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SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS are the three cloud service models named by NIST. They differ mainly in what a provider delivers and how much of the technology stack you manage: use a finished application with SaaS, deploy your application on a managed platform with PaaS, or rent computing building blocks with IaaS. Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a related remote-desktop category, while Function as a Service (FaaS) is an additional way to run event-triggered code—not a fourth model in NIST’s original list.
What cloud service models describe
A cloud service model describes the capability a provider offers and the boundary between the provider’s work and the customer’s. It helps answer practical questions: Are you using an application someone else operates, deploying software on a managed platform, or configuring infrastructure for software you choose?
NIST defines cloud computing as on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or provider interaction. In NIST Special Publication 800-145 (2011), Peter Mell and Timothy Grance write: “This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.” Those five characteristics are on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.
The three service models are SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. The four deployment models—private, community, public, and hybrid—describe a different dimension: how cloud infrastructure is arranged or made available. A public cloud is not another service model alongside SaaS or IaaS; software delivered through a public cloud can still be SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS.
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SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS compared
| Model | What you receive | What you primarily manage | Shorthand |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS (Software as a Service) | Use of an application running on cloud infrastructure, often through a browser or client. | Your users, access, service settings, and the data you put into it—not the underlying infrastructure or application implementation. | Use a finished application. |
| PaaS (Platform as a Service) | A provider-supported platform and tools for deploying applications you create or acquire. | Your deployed application and possibly its hosting configuration—not the underlying network, servers, operating systems, or storage. | Deploy your application on a managed platform. |
| IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) | Fundamental computing resources such as processing, storage, and networks. | Operating systems, storage configuration, deployed software and applications, and possibly selected network components—not the underlying cloud infrastructure. | Rent computing building blocks and manage more of the stack. |
These boundaries follow NIST SP 800-145. A product may combine capabilities, so classify the particular capability you use rather than relying only on its marketing label. NIST SP 500-322 (2018) offers guidance on assessing whether a capability fits the cloud definition and which of the three models best describes it.
How to choose among the three models
Start with the work you need to do, then decide how much operational responsibility and control your team wants. No model is universally best; fit depends on the workload, customization needs, available skills, and desired level of operational control.
- Choose SaaS when your goal is to use an application, not build or operate its underlying software stack. You still need to configure accounts and access, and manage the data you enter.
- Choose PaaS when you need to deploy your own application but prefer the provider to manage more of the hosting foundation. Your application and its configuration remain important responsibilities.
- Choose IaaS when you need fundamental compute, storage, or network resources and want to manage more of the environment above them. That greater control also means more configuration and operational work.
For example, a team that only needs to use a hosted business application is thinking in SaaS terms. A team deploying its own application to a provider-managed platform is working in PaaS terms. A team provisioning computing resources and installing or configuring its own operating system and software is working in IaaS terms. These are explanatory examples; real services can span more than one capability.
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For developers, a hosted API can be a practical example of consuming a remote capability rather than operating the provider’s infrastructure. ScreenshotNeo offers a website screenshot API and an MCP server for AI agents. A single request can ask its API to capture a URL; that example illustrates consuming a hosted service, not a claim that every API has the same architecture or a formal classification under every provider’s terms.
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For example, this cURL request captures a page as a WebP file (replace the sample URL and API key as needed). See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpWhat DaaS means—and what it does not mean
In this article, DaaS means Desktop as a Service: a cloud service category that remotely delivers desktop functions from a provider. ITU-T Recommendation Y.3503 (2014) describes this category. AWS documentation gives hosted virtual desktops as an implementation example: people access desktops from their devices, while administration can be centralized.
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DaaS is not one of the three service models named in NIST SP 800-145. It is more useful to think of it as a specialized end-user-computing service that can be discussed alongside SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. The acronym is also used for Data as a Service in other contexts, so spell out the intended meaning rather than assuming that readers share it.
AWS describes remote work, contact centers, training, back-office work, knowledge workers, and on-demand developer workstations as possible DaaS use cases. Those are vendor-described examples, not independent proof that DaaS is cheaper or more secure for every organization. A hosted desktop may keep sensitive data on the virtual desktop rather than the endpoint, but that architectural possibility is not a security guarantee.
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Function as a Service (FaaS) is an additional way to deliver computing capability. A developer supplies small, modular functions, and the provider runs them in response to specified events. Google Cloud describes the provider’s runtime as managing the infrastructure for this pattern and groups FaaS with serverless in its cloud-model discussion.
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FaaS/serverless is useful to understand when a workload consists of event-triggered code, but it is not a fourth service model in NIST SP 800-145’s original taxonomy. “Serverless” also does not mean that servers do not exist; it means users do not directly manage that server infrastructure in the way they would in a more hands-on deployment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who is responsible for security?
Using a managed cloud service does not transfer every security duty to the provider. Google Cloud’s shared-responsibility guidance says the provider remains responsible for underlying network and infrastructure, while customers remain responsible for matters such as access policies and data. The detailed boundary depends on the particular service. NIST SP 800-210 (2020) likewise treats access-control guidance across the models as related but not identical: it is hierarchical in some respects, with model-specific focus.
Use the model as a starting point for asking better security questions, not as a substitute for the service’s documentation, contract, or security responsibility matrix. Before deployment, establish:
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- Which party patches and operates each layer of the service?
- Who configures identities, roles, and access policies?
- How is data protected, retained, and deleted, and what controls are available to you?
- Which settings must your team monitor or review under the specific service agreement?
It is inaccurate to assume that a SaaS provider handles every security concern, or that IaaS is inherently insecure. The responsibility split changes with the service and the way it is configured.
How to classify a service that mixes capabilities
Some offerings do not fit neatly into a one-word label because a provider may expose several capabilities. Classify the function you are evaluating, not the entire vendor. Ask in order:
- What is being delivered? Is it an application to use, a platform for deploying applications, or fundamental infrastructure resources?
- What do you control? Identify the layers your team configures, deploys, or operates, and the layers the provider operates.
- Does the cloud definition fit? Consider NIST’s cloud characteristics rather than treating any hosted product as cloud solely because it is online.
- Check the service-specific boundary. Confirm the actual responsibility split in the provider’s documentation and agreement; implementations differ.
NIST SP 500-322 is particularly relevant when a service’s label is unclear: it addresses evaluation of whether a capability qualifies as cloud and whether SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS is the best description. A deployment label such as “public cloud” answers a separate question about infrastructure arrangement, not what capability the customer receives.
Common misconceptions
- “There are only three cloud service categories in every context.” SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS are the three models in NIST SP 800-145. Other useful categories or delivery patterns, including DaaS and FaaS, may be discussed alongside them without changing that taxonomy.
- “Public cloud is a service model.” Public cloud is a deployment model. It can host services described using the SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS model.
- “Managed means the provider handles everything.” Customers retain responsibilities such as data and access-policy management, with the exact division depending on the service.
- “Serverless has no servers.” The term describes a model in which the user does not directly manage the server infrastructure; the provider still runs the underlying environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one organization use more than one cloud service model?
Yes. An organization can consume finished applications for some work, deploy its own software on a managed platform for other work, and provision infrastructure where it needs more control. Consider each workload and capability separately; the model is not necessarily a company-wide choice.
Does a vendor’s product label determine its service model?
No. A label is a starting point, not a substitute for examining what capability is delivered and which layers the customer and provider manage. NIST SP 500-322 provides a framework for evaluating cloud capabilities against the SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS definitions.
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