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Head-to-head · Cloud Hosting

Amazon EC2 vs Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Amazon EC2 #2 in Cloud Hosting 9.4/10 Paid ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Amazon EC2
Amazon Web Services (AWS) #6 in Cloud Hosting 8.9/10 Paid ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit AWS

Amazon EC2 leads on 0 checks, Amazon Web Services (AWS) on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreAmazon EC2 · 9.4/10
  • Most featuresAmazon EC2 · 4 of 4

Amazon EC2 scores higher on our rubric for cloud hosting: 9.4 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #6.

Amazon EC2 is the better fit for AWS users needing flexible virtual compute. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the better fit for compliance-focused AWS cloud hosting.

  • Amazon EC2 fits best

    AWS users needing flexible virtual compute

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) fits best

    Compliance-focused AWS cloud hosting

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Side by side

Feature Amazon EC2 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Amazon Web Services (AWS) 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.9
Ranking #2 in Cloud Hosting #6 in Cloud Hosting
Best for AWS users needing flexible virtual compute Compliance-focused AWS cloud hosting
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price — —
Free plan — Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web Web
Support Phone, Live chat, Email, Docs, Community · 24/7 Phone, Live chat, Community, Docs · 24/7
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SSO/SAML, 2FA SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon EC2 4/4 · Amazon Web Services (AWS) 0/4
Autoscaling ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Load balancing ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Object storage ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Managed databases ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Specs
Regions available 39 Not checked yet
Monthly bandwidth Not checked yet Not checked yet
Support level Premium Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Resizable instances with per-second billing
  • Auto Scaling and automatic replacement of unhealthy instances
  • Integrates with S3, RDS, Load Balancing, and CloudWatch
  • HIPAA-eligible services and a standard Business Associate Addendum
  • Encryption, IAM, CloudTrail, backups, and compliance reporting
  • Multiple Regions, Availability Zones, dedicated hosts, and instances
Cons
  • No free plan
  • Pricing varies by instance type, Region, operating system, and usage
  • Requires choosing among instance types and purchasing options
  • Costs vary by service, region, usage, storage, transfer, and backups
  • HIPAA eligibility applies only to designated AWS services
  • Customers must configure workloads under the shared-responsibility model
Our verdict

Amazon EC2 provides resizable virtual servers for applications running in the AWS cloud. It is aimed at developers, IT teams, and organizations that need configurable compute infrastructure for development or production workloads. Users…

Read the review →

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides cloud infrastructure and managed services for organizations building, hosting, storing, and processing applications and data. It supports startups, enterprises, public-sector organizations, nonprofits,…

Read the review →
  1. Amazon EC2Cloud Hosting 9.4Paid
  2. Amazon Web Services (AWS)Cloud Hosting 8.9Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Amazon EC2 — where it wins

    • Resizable instances with per-second billing
    • Auto Scaling and automatic replacement of unhealthy instances
    • Integrates with S3, RDS, Load Balancing, and CloudWatch

    Where it doesn't

    • No free plan
    • Pricing varies by instance type, Region, operating system, and usage
    • Requires choosing among instance types and purchasing options

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) — where it wins

    • HIPAA-eligible services and a standard Business Associate Addendum
    • Encryption, IAM, CloudTrail, backups, and compliance reporting
    • Multiple Regions, Availability Zones, dedicated hosts, and instances

    Where it doesn't

    • Costs vary by service, region, usage, storage, transfer, and backups
    • HIPAA eligibility applies only to designated AWS services
    • Customers must configure workloads under the shared-responsibility model
  • Amazon EC29.4/10 · Paid

    Flexible virtual compute for AWS workloads, with usage-based pricing and broad service integration.

    Visit Amazon EC2Full verdict →
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)8.9/10 · Paid

    A broad AWS cloud platform for teams managing regulated workloads and complex infrastructure.

    Visit AWSFull verdict →

More options

More comparisons

All cloud hosting comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update