Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Google Cloud Platform (GCP): Complete 2026 Comparison
In-depth comparison of these two hosting providers across pricing, performance, features, and support.
Overall Winner
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Wins in 1 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Price
- 3.5/5 overall rating
Category Winners
Best Price
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
$5.00/mo vs $7.23/mo
Best Value
Tie
Similar renewal pricing
Best Performance
Tie
Similar performance metrics
Best Support
Tie
Similar support options
Best for WordPress
Tie
Similar WordPress features
Best for Developers
Tie
Similar developer features
Best for Beginners
Tie
Similar beginner-friendliness
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Cloud Infrastructure | Cloud Infrastructure |
| Monthly Price | $5.00/mo | $7.23/mo |
| Renewal Price | $5.00 | $7.23 |
| Renewal Markup | 0% | 0% |
| Overall Rating | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 1.3/5 | 1.5/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 361 | 31 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $60.00 | $86.76 |
| Second Year Cost | $60.00 | $86.76 |
| Money Back Guarantee | — | — |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | ||
| Minimum Contract | 0 months | 0 months |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 40 GB | — |
| Storage Type | SSD | SSD/PERSISTENT DISK |
| Bandwidth | 2000 GB | — |
| Max Websites | — | — |
| Max Databases | — | — |
| PHP Versions | — | — |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | — | — |
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | ||
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | ||
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | AWS Shield Standard (free); Shield Advanced ($3000/mo+) | Cloud Armor DDoS protection |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Manual/Snapshot-based | Manual/Snapshot-based |
| Backup Retention | — | — |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Ticket, Phone, Chat, Knowledge Base, Forums | Ticket, Phone, Chat, Knowledge Base, Community Forum |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | Paid support plans | Paid support plans |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | 24/7 with paid support | 24/7 with paid support |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | 0 | 0 |
| Mailbox Size | — | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | CloudFront (additional cost) | Cloud CDN (additional cost) |
| Server Locations | US East (Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), US West (California), Canada (Central), Canada West (Calgary), South America (Sao Paulo), Europe (Ireland), Europe (London), Europe (Frankfurt), Europe (Paris), Europe (Stockholm), Europe (Milan), Europe (Spain), Europe (Zurich), Middle East (Bahrain), Middle East (UAE), Africa (Cape Town), Asia Pacific (Mumbai), Asia Pacific (Singapore), Asia Pacific (Sydney), Asia Pacific (Tokyo), Asia Pacific (Seoul), Asia Pacific (Osaka), Asia Pacific (Hong Kong), Asia Pacific (Jakarta), Asia Pacific (Melbourne), Asia Pacific (Hyderabad), China (Beijing), China (Ningxia), Israel (Tel Aviv), Thailand (Bangkok), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) | Iowa (US), South Carolina (US), Virginia (US), Oregon (US), Los Angeles (US), Salt Lake City (US), Las Vegas (US), Columbus (US), Dallas (US), Montreal (Canada), Toronto (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Belgium, London (UK), Netherlands, Frankfurt (Germany), Zurich (Switzerland), Milan (Italy), Paris (France), Warsaw (Poland), Madrid (Spain), Finland, Stockholm (Sweden), Tel Aviv (Israel), Doha (Qatar), Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Mumbai (India), Delhi (India), Singapore, Jakarta (Indonesia), Taiwan, Tokyo (Japan), Osaka (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Hong Kong, Sydney (Australia), Melbourne (Australia), Johannesburg (South Africa) |
| Server Location Count | 38 | 40 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | ||
| Brotli Compression | ||
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | AWS Console / Lightsail Console | Google Cloud Console |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | — | — |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 0 | 0 |
| Migration Turnaround | — | — |
| Paid Migration Cost | — | — |
| Migration Quality | — | — |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001, PCI DSS Level 1, HIPAA, FedRAMP | SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, PCI DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 3.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Performance Rating | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Support Quality | 2.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| Security Rating | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Features Rating | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 2.5/10 | 2.5/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 2.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 2.0/10 | 1.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Developers | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 1.0/10 | 1.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | 2TB included on $5 Lightsail; overage $0.09/GB | Pay per GB egress; rates vary by destination |
