Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Cloud & Infrastructure
Run code without thinking about servers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Cloud & Infrastructure
The leading cloud computing platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does; AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
- They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and AWS (Amazon Web Services) actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lambda (AWS Serverless) | AWS (Amazon Web Services) |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api | Web, Api, Cli, Mobile |
| Founded | 2014 | 2006 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), 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 Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Function-as-a-Service
- Event-driven execution
- Auto-scaling
- Pay-per-use
- Multiple languages
- Concurrency limits
- Dead Letter Queues
- Environment variables
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
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Event-driven functions without managing serversnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- API backends behind API Gatewaynot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Web hostingnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Data storagenot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Machine learningnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Big data analyticsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Application developmentnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
- Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
- Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
- Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
- VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M free requests/month
- 400,000 GB-seconds/month
- Always free
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
Which should you pick?
Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if
- You need function-as-a-service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want event-driven execution.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or AWS (Amazon Web Services) better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or AWS (Amazon Web Services)?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free.
- Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or AWS (Amazon Web Services) run on more platforms?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
- Can I use Lambda (AWS Serverless) for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Lambda (AWS Serverless) best used for?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) is most often used for event-driven functions without managing servers, api backends behind api gateway, processing s3, dynamodb, sqs and kinesis events, scheduled jobs without a always-on instance. Of those, event-driven functions without managing servers and api backends behind api gateway are not what AWS (Amazon Web Services) is typically brought in for.
- What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that AWS (Amazon Web Services) cannot?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing.