": "/categories/cloud-platforms/", "title": "Browse cloud platforms" } ] }