Amazon EC2 vs Google Compute Engine
Amazon EC2
aws.amazon.com
Google Compute Engine
cloud.google.comSide by side
| Figure | Amazon EC2 | Google Compute Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 2 |
| Spec score · Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Software | 9.0 (#1) | 7.7 (#3) |
| Availability | AWS states an EC2 availability SLA commitment of 99.99% for each Region. | The product page states single-instance availability SLAs of 99.95% for memory-optimized VMs and 99.9% for other VM families. |
| Compliance | AWS lists EC2 in its compliance program scope, which includes independent-auditor certifications and attestations; customers remain responsible for applicable compliance requirements. | Google Cloud lists certifications and attestations including ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, SOC 1/2/3, and PCI DSS. |
| Scaling | EC2 Auto Scaling can add or remove instances using dynamic or predictive scaling policies. | Managed instance groups can automatically add VMs to handle peak load and replace underperforming instances. |
| Security | AWS says EC2 security is built on the Nitro System, which offloads virtualization functions to dedicated hardware and isolates customer workloads. | Compute Engine offers Confidential VMs to encrypt data in use and Shielded VMs to defend against rootkits and bootkits. |
| Storage | EC2 instances can use persistent block storage through Amazon EBS and shared file storage through Amazon EFS. | Compute Engine offers block storage options including Persistent Disk and Local SSD. |
| Support | Basic AWS Support is included for all AWS customers and provides 24/7 customer service, documentation, communities, Trusted Advisor core checks, and AWS Health. | Every Google Cloud customer, including Free Trial users, receives Basic Support with documentation, community forums, billing assistance, and Active Assist. |
Plans
Amazon EC2
- AWS Free Tier credits for EC2Free
- Free TierFree
- Spot InstancesFree
- Dedicated HostsPrice not published
- On-Demand InstancesPrice not published
- Reserved InstancesPrice not published
- Savings PlansPrice not published
- Spot InstancesPrice not published
Google Compute Engine
- Compute Engine Free TierFree
- Pay-as-you-go Compute EnginePrice not published
In their own words
Amazon EC2
Amazon EC2 provides resizable, secure compute capacity as virtual servers in the cloud. It offers over 1,000 instance types across Intel, AMD, and Arm processors for workloads including web and enterprise applications, high-performance computing, machine learning, SAP, Windows, and macOS. EC2 Auto Scaling can add or remove instances under dynamic or predictive policies. Instances can use persistent block storage through Amazon EBS and shared file storage through Amazon EFS; the service also provides a Query API and AWS SDKs. AWS says its Nitro System moves virtualization functions to dedicated hardware and isolates customer workloads. EC2 appears in AWS’s compliance program scope, though customers remain responsible for applicable compliance requirements. AWS states a 99.99% availability SLA commitment for each Region. Billing is per instance-hour or per second depending on instance type and operating system; eligible per-second use has a 60-second minimum. New AWS customers can receive up to $200 in credits, and the free plan lasts six months after account creation. The T4g free trial has monthly hour limits and surplus CPU credits can incur charges.
Google Compute Engine
Google Compute Engine is an infrastructure-as-a-service product for running self-managed virtual machines on Google infrastructure. Choose a predefined machine type or configure a custom VM with 1 to 96 vCPUs and up to 8.0 GB of memory per core. Linux and Windows VMs are supported, with images including Debian, Ubuntu, FreeBSD, and Windows Server. Storage options include Persistent Disk and Local SSD. Managed instance groups can add VMs for peak load and replace underperforming instances; live migration can move a VM to another host in the same zone when its host goes down. Confidential VMs encrypt data in use, while Shielded VMs defend against rootkits and bootkits. The service integrates with Cloud Storage, App Engine, and BigQuery, and resources can be controlled through a REST-based API. Its free tier is free, within monthly limits and eligible US regions. Pay-as-you-go pricing is usage-based, with VM resources billed after a one-minute minimum in one-second increments.