Azure NetApp Files vs Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)

Azure NetApp Files9.1Visit Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)8.9Visit

Higher score Azure NetApp Files #4 in Cloud File Storage Services 9.1/10 Paid ✓ 2 of 2 features Visit site

vs

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) #6 in Cloud File Storage Services 8.9/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 2 features Visit Amazon EFS

• Azure NetApp Files fits best

  Azure enterprise file volumes

• Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) fits best

  Elastic AWS-native file storage

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Side by side

Feature	Azure NetApp Files 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.9
Ranking	#4 in Cloud File Storage Services	#6 in Cloud File Storage Services
Best for	Azure enterprise file volumes	Elastic AWS-native file storage
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	—	$0.30/GB/mo
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux
Support	Tickets, Community, Docs	Docs
Integrations	6 integrations	11 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Azure NetApp Files 2/2 · Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) 1/2
Snapshots	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Managed backups	✓	✓
Specs
Supported protocols	NFS, SMB, dual protocol, Object REST API	NFSv4.0, NFSv4.1
Maximum capacity	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Availability zones	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Scaling model	Provisioned	Elastic
Our review
Pros	Supports NFS, SMB, and dual-protocol file volumes Offers snapshots, cloning, backups, replication, and tiering Connects with Azure analytics, AI, Kubernetes, and VMware services	Automatic scaling to petabyte scale Regional multi-Availability Zone deployment NFS access across EC2, ECS, EKS, Fargate, and Lambda
Cons	Provisioned capacity and throughput require configuration planning The service has no free plan Elastic Storage is listed as a preview service	No permanent free plan Designed around Linux workloads and NFS access Costs vary by Region, storage class, throughput, and data protection use
Our verdict	Azure NetApp Files is a managed cloud file storage service for Azure workloads that need shared, high-performance file access. It supports NFS, SMB, dual-protocol volumes, and an Object REST API, making it suitable for enterprise file… Read the review →	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 →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Azure NetApp Files — where it wins

  • Supports NFS, SMB, and dual-protocol file volumes
  • Offers snapshots, cloning, backups, replication, and tiering
  • Connects with Azure analytics, AI, Kubernetes, and VMware services

  Where it doesn't

  • Provisioned capacity and throughput require configuration planning
  • The service has no free plan
  • Elastic Storage is listed as a preview service

• 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

• Azure NetApp Files9.1/10 · Paid

  A configurable Azure file service for enterprise workloads needing shared file access.

  Visit siteFull verdict →
• Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)8.9/10 · Paid

  Elastic NFS file storage for Linux workloads running across AWS services.

  Visit Amazon EFSFull verdict →