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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs Netlify

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud & Infrastructure

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Netlify logo

Netlify

Technology

The fastest way to build the fastest sites

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; Netlify the free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, Netlify covers Continuous deployment.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Netlify differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)Netlify
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileWeb
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureTechnology
Founded20062014

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

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 Netlify

  • Continuous deployment
  • Instant rollbacks
  • Deploy previews
  • Split testing
  • Forms handling
  • Identity/Auth
  • Serverless functions
  • Edge handlers

What people use each for

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

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

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

Netlify

  • Hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global CDN deliverynot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Deploy previews on every pull requestnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Serverless functions alongside a static sitenot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Netlify Database and Blob storage for small application statenot 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

Netlify

  • The free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • Everything is metered in credits, so bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each consume the allowance in ways a bandwidth figure alone would not show
  • Compute is billed at 10 credits per GB-hour, so server-rendered work costs more than static hosting
  • Running past the allowance means buying credit packs, at $5 for 500 on Personal and $10 for 1,500 on Pro
  • AI inference is priced by model rather than at a flat credit rate

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

Netlify

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 100GB bandwidth
    • 300 build minutes
    • 1 concurrent build
  • Pro$19/month
    • 400GB bandwidth
    • 25,000 build minutes
    • 3 concurrent builds
  • Business$99/month
    • 600GB bandwidth
    • 35,000 build minutes
    • 5 concurrent builds
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom bandwidth
    • Custom build minutes
    • Unlimited concurrent builds

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 Netlify if

  • You need continuous deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want instant rollbacks.
Netlify review

Questions people ask

Is AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Netlify better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Netlify 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 Netlify?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Netlify at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Netlify run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. Netlify runs on Web.
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 Netlify is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that Netlify cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Instant rollbacks, Deploy previews, Split testing.
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