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AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs Consul

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Software

The leading cloud computing platform

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: AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills; Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, Consul covers Service discovery.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Consul actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Consul differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)Consul
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20062014

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 AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

Only in Consul

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

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker

What people use each for

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Consul
  • Data storagenot Consul
  • Machine learningnot Consul
  • Big data analyticsnot Consul
  • Application developmentnot Consul

Consul

  • Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Where each one falls short

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

Consul

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

Which should you pick?

Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) 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 AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Consul better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) 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, AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Consul?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Consul at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Consul run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use AWS (Amazon Web Services) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) best used for?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is most often used for web hosting, data storage, machine learning, big data analytics. Of those, web hosting and data storage are not what Consul is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that Consul cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter. Both handle Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker.
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