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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Alibaba Cloud vs Oracle Cloud

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Cloud & Infrastructure

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Oracle Cloud logo

Oracle Cloud

Cloud & Infrastructure

Enterprise cloud computing services

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; Oracle Cloud the free trial gives US$300 of credit that expires when consumed or after 30 days, whichever comes first
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Oracle Cloud covers Autonomous Database.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Oracle Cloud differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudOracle Cloud
Founded20092019

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Linux, Windows, Api, Cli), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).

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
  • Data encryption

Only in Oracle Cloud

  • Autonomous Database
  • Compute Instances
  • MySQL Database Service
  • Object Storage
  • Block Volume
  • Load Balancers
  • Virtual Cloud Network
  • HIPAA

Both cover

  • API Gateway
  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • SOC2
  • ISO27001
  • Cloud deployment
  • Linux support
  • Windows 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 Oracle Cloud
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Oracle Cloud
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Oracle Cloud
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Oracle Cloud

Oracle Cloud

  • Running virtual machines, databases and storage on Oracle's cloud infrastructurenot Alibaba Cloud
  • Hosting Oracle Database workloads on infrastructure from the same vendornot 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

Oracle Cloud

  • The free trial gives US$300 of credit that expires when consumed or after 30 days, whichever comes first
  • The US$300 cloud credit is available only in select countries
  • Only one Oracle Cloud Free Trial or Always Free account is permitted per person
  • Accounts left idle for 30 days or more are eligible for suspension or termination as abandoned
  • Always Free NoSQL Database is restricted to the Phoenix region
  • Free Tier availability is subject to capacity limits, and the published per-service capacity figures are estimates that assume the entire credit is spent on that one service

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

Oracle Cloud

Free
  • Always FreeFree
    • Oracle Autonomous Database
    • 2 compute instances
    • 100 GB storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible pricing
    • No long-term commitment
    • Enterprise support

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 Oracle Cloud if

  • You need autonomous database.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want compute instances.
Oracle Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or Oracle Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Oracle Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Oracle Cloud?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Oracle Cloud at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Oracle Cloud run on more platforms?
Both run on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Oracle Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Oracle Cloud cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Oracle Cloud covers Autonomous Database, Compute Instances, MySQL Database Service, Object Storage. Both handle API Gateway, Terraform, Ansible, Docker.
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