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Head-to-head · Cloud Hosting

Amazon EC2 vs Azure Virtual Machines

  • 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
Azure Virtual Machines #4 in Cloud Hosting 9.2/10 Paid ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Azure

Amazon EC2 leads on 0 checks, Azure Virtual Machines 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

Amazon EC2 scores higher on our rubric for cloud hosting: 9.4 against 9.2 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #4.

Amazon EC2 is the better fit for AWS users needing flexible virtual compute. Azure Virtual Machines is the better fit for organizations standardizing on Azure.

  • Amazon EC2 fits best

    AWS users needing flexible virtual compute

  • Azure Virtual Machines fits best

    Organizations standardizing on Azure

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Side by side

Feature Amazon EC2 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Azure Virtual Machines 9.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 9.2
Ranking #2 in Cloud Hosting #4 in Cloud Hosting
Best for AWS users needing flexible virtual compute Organizations standardizing on Azure
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price — Not checked yet
Free plan — —
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web Web, Windows, Linux
Support Phone, Live chat, Email, Docs, Community · 24/7 Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SSO/SAML, 2FA SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Integrations 4 integrations 7 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon EC2 4/4 · Azure Virtual Machines 4/4
Autoscaling ✓ ✓
Load balancing ✓ ✓
Object storage ✓ ✓
Managed databases ✓ ✓
Specs
Regions available 39 Not checked yet
Monthly bandwidth Not checked yet Not checked yet
Support level Premium Premium
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
  • Supports both Linux and Windows virtual machines
  • Adds autoscaling, load balancing, zones, and scale sets
  • Connects with Azure storage, monitoring, backup, and databases
Cons
  • No free plan
  • Pricing varies by instance type, Region, operating system, and usage
  • Requires choosing among instance types and purchasing options
  • Pricing varies by region, operating system, usage, and configuration
  • Requires Azure ecosystem knowledge for the broadest fit
  • No free plan; ongoing usage can make costs complex to manage
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 →

Azure Virtual Machines is a cloud computing service for deploying and running Linux or Windows virtual machines. It suits organizations that need configurable compute for enterprise software, databases, applications, APIs, or…

Read the review →
  1. Amazon EC2Cloud Hosting 9.4Paid
  2. Azure Virtual MachinesCloud Hosting 9.2Paid

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

  • Azure Virtual Machines — where it wins

    • Supports both Linux and Windows virtual machines
    • Adds autoscaling, load balancing, zones, and scale sets
    • Connects with Azure storage, monitoring, backup, and databases

    Where it doesn't

    • Pricing varies by region, operating system, usage, and configuration
    • Requires Azure ecosystem knowledge for the broadest fit
    • No free plan; ongoing usage can make costs complex to manage
  • Amazon EC29.4/10 · Paid

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

    Visit Amazon EC2Full verdict →
  • Azure Virtual Machines9.2/10 · Paid

    Flexible Azure compute with scaling, networking, storage, and security options.

    Visit AzureFull verdict →

More comparisons

All cloud hosting comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update