AWS vs Google Cloud (GCP): Complete Cost & Performance Analysis (2026)
Compare Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform across Compute (EC2 vs Google Compute Engine), Storage (S3 vs Google Cloud Storage), Databases (RDS vs Cloud SQL), Kubernetes (EKS vs GKE), and data egress pricing with real-time TCO modeling.
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Amazon Web Services
AWS BenchmarkGoogle Cloud Platform
GCP BenchmarkAWS vs GCP Feature & Capability Matrix
Pricing rows are computed live from the current catalogs, not hand-typed — they'll never silently go stale.
| Feature / Capability | Amazon Web Services | Google Cloud Platform | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
Internet egress (10 TB/mo) Networking | $0.0900/GB effective | $0.1200/GB effective | AWS |
Free egress allowance Networking | None | None | Tie |
Hot object storage ($/GB-mo) Storage | $0.0230/GB-mo | $0.0200/GB-mo | GCP |
Archive storage ($/GB-mo) Storage | $0.0010/GB-mo | $0.0012/GB-mo | AWS |
Object storage tiers offered Storage | 4 tiers | 4 tiers | Tie |
Managed Kubernetes control plane (1st cluster) Kubernetes | $73.00/mo | Free (1st cluster) | GCP |
Cheapest 4 vCPU / 16 GB Linux instance Compute | $98.11/mo (t4g.xlarge) | $97.82/mo (e2-standard-4) | Tie |
Deepest 3-year reserved discount Compute | 58% off on-demand | 45% off on-demand | AWS |
Spot / preemptible instances Compute | ~70% off on-demand | ~65% off on-demand | AWS |
Managed SQL Server Database | Offered | Offered | Tie |
Windows Server on compute Compute | Offered | Offered | Tie |
Load balancer Networking | $16.43/mo | $18.25/mo | AWS |
Static IPv4 address Networking | $3.65/mo | $2.92/mo | GCP |
Automatic Sustained Use Discounts (SUD) Compute | Requires upfront Savings Plan commitment | Automatic up to 30% discount on always-on VMs | GCP |
Custom Machine Sizing Compute | Fixed predefined instance types only | Custom vCPU and RAM ratios without waste | GCP |
Breadth of Specialized Instances Compute | Largest catalog (P5, Inf2, Trn1, X2gd, Mac) | Strong AI/TPU catalog but fewer niche general types | AWS |
Cost Comparison Matrix
Side-by-Side Cost Matrix Monthly & Annual TCO
Comparing line-item equivalents across AWS us-east-1 (N. Virginia), Azure East US, GCP us-east1 (South Carolina).
Amazon Web Services
us-east-1 (N. Virginia)💡 Graviton3/4 arm64 processors offer up to 20% lower price/performance.
| Provider | Compute | Storage | Database | Network | Monthly TCO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AWS us-east-1 (N. Virginia) | $49/mo t4g.medium | $12/mo Amazon S3 (HOT) | $61/mo RDS/Aurora db.t4g.medium | $155/mo AWS Data Transfer & ELB | $277 $3,322/yr |
Azure East US | $126/mo Standard_D2as_v5 | $11/mo Azure Blob Storage (HOT) | $112/mo Azure Database Flexible Server D2ds_v5 | $152/mo Azure Data Transfer & Load Balancer | $399 $4,794/yr |
GCP us-east1 (South Carolina) | $98/mo e2-standard-2 | $10/mo Google Cloud Storage (HOT) | $93/mo Cloud SQL db-custom-2-7680 | $201/mo Google Cloud Data Transfer & Load Balancer | $402 $4,823/yr |
Cost Comparison Visualizer
Visual TCO breakdown across 3 selected providers.
Cloud Optimization Insights
Actionable techniques to decrease your infrastructure bill, per selected provider.
Migrate general-purpose workloads to AWS Graviton3/4 processors for up to 20% better price/performance compared to standard x86 instances.
If your organization owns on-premises Windows Server or SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance, apply them to Azure VMs for up to 40% savings.
Avoid paying for predefined instance shapes. Google Cloud allows custom vCPU & memory ratios tailored specifically to your exact application footprint.
Infrastructure Spec Configurator
Customize workload specs to update the matrix dynamically.
Workload Growth & Traffic Scale Simulator
Project non-linear cost curves at 2x, 5x, or 10x production capacity.
FinOps Commitment & Cash-Flow Advisor
AWS vs GCP — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Google Cloud cheaper than AWS?
GCP is often 5-15% cheaper than AWS for sustained, always-on workloads due to Google's automatic Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs) that apply without any upfront commitment. GCP also offers custom machine types that let you specify exact vCPU and RAM ratios, avoiding the waste of predefined instance sizes. However, AWS has a broader range of specialized instance types and deeper Savings Plan flexibility.
How does GKE compare to EKS in pricing?
Both GKE and EKS charge $0.10/hour ($73/month) for cluster management. However, GKE waives this fee for the first zonal cluster, making it effectively free for small deployments. EKS charges from the first cluster. For worker nodes, pricing depends on the underlying compute instances, which are comparably priced across both providers.
What is the difference between AWS and GCP data egress pricing?
AWS charges $0.09/GB for the first 10 TB of internet egress, while GCP charges $0.085/GB for the same tier — roughly 5% cheaper. Both providers offer CDN services (CloudFront vs Cloud CDN) that substantially reduce egress costs. GCP also offers free egress to other Google services and between zones within the same region.
Which cloud provider is better for AI and machine learning workloads?
GCP has strong advantages for AI/ML workloads with TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) availability, Vertex AI integration, and competitive GPU instance pricing. AWS counters with a broader selection of GPU instances (P5, Inf2, Trn1), SageMaker, and Bedrock for generative AI. The cost difference depends heavily on the specific ML framework and inference vs. training workload patterns.