Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Cloud File Storage Services

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) vs Amazon FSx for Windows File Server

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) #6 in Cloud File Storage Services 8.9/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 2 features Visit Amazon EFS
Amazon FSx for Windows File Server #7 in Cloud File Storage Services 8.8/10 Paid ✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Amazon FSx

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) leads on 0 checks, Amazon FSx for Windows File Server on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreAmazon Elastic File System (EFS) · 8.9/10
  • Most featuresAmazon FSx for Windows File Server · 2 of 2

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) scores higher on our rubric for cloud file storage services: 8.9 against 8.8 out of 10; our editors rank them #6 and #7.

On scaling model, Amazon FSx for Windows File Server gives you Provisioned where Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) offers Elastic.

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is the better fit for elastic AWS-native file storage. Amazon FSx for Windows File Server is the better fit for low-cost Windows-compatible file shares.

  • Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) fits best

    Elastic AWS-native file storage

  • Amazon FSx for Windows File Server fits best

    Low-cost Windows-compatible file shares

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) 8.9/10 Visit ↗ Amazon FSx for Windows File Server 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.9 8.8
Ranking #6 in Cloud File Storage Services #7 in Cloud File Storage Services
Best for Elastic AWS-native file storage Low-cost Windows-compatible file shares
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price $0.30/GB/mo $0.01/GB/mo
Free plan — —
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web, Linux Web
Support Docs Docs, Community
Integrations 11 integrations 8 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) 1/2 · Amazon FSx for Windows File Server 2/2
Snapshots Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Managed backups ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported protocols NFSv4.0, NFSv4.1 SMB
Maximum capacity Not checked yet 64 TB
Availability zones Not checked yet 1 zones
Scaling model Elastic Provisioned
Our review
Pros
  • Automatic scaling to petabyte scale
  • Regional multi-Availability Zone deployment
  • NFS access across EC2, ECS, EKS, Fargate, and Lambda
  • SMB access with Microsoft Active Directory integration
  • Daily and on-demand backups plus Windows shadow copies
  • AWS integrations including Backup, CloudWatch, and CloudFormation
Cons
  • No permanent free plan
  • Designed around Linux workloads and NFS access
  • Costs vary by Region, storage class, throughput, and data protection use
  • Core protocol coverage is limited to SMB
  • The entry plan uses Single-AZ HDD storage
  • Pricing varies with region, deployment, capacity, and data transfer
Our verdict

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a managed, shared cloud file system for Linux workloads. It provides NFSv4.0 and NFSv4.1 access for AWS compute services, including Amazon EC2, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS, AWS Fargate, and AWS Lambda. EFS…

Read the review →

Amazon FSx for Windows File Server is a fully managed cloud file system for shared Windows-compatible storage in AWS. It serves Windows applications, Linux and macOS clients, and AWS services over SMB. Its fit is strongest for business…

Read the review →
  1. Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)Cloud File Storage Services 8.9Paid
  2. Amazon FSx for Windows File ServerCloud File Storage Services 8.8Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) — where it wins

    • Automatic scaling to petabyte scale
    • Regional multi-Availability Zone deployment
    • NFS access across EC2, ECS, EKS, Fargate, and Lambda

    Where it doesn't

    • No permanent free plan
    • Designed around Linux workloads and NFS access
    • Costs vary by Region, storage class, throughput, and data protection use

  • Amazon FSx for Windows File Server — where it wins

    • SMB access with Microsoft Active Directory integration
    • Daily and on-demand backups plus Windows shadow copies
    • AWS integrations including Backup, CloudWatch, and CloudFormation

    Where it doesn't

    • Core protocol coverage is limited to SMB
    • The entry plan uses Single-AZ HDD storage
    • Pricing varies with region, deployment, capacity, and data transfer

More comparisons

All cloud file storage services comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update