If you are starting your cloud journey, the biggest confusion is: "Which cloud should I learn first?"
There are three giants in the market: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Together, they control almost 70% of the world's cloud market. But which one is right for you?
Comparison Table: Top 20 Differences
We have compared the three clouds across 20 major categories to help you decide.
| Feature / Category | AWS (Amazon) | Azure (Microsoft) | GCP (Google) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Market Share | #1 (Leader ~32%) | #2 (Strong Growth ~23%) | #3 (Niche Favorite ~10%) |
| 2. Launch Year | 2006 (Most Mature) | 2010 | 2011 |
| 3. Virtual Servers | EC2 Instances | Virtual Machines (VM) | Compute Engine |
| 4. Object Storage | S3 (Simple Storage Service) | Blob Storage | Cloud Storage |
| 5. Block Storage | EBS (Elastic Block Store) | Managed Disks | Persistent Disk |
| 6. Relational Database | RDS | SQL Database | Cloud SQL |
| 7. NoSQL Database | DynamoDB | CosmosDB | Firestore / BigTable |
| 8. Serverless Functions | AWS Lambda | Azure Functions | Cloud Functions |
| 9. Kubernetes (K8s) | EKS (Elastic Kubernetes) | AKS (Azure Kubernetes) | GKE (Google Kubernetes) |
| 10. Docker Registry | ECR | ACR | Artifact Registry |
| 11. Machine Learning | SageMaker | Azure Machine Learning | Vertex AI (Strongest AI) |
| 12. Monitoring Tool | CloudWatch | Azure Monitor | Cloud Monitoring |
| 13. Infrastructure as Code | CloudFormation | ARM Templates | Deployment Manager |
| 14. Content Delivery (CDN) | CloudFront | Azure CDN | Cloud CDN |
| 15. Virtual Network | VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) | VNet (Virtual Network) | VPC |
| 16. Pricing Model | Per Second | Per Minute | Per Second (Cheapest) |
| 17. Free Tier | 12 Months Free | 12 Months Free | $300 Credit (90 Days) |
| 18. Hybrid Cloud | AWS Outposts | Azure Stack | Google Anthos |
| 19. Open Source Love | Low (Proprietary Focus) | Medium | High (Created K8s, TensorFlow) |
| 20. Key Strength | Service Depth & Stability | Windows Enterprise Integration | Big Data & AI/ML |
Detailed Breakdown
1. AWS (Amazon Web Services)
The King of Cloud. AWS was the first to start the cloud revolution. Because it has been around the longest, it has the most services and the biggest community.
- Who uses it? Netflix, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch.
- Why learn it? It has the most job openings. If you are a beginner, AWS is the safest bet to get hired quickly.
2. Microsoft Azure
The Enterprise Choice. Azure is built by Microsoft. Most big companies (banks, hospitals) already use Windows and Outlook. Moving to Azure is very easy for them.
- Who uses it? Samsung, eBay, BMW, Boeing.
- Why learn it? If you want to work in large MNCs or if you come from a .NET/C# background.
3. Google Cloud (GCP)
The Innovator. Google isn't trying to beat AWS at everything. Instead, they focus on what they are best at: Data and AI. They also invented Kubernetes.
- Who uses it? Spotify, Twitter, PayPal, The New York Times.
- Why learn it? If you are interested in Data Science, Machine Learning, or working at "cool" tech startups.