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Oracle Cloud vs Portworx

Oracle Cloud logo

Oracle Cloud

Cloud

Enterprise cloud computing services

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portworx logo

Portworx

Cloud

Kubernetes-native storage and data services, priced by the node hour

From
$0.33/node hour
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Oracle Cloud has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Oracle Cloud the free trial gives US$300 of credit that expires when consumed or after 30 days, whichever comes first; Portworx bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • They diverge on capability: Oracle Cloud covers Autonomous Database, Portworx covers Container-native volumes.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Oracle Cloud and Portworx actually diverge.

Attributes where Oracle Cloud and Portworx differ
AttributeOracle CloudPortworx
Starting priceFree$0.33/node hour
Pricing modelusage-basedPer node hour
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliLinux
Founded2019Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Oracle Cloud

  • Autonomous Database
  • Compute Instances
  • MySQL Database Service
  • Object Storage
  • Block Volume
  • Load Balancers
  • Virtual Cloud Network
  • API Gateway

Only in Portworx

  • Container-native volumes
  • Failure domain placement
  • Volume encryption
  • Database automation
  • Disaster recovery
  • Autopilot capacity management
  • Hardware independence

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Oracle Cloud

  • Running virtual machines, databases and storage on Oracle's cloud infrastructurenot Portworx
  • Hosting Oracle Database workloads on infrastructure from the same vendornot Portworx

Portworx

  • Running a production PostgreSQL or Cassandra cluster on Kubernetes and needing the data to survive node lossnot Oracle Cloud
  • A platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal Kubernetes platformnot Oracle Cloud
  • Failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery positionnot Oracle Cloud
  • An OpenShift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful setsnot Oracle Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Oracle Cloud

  • The free trial gives US$300 of credit that expires when consumed or after 30 days, whichever comes first
  • The US$300 cloud credit is available only in select countries
  • Only one Oracle Cloud Free Trial or Always Free account is permitted per person
  • Accounts left idle for 30 days or more are eligible for suspension or termination as abandoned
  • Always Free NoSQL Database is restricted to the Phoenix region
  • Free Tier availability is subject to capacity limits, and the published per-service capacity figures are estimates that assume the entire credit is spent on that one service

Portworx

  • Bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • A 1,000 node hour monthly minimum applies, which means small or intermittent clusters pay for capacity they do not consume.
  • Replicating volumes across nodes consumes real capacity and network bandwidth, so the underlying infrastructure cost rises alongside the licence in a way the node hour rate does not show.
  • Pure Storage ownership means roadmap priorities are set by an array vendor, and buyers should confirm that hardware independence remains contractual rather than assumed.
  • Operating it well requires Kubernetes storage expertise, and teams that adopted Kubernetes to simplify operations often find they have added a distributed storage system to run.

Pricing, plan by plan

Oracle Cloud

Free
  • Always FreeFree
    • Oracle Autonomous Database
    • 2 compute instances
    • 100 GB storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible pricing
    • No long-term commitment
    • Enterprise support

Portworx

$0.33/node hour
  • Portworx Enterprise on virtual machine nodes$0.33/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Replicated persistent volumes
    • Encryption and disaster recovery
  • Portworx Enterprise on bare metal nodes$1.11/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Same capabilities on bare metal clusters
    • Higher rate reflects node density

Which should you pick?

Choose Oracle Cloud if

  • You need autonomous database.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want compute instances.
Oracle Cloud review

Choose Portworx if

  • You need container-native volumes.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want failure domain placement.
Portworx review

Questions people ask

Is Oracle Cloud or Portworx better?
Neither clearly leads. Oracle Cloud starts at Free and Portworx at $0.33/node hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Oracle Cloud or Portworx?
Oracle Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Oracle Cloud and $0.33/node hour for Portworx.
Does Oracle Cloud or Portworx run on more platforms?
Oracle Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Portworx runs on Linux.
Can I use Oracle Cloud for free?
Yes. Oracle Cloud has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour.
What is Oracle Cloud best used for?
Oracle Cloud is most often used for running virtual machines, databases and storage on oracle's cloud infrastructure, hosting oracle database workloads on infrastructure from the same vendor. Of those, running virtual machines, databases and storage on oracle's cloud infrastructure and hosting oracle database workloads on infrastructure from the same vendor are not what Portworx is typically brought in for.
What can Oracle Cloud do that Portworx cannot?
Oracle Cloud covers Autonomous Database, Compute Instances, MySQL Database Service, Object Storage. Portworx covers Container-native volumes, Failure domain placement, Volume encryption, Database automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Portworx: Is Portworx tied to Pure Storage hardware?

No. It runs on any Kubernetes distribution over any underlying storage, though Pure has owned it since 2020 and sets the roadmap.

Portworx: What does a real cluster cost?

At 0.33 USD per virtual node hour, twenty nodes running continuously is roughly 4,800 USD a month. Bare metal at 1.11 USD per node hour is around 16,000 USD for the same node count.

Portworx: Is backup included?

No. Portworx Backup is a separately priced product covering Kubernetes application backup.

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