Cloud computing has revolutionized the way businesses and individuals manage and deploy their applications and services. Two major players in the cloud computing market are Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Both AWS and Azure offer free tier options, allowing users to explore and experiment with their cloud services at no cost. In this blog post, we will delve into a detailed comparison of the free tier cloud pricing between AWS and Azure, covering various services and resources.
| Cloud Provider | AWS Free Tier | Azure Free Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Compute | 750 hours of Amazon EC2 instances per month for 12 months | 750 hours of Azure B1S virtual machines per month for 12 months |
| Storage | 5 GB of Amazon S3 standard storage, 20,000 Get Requests, and 2,000 Put Requests per month for 12 months | 5 GB of Azure Blob Storage and 20,000 storage transactions per month for 12 months |
| Database | 750 hours of Amazon RDS database instances per month for 12 months | 750 hours of Azure SQL Database per month for 12 months |
| Networking | 15 GB of data transfer out per month for 12 months | 5 GB of data transfer out per month for 12 months |
| AI/ML | 5,000 Amazon Lex text requests per month for 12 months | 5,000 Text Requests and 20 Text Translations per month for 12 months |
| Analytics | 1 million Amazon CloudWatch API requests per month for 12 months | 1 million Azure Monitor API data points per month for 12 months |
| Internet of Things (IoT) | 250,000 messages (published or delivered) per month for 12 months | 8,000 messages per day for 12 months |
| Machine Learning | 10 hours of Amazon EC2 P2 instances with 1 GPU or P3 instances with 1 GPU per month for 12 months | Unlimited access to Azure Machine Learning Studio Free tier |
| Management Tools | 10 Amazon CloudWatch alarms, 10 Amazon CloudWatch metrics, and 1,000,000 API requests per month for 12 months | 50 Azure Monitor API data points per month for 12 months |
| DevOps | 1,000 minutes of AWS CodeBuild per month for 12 months | Free access to Azure DevOps Services (formerly Visual Studio Team Services) |
Compute: AWS provides 750 hours of Amazon EC2 instances per month for 12 months under its free tier offering. Users can leverage this compute power to run applications, host websites, or perform data processing tasks. On the other hand, Azure offers 750 hours of Azure B1S virtual machines per month for 12 months. This allows users to experience the flexibility and scalability of virtual machine instances in the Azure cloud environment.
Storage: When it comes to storage, AWS offers 5 GB of Amazon S3 standard storage, along with 20,000 Get Requests and 2,000 Put Requests per month for 12 months. With Amazon S3, users can securely store and retrieve any amount of data at any time. Azure, on the other hand, provides 5 GB of Azure Blob Storage and 20,000 storage transactions per month for 12 months. Azure Blob Storage offers reliable and scalable object storage for unstructured data.
Database: For database services, AWS offers 750 hours of Amazon RDS database instances per month for 12 months. Amazon RDS makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. Azure provides 750 hours of Azure SQL Database per month for 12 months, enabling users to build and deploy intelligent, scalable, and secure SQL databases.
Networking: In terms of networking, AWS offers 15 GB of data transfer out per month for 12 months. This enables users to transfer data between their EC2 instances and the internet. Azure, on the other hand, provides 5 GB of data transfer out per month for 12 months. This allows users to efficiently move data in and out of their Azure environment.
AI/ML: Both AWS and Azure offer AI and machine learning capabilities in their free tier offerings. AWS provides 5,000 Amazon Lex text requests per month for 12 months. Amazon Lex enables developers to build conversational interfaces using voice and text. Azure offers 5,000 Text Requests and 20 Text Translations per month for 12 months. With Azure, users can easily integrate language understanding into their applications.
Analytics: Analytics is a crucial aspect of cloud computing, and both AWS and Azure provide free tier options for this service. AWS offers 1 million Amazon CloudWatch API requests per month for 12 months. Amazon CloudWatch allows users to monitor their applications, resources, and services in real-time. Azure provides 1 million Azure Monitor API data points per month for 12 months. Azure Monitor helps users gain insights into the performance and availability of their applications and infrastructure.
Additional Services: In addition to the services mentioned above, both AWS and Azure offer free tier access to several other services. AWS provides free tier access to services like Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, management tools, and DevOps. Azure, on the other hand, offers free tier access to services like IoT, machine learning, management tools, and Azure DevOps Services.
Internet of Things (IoT): AWS offers 250,000 messages (published or delivered) per month for 12 months under its free tier IoT service. This allows users to connect and manage IoT devices and collect data from them. Azure offers 8,000 messages per day for 12 months. With Azure IoT Hub, users can securely connect, monitor, and manage their IoT devices at scale.
Machine Learning: Both AWS and Azure provide free tier access to machine learning services. AWS offers 10 hours of Amazon EC2 P2 instances with 1 GPU or P3 instances with 1 GPU per month for 12 months. This enables users to train and deploy machine learning models using powerful GPU instances. Azure, on the other hand, offers unlimited access to Azure Machine Learning Studio Free tier. With Azure Machine Learning Studio, users can build, deploy, and manage machine learning models at scale.
Management Tools: AWS offers 10 Amazon CloudWatch alarms, 10 Amazon CloudWatch metrics, and 1,000,000 API requests per month for 12 months under its free tier management tools. Amazon CloudWatch allows users to monitor and manage their AWS resources and applications. Azure provides 50 Azure Monitor API data points per month for 12 months. Azure Monitor helps users gain insights into the performance and availability of their applications and infrastructure.
DevOps: Both AWS and Azure provide free tier access to DevOps services. AWS offers 1,000 minutes of AWS CodeBuild per month for 12 months. AWS CodeBuild is a fully managed build service that compiles source code, runs tests, and produces software packages. Azure offers free access to Azure DevOps Services (formerly Visual Studio Team Services). Azure DevOps Services provides a set of development tools, including version control, agile planning, and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.
Conclusion: Choosing the right cloud provider is crucial for businesses and individuals looking to leverage the power of cloud computing. AWS and Azure both offer free tier options that allow users to explore and experiment with their cloud services. In this blog post, we have compared the free tier cloud pricing of AWS and Azure, covering various services such as compute, storage, database, networking, AI/ML, analytics, and additional services like IoT, machine learning, management tools, and DevOps.
While AWS and Azure offer similar services in their free tiers, it is important to carefully evaluate the specific requirements and offerings of each provider to make an informed decision. Consider factors such as the types of applications you plan to deploy, the size and scale of your workload, and the level of support and resources you require.
Remember, the free tier is a great starting point to explore and get hands-on experience with cloud services, but as your needs grow, it is essential to consider the pricing and features of each provider's paid offerings. Always review the official documentation and consult with the respective cloud providers for the most up-to-date and accurate information on their free tier offerings.