Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs Google Cloud Platform
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Cloud & Infrastructure
Run code without thinking about servers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Google Cloud Platform
Cloud & Infrastructure
Trusted by millions of enterprises
- 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; Google Cloud Platform the $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it
- They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Google Cloud Platform actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lambda (AWS Serverless) | Google Cloud Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api | Web, Api, Cli |
| Founded | 2014 | 2008 |
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 Google Cloud Platform
- Compute Engine
- App Engine
- Cloud Run
- Cloud Storage
- Cloud SQL
- BigQuery
- Dataflow
- Cloud Pub/Sub
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 Google Cloud Platform
- API backends behind API Gatewaynot Google Cloud Platform
- Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot Google Cloud Platform
- Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot Google Cloud Platform
- Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot Google Cloud Platform
Google Cloud Platform
- Running compute, storage and managed data services on Google's cloudnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Hosting Kubernetes workloads on GKE alongside BigQuery analyticsnot 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
Google Cloud Platform
- The $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it
- Free Tier Compute Engine is limited to one non-preemptible e2-micro instance per month and only in the us-west1, us-central1 or us-east1 regions
- Free Tier Compute Engine includes only 30 GB-months of standard persistent disk and 1 GB of outbound North America data transfer per month
- Free Tier Cloud Storage covers 5 GB-months of regional storage in US regions only, 5,000 Class A and 50,000 Class B operations per month
- Free Tier outbound data transfer allowances exclude destinations in China and Australia
- Compute Engine resources are governed by allocation quotas that require a quota increase request to exceed
Pricing, plan by plan
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M free requests/month
- 400,000 GB-seconds/month
- Always free
Google Cloud Platform
Free- Free TierFree
- Compute Engine 744 hours/month
- Cloud Storage 5GB
- Cloud SQL 250MB storage
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 Google Cloud Platform if
- You need compute engine.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli.
- You also want app engine.
Questions people ask
- Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Google Cloud Platform better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Google Cloud Platform at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Google Cloud Platform?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Google Cloud Platform at Free.
- Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Google Cloud Platform run on more platforms?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. Google Cloud Platform runs on Web, Api, Cli.
- 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 Google Cloud Platform is typically brought in for.
- What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that Google Cloud Platform cannot?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage. Both handle Encryption, Cloud deployment.