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 Hosting

Azure Virtual Machines vs Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Azure Virtual Machines #4 in Cloud Hosting 9.2/10 Paid ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Azure
Amazon Web Services (AWS) #6 in Cloud Hosting 8.9/10 Paid ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit AWS

Azure Virtual Machines 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 scoreAzure Virtual Machines · 9.2/10
  • Most featuresAzure Virtual Machines · 4 of 4

Azure Virtual Machines scores higher on our rubric for cloud hosting: 9.2 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #6.

Azure Virtual Machines is the better fit for organizations standardizing on Azure. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the better fit for compliance-focused AWS cloud hosting.

  • Azure Virtual Machines fits best

    Organizations standardizing on Azure

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) fits best

    Compliance-focused AWS cloud hosting

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 Azure Virtual Machines 9.2/10 Visit ↗ Amazon Web Services (AWS) 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.2 8.9
Ranking #4 in Cloud Hosting #6 in Cloud Hosting
Best for Organizations standardizing on Azure Compliance-focused AWS cloud hosting
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price Not checked yet —
Free plan — Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web, Windows, Linux Web
Support Tickets, Community, Docs · 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 Azure Virtual Machines 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 Not checked yet Not checked yet
Monthly bandwidth Not checked yet Not checked yet
Support level Premium Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Supports both Linux and Windows virtual machines
  • Adds autoscaling, load balancing, zones, and scale sets
  • Connects with Azure storage, monitoring, backup, and databases
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

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 →

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. Azure Virtual MachinesCloud Hosting 9.2Paid
  2. Amazon Web Services (AWS)Cloud Hosting 8.9Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • 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 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
  • Azure Virtual Machines9.2/10 · Paid

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

    Visit AzureFull 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