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Software · head to head

Alibaba Cloud vs Consul

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Software

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Consul logo

Consul

Software

Service discovery, networking, and security

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Consul covers Service discovery.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and Consul actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Consul differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudConsul
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20092014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in Consul

  • Service discovery
  • Health checking
  • Key/value store
  • Multi-datacenter
  • DNS interface
  • Service mesh
  • Load balancing
  • Configuration management

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud deployment
  • Linux support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Consul
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Consul
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Consul
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Consul

Consul

  • Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot Alibaba Cloud
  • Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot Alibaba Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

Consul

  • Namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • Audit logging, OIDC authentication and FIPS 140-2 builds require Consul Enterprise, so compliance driven deployments cannot use the free edition
  • Automated backups, redundancy zones, read replicas and automated server upgrades are Enterprise only
  • Long Term Support releases are Enterprise only, so community users must upgrade to stay supported
  • Service mesh and advanced traffic management sit in the Premium Enterprise tier above Standard Enterprise
  • HashiCorp does not publish a Consul rate on its pricing page, which lists per resource prices for Terraform instead

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

Consul

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Service discovery
    • Health checking
    • KV store

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose Consul if

  • You need service discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want health checking.
Consul review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or Consul better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Consul at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Consul?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Consul at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Consul run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what Consul is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Consul cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter. Both handle Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud deployment.
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