| Storage Overage | Pay for additional volumes/snapshots | Pay for storage used |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | ||
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2006 | 2008 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | Amazon.com Inc. (subsidiary) | Alphabet Inc. (Google subsidiary) |
| Green Hosting | ||
| Instant Activation | ||
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, India, Canada | United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, Singapore, India, Brazil, Canada |
| Local Currencies | USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, SGD, BRL, INR, CAD | USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, SGD, INR, BRL, CAD |
| Support Languages | English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2, ISO 27001 | GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2, ISO 27001 |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.6/5 | 4.5/5 |
| BBB Rating | NR | NR |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | — | — |
| Max DB Size | — | — |
| Max Upload Size | — | — |
| Database Type | MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL/MSSQL/Oracle | Cloud SQL (MySQL/PostgreSQL/MSSQL), Spanner, Firestore, BigQuery |
| Elasticsearch | ||
| Image Optimization | — | — |
| PHP Switching | — | — |
| Subdomains | — | — |
| FTP Accounts | — | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | — | — |
| Money Back Exclusions | Pay-as-you-go; No traditional refund; Free tier available for 12 months | Pay-as-you-go; $300 free credit for 90 days; No traditional refund |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, ACH Direct Debit, Wire Transfer, AWS Credits | Credit Card, Debit Card, Bank Transfer, Google Cloud Credits |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | AWS Certificate Manager (free SSL for AWS resources) | Google-managed SSL certificates |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | Global | Global |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | ||
| Object Cache Type | — | — |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Per sale | Partner program |
| Commission Amount | Varies by service; AWS Partner Network available | Google Cloud Partner Network; varies by tier |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | $0.09 | — |
| Account Suspension Policy | Violation of ToS; non-payment; abuse | Violation of ToS; non-payment; abuse |
| Malware Removal Cost | — | — |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | Enterprise deployments needing AWS ecosystem; Developers comfortable with cloud infrastructure; Businesses needing compliance certifications (HIPAA, PCI, FedRAMP); Global deployments with 38 regions; Those already invested in AWS ecosystem | Enterprises leveraging AI/ML capabilities; Kubernetes workloads (originated at Google); BigQuery data analytics; Integration with Google Workspace; Developers familiar with Google ecosystem; Managed WordPress via Kinsta/Flywheel |
| Avoid If | Beginner wanting simple hosting; Need included support; Want managed WordPress; Budget-conscious without cloud expertise; Need predictable billing | Beginner wanting simple hosting; Need predictable pricing; Want included support; Small personal projects; Need simplified VPS option; Budget-conscious without cloud expertise |
| Known Issues | Extremely poor Trustpilot rating (1.3) due to billing complaints and support issues; Complex pricing can lead to unexpected bills; Support costs extra (free tier has no support); Not beginner-friendly; EC2 pricing confusing; Lightsail less flexible than competitors | Very poor Trustpilot rating (1.5) due to billing and support complaints; No hard billing limits (alerts only); Complex pricing leads to bill shock; Support requires paid plan; Steeper learning curve than AWS Lightsail; Account disabled issues with support loops; Smaller market share than AWS/Azure |
| Unique Selling Point | Market-leading cloud provider with 38 regions, most compliance certifications, and Lightsail for simplified VPS at $5/month | Best-in-class AI/ML capabilities, Kubernetes origin, and infrastructure powering managed WordPress hosts like Kinsta |
| Ideal Customer | Enterprise or developer needing global cloud infrastructure with extensive compliance certifications and AWS ecosystem integration | Enterprise or developer needing AI/ML capabilities, Kubernetes expertise, or managed WordPress via partners |
| Best Alternative To | Google Cloud Platform | Amazon Web Services |
| Primary Competitors | Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, DigitalOcean, Vultr | Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, DigitalOcean |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose Amazon Web Services (AWS) if you...
- Want to save money ($5.00/mo vs $7.23/mo)
Choose Google Cloud Platform (GCP) if you...
- Want more server locations (40 available)