Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure Pricing (2026)
Compare / Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure
Shortlist
Team size
25 seats

Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Microsoft Azure

Cloud Infrastructure pricing comparison · 2026

Amazon Web Services (AWS) pricing ranges from $0–$15000/month, while Microsoft Azure ranges from $0–$70.08/month. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is typically 22% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Amazon pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Microsoft pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · Cloud Infrastructure
Side-by-side · live
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's largest cloud infrastructure provider, commanding
verified 27d ago
$329 $398
View pricing →
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure is the second-largest cloud infrastructure provider with approximately 25%
verified 27d ago
$329 $398
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Microsoft saves $69 vs Amazon · 25 seats
Cheapest $329
Spread 17%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
On-Demand (t3.medium)
$9.1K/yr
year 1 license · $30/seat
Pay-As-You-Go (D2s v3)
$21K/yr
year 1 license · $70/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$398/yr
Vendr · n=164
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$329/yr
Vendr · n=138
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 18 sourced facts
14 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 3w ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 18 sourced facts
13 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 3w ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Data Egress and Bandwidth Costs
    10-30% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Lambda Hidden Service Dependencies
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
  • GPU and ML Instance Cost Shock
    $2,160-$14,400
    1 source
  • Managed Service Premium (Fargate, Aurora, Redshift)
    $21-$100
    2 sources
  • VPC Endpoint Charges per Service
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
5 documented
  • Unpredictable Billing & Surprise Charges
    5-100% of license costs
    3 sources
  • CSP Subscription Lacks Cost Management Visibility
    5-50% of license costs
    1 source
  • Premium Support Costs
    $100-$300/month
    2 sources
  • Feature Gating Behind Higher Service Tiers
    $70/month
    1 source
  • Marketplace Charges Billed Separately
    5-15% of license costs
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Amazon
Microsoft
Auto-renewal
✓ No
—
Cancellation
On-Demand instances can be stopped or terminated at any time with no notice; Reserved Instances commit to 1 or 3-year terms
—
Commitment
None for On-Demand; 1 or 3 years for Reserved Instances and Savings Plans
None for Pay-As-You-Go; 1 year for Azure Savings Plan; 1 or 3 years for Reserved Instances
Price escalation
No published price escalation schedule; AWS has historically reduced prices over time, though GPU, ML, and managed service pricing remains high
No published schedule found in sources; CSP agreement pricing may vary by partner
Can downgrade
✓ Yes
✓ Yes
Based on 4 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
7.6/5 (735)
Best for
Developers learning AWS, small experiments, and proof-of-concept projects
Watch out
Customer support described as 'terrible' with 24-hour outages and no resolution
TrustRadius
8.4/5 (1,080)
Trustpilot
1.1/5 (18)
Best for
Developers and startups exploring Azure or building initial prototypes
Watch out
Unpredictable and surprise billing charges
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Amazon pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Microsoft pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Cloud Infrastructure

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

$0–$15000
/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Cloud Infrastructure

Microsoft Azure

$0–$70.08
/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure both operate in the cloud infrastructure category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Amazon Web Services (AWS) Microsoft Azure
Free Tier Free /month Free /month
On-Demand (t3.micro) $7.59 /month $7.59 /month
On-Demand (t3.medium) $30.37 /month $70.08 /month
Savings Plans (1-Year Compute) Custom Custom
Enterprise Support $15K /month Custom

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

8 scenarios
$15
Developer Sandbox
25/month
$150
Small Web Application
250/month
$1,500
Production SaaS Platform
3,000/month
See all 8 scenarios →

Microsoft Azure

7 scenarios
$12
Developer Workstation
20/month
$150
Small Business Application
300/month
$1,200
Production Web Platform
2,500/month
See all 7 scenarios →

Market Intelligence

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Median annual cost
$398
Based on
164 deals

Microsoft Azure

Median annual cost
$329
Based on
138 deals

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) 7 hidden costs

high
Data Egress and Bandwidth Costs 10-30% of license costs
medium
Lambda Hidden Service Dependencies 5-15% of license costs
high
GPU and ML Instance Cost Shock $2,160-$14,400
high
Managed Service Premium (Fargate, Aurora, Redshift) $21-$100
medium
VPC Endpoint Charges per Service 5-15% of license costs
See all Amazon Web Services (AWS) hidden costs →

Microsoft Azure 8 hidden costs

critical
Unpredictable Billing & Surprise Charges 5-100% of license costs
high
CSP Subscription Lacks Cost Management Visibility 5-50% of license costs
high
Premium Support Costs $100-$300/month
medium
Feature Gating Behind Higher Service Tiers $70/month
medium
Marketplace Charges Billed Separately 5-15% of license costs
See all Microsoft Azure hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Amazon Web Services (AWS) Microsoft Azure
Auto-renewal No —
Cancellation On-Demand instances can be stopped or terminated at any time with no notice; Reserved Instances commit to 1 or 3-year terms —
Minimum commitment None for On-Demand; 1 or 3 years for Reserved Instances and Savings Plans None for Pay-As-You-Go; 1 year for Azure Savings Plan; 1 or 3 years for Reserved Instances
Price escalation No published price escalation schedule; AWS has historically reduced prices over time, though GPU, ML, and managed service pricing remains high No published schedule found in sources; CSP agreement pricing may vary by partner
Can downgrade Yes Yes

Continue researching

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Microsoft Azure

Related Comparisons