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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs Consul

Lambda (AWS Serverless) logo

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Cloud & Infrastructure

Run code without thinking about servers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Consul logo

Consul

Network & Connectivity

Service discovery, networking, and security

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Consul covers Service discovery.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Consul actually diverge.

Attributes where Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Consul differ
AttributeLambda (AWS Serverless)Consul
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureNetwork & Connectivity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2014).

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 Consul

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

Both cover

  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment

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 Consul
  • API backends behind API Gatewaynot Consul
  • Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot Consul
  • Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot Consul
  • Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot Consul

Consul

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

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

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • 1M free requests/month
    • 400,000 GB-seconds/month
    • Always free

Consul

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

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.
Lambda (AWS Serverless) 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 Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Consul better?
Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) 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, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Consul?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Consul at Free.
Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Consul run on more platforms?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
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 Consul is typically brought in for.
What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that Consul cannot?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter. Both handle Encryption, Cloud deployment.
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