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Government · head to head

AWS GovCloud vs Semperis

AWS GovCloud logo

AWS GovCloud

Government

Secure Cloud for Government

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Semperis logo

Semperis

Cybersecurity

Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS GovCloud access is restricted to vetted US entities, with account holders screened for US citizenship or permanent residency; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • They diverge on capability: AWS GovCloud covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS GovCloud and Semperis actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS GovCloud and Semperis differ
AttributeAWS GovCloudSemperis
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
PlatformsWeb, Cli, SdkWeb
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 GovCloud

  • FedRAMP High Authorized
  • ITAR Compliant
  • DOD SRG Levels
  • Isolated Infrastructure
  • Full AWS Services
  • Third-party Tools
  • Government Systems
  • Security Tools

Only in Semperis

  • Active Directory Forest Recovery
  • Malware-free restore
  • Replication-stream monitoring
  • Automated rollback
  • Attack indicator scoring
  • Entra ID and Okta coverage
  • Purple Knight
  • Forest Druid

What people use each for

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

AWS GovCloud

  • Hosting controlled unclassified information for US federal agenciesnot Semperis
  • Workloads requiring FedRAMP High, ITAR or DFARS compliancenot Semperis
  • Defence and public sector systems needing US-person operationnot Semperis
  • Regulated contractors handling government datanot Semperis

Semperis

  • An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot AWS GovCloud
  • Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot AWS GovCloud
  • Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot AWS GovCloud
  • Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot AWS GovCloud

Where each one falls short

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

AWS GovCloud

  • Access is restricted to vetted US entities, with account holders screened for US citizenship or permanent residency
  • Separate IAM, console, CLI and APIs from commercial AWS, so accounts and tooling do not carry across
  • Not every AWS service is available in the two GovCloud regions
  • Pricing is not published on the product page

Semperis

  • Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
  • It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
  • Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
  • Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.

Pricing, plan by plan

AWS GovCloud

On request
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Compute
    • Storage
    • Database

Semperis

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose AWS GovCloud if

  • You need fedramp high authorized.
  • You work on Web, Cli, Sdk.
  • You also want itar compliant.
AWS GovCloud review

Choose Semperis if

  • You need active directory forest recovery.
  • You also want malware-free restore.
Semperis review

Questions people ask

Is AWS GovCloud or Semperis better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS GovCloud starts at On request and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS GovCloud or Semperis?
AWS GovCloud starts at On request and Semperis at On request.
Does AWS GovCloud or Semperis run on more platforms?
AWS GovCloud runs on Web, Cli, Sdk. Semperis runs on Web.
What is AWS GovCloud best used for?
AWS GovCloud is most often used for hosting controlled unclassified information for us federal agencies, workloads requiring fedramp high, itar or dfars compliance, defence and public sector systems needing us-person operation, regulated contractors handling government data. Of those, hosting controlled unclassified information for us federal agencies and workloads requiring fedramp high, itar or dfars compliance are not what Semperis is typically brought in for.
What can AWS GovCloud do that Semperis cannot?
AWS GovCloud covers FedRAMP High Authorized, ITAR Compliant, DOD SRG Levels, Isolated Infrastructure. Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AWS GovCloud: Is AWS GovCloud pricing different from standard AWS?

The page does not disclose specific pricing for AWS GovCloud (US). It mentions 'AWS Savings Plans' as a flexible pricing model but provides no actual costs. Users must contact AWS directly via the 'Contact us' link or visit AWS pricing calculators for estimates.

Source
Semperis: Does this replace my backups?

No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.

AWS GovCloud: Who is eligible to use AWS GovCloud?

AWS GovCloud (US) is restricted to verified U.S. government agencies and entities meeting specific screening requirements. Commercial organizations and individual users cannot use this service.

Source
Semperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?

Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.

AWS GovCloud: Can I try AWS GovCloud before committing to a contract?

The page does not disclose whether a free trial or evaluation period is available for AWS GovCloud. Pricing and trial information would need to be obtained by contacting AWS directly.

Source
Semperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?

Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.

Semperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?

The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.

Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?

It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.

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