Software · head to head
Google Cloud Platform vs AWS (Amazon Web Services)
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Software
The leading cloud computing platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Google Cloud Platform the $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it; 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: Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Google Cloud Platform and AWS (Amazon Web Services) actually diverge.
| Attribute | Google Cloud Platform | AWS (Amazon Web Services) |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api, Cli | Web, Api, Cli, Mobile |
| Founded | 2008 | 2006 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Google Cloud Platform
- Compute Engine
- App Engine
- Cloud Run
- Cloud Storage
- Cloud SQL
- BigQuery
- Dataflow
- Cloud Pub/Sub
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
Both cover
- Terraform
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Datadog
- SOC2
- ISO27001
- HIPAA
- GDPR
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Google Cloud Platform
- Running compute, storage and managed data services on Google's cloudnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Hosting Kubernetes workloads on GKE alongside BigQuery analyticsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Web hostingnot Google Cloud Platform
- Data storagenot Google Cloud Platform
- Machine learningnot Google Cloud Platform
- Big data analyticsnot Google Cloud Platform
- Application developmentnot Google Cloud Platform
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
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
Google Cloud Platform
Free- Free TierFree
- Compute Engine 744 hours/month
- Cloud Storage 5GB
- Cloud SQL 250MB storage
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 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.
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 Google Cloud Platform or AWS (Amazon Web Services) better?
- Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud Platform 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, Google Cloud Platform or AWS (Amazon Web Services)?
- Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free.
- Does Google Cloud Platform or AWS (Amazon Web Services) run on more platforms?
- Google Cloud Platform runs on Web, Api, Cli. AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
- Can I use Google Cloud Platform for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Google Cloud Platform best used for?
- Google Cloud Platform is most often used for running compute, storage and managed data services on google's cloud, hosting kubernetes workloads on gke alongside bigquery analytics. Of those, running compute, storage and managed data services on google's cloud and hosting kubernetes workloads on gke alongside bigquery analytics are not what AWS (Amazon Web Services) is typically brought in for.
- What can Google Cloud Platform do that AWS (Amazon Web Services) cannot?
- Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage. AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Both handle Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, Datadog.