Softwr

Government · head to head

AWS GovCloud vs Teleport

AWS GovCloud logo

AWS GovCloud

Government

Secure Cloud for Government

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

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; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: AWS GovCloud covers FedRAMP High Authorized, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where AWS GovCloud and Teleport differ
AttributeAWS GovCloudTeleport
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
PlatformsWeb, Cli, SdkLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
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 Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

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 Teleport
  • Workloads requiring FedRAMP High, ITAR or DFARS compliancenot Teleport
  • Defence and public sector systems needing US-person operationnot Teleport
  • Regulated contractors handling government datanot Teleport

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot AWS GovCloud
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot AWS GovCloud
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot AWS GovCloud
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

AWS GovCloud

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

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 Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is AWS GovCloud or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS GovCloud starts at On request and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS GovCloud or Teleport?
AWS GovCloud starts at On request and Teleport at On request.
Does AWS GovCloud or Teleport run on more platforms?
AWS GovCloud runs on Web, Cli, Sdk. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can AWS GovCloud do that Teleport cannot?
AWS GovCloud covers FedRAMP High Authorized, ITAR Compliant, DOD SRG Levels, Isolated Infrastructure. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

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
Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

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
Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

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
Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

Share

Related pages

More on AWS GovCloud

More on Teleport

Keep looking

Other head to heads