Amazon EC2 is used if you are looking for a process serving cloud service.
Senior Database Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Highly scalable, good performance, and secure
Pros and Cons
- "The best features of Amazon EC2 are its high performance and security."
- "Amazon EC2 could improve its dashboards and UI, they need to be more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The best features of Amazon EC2 are its high performance and security.
What needs improvement?
Amazon EC2 could improve its dashboards and UI, they need to be more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Amazon EC2 for approximately five years.
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June 2025

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Amazon EC2 is a stable and reliable
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Amazon EC2 is a highly scalable solution.
We have over 100 users using this solution and we have plans to increase the usage.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Amazon EC2 is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Amazon EC2 is straightforward. It only took us a few minutes to complete.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves.
We do not need a special team to implement this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Amazon EC2 has a pay-as-you-use cost model.
What other advice do I have?
Amazon EC2 is the right choice for cloud services processing.
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Amazon EC2 a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
CTO at Huber
Secure and stable product with great technical support
Pros and Cons
- "EC2 is secure and stable, and we have no complaints about it on AWS."
- "EC2 could be improved with easier migration."
What is our primary use case?
I mainly use EC2 for hosting our application as well as some of the user data caching mechanism and mailing services.
What needs improvement?
EC2 could be improved with easier migration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using EC2 for around eighteen months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I'm satisfied with the stability of EC2.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
EC2 is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Amazon's technical support is great, we have no issues with it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup wa straightforward and took around two weeks before configuration.
What other advice do I have?
EC2 is secure and stable, and we have no complaints about it on AWS. However, Microsoft is more helpful with our go-to-market strategy, which motivates us to use Azure more than EC2. I would rate EC2 as ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Amazon EC2
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Amazon EC2. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Makes it easy to either transfer data as an S3 bucket or increase the drive storage on the server
Pros and Cons
- "Amazon EC2 is highly scalable."
- "It's not the best of the best because we still have issues with downtime. We still have issues with the cost of storage, with all these different instance styles, and how much it costs. They cost an arm and a leg the higher you go."
What is our primary use case?
We have a couple of primary use cases. We have an internal password server that we use for one of them. The other use case is file transfer. We have set apart an in-house SFTP process and it is all there. ETL enterprise trends and the data transformation process also run on one of the servers.
We have databases that run on one of the EC2 docs. We have a direct database that runs AWS Postgres. We don't separate that, but we do have a part of the business that runs on the server as well.
My company has a couple of servers on EC2 that we manage across defined regions. We have roughly 11 servers currently in operation for live production services and around 5 staging environments.
We have Windows and Linux servers. I think there are less Linux servers than Windows at present. I would say there are two to three Linux centers and the rest are Windows. That's what we use. Of course we have detailed information of what we do but I can't go into too much information because our company is public.
How has it helped my organization?
I wouldn't say it's improved our company, to be honest, because sometimes we do have issues with it. Because as much as the increase in data storage is good it is also a problem. That is because of the cost. But I would say it's good because it helps us. I would say AWS generally helps us. I'm going to talk a bit about other AWS applications, because it's kind of difficult to just dwell on EC2 and not talk about other applications since we do not just use EC2.
We also use Cloud HSM. Cloud HSM is easy to install. It has really helped us in regard to security. Now we can have our own key to encrypt our stuff. And having EC2 available is also very useful because sometimes with the configuration of Amazon stuff, if it's not done on Amazon Linux servers, it gets pretty difficult to wiggle your way around it. But with the Amazon Linux server, it's just on the fly because of their image. The fact that Amazon has their own image really helps to make your job easier and faster to configure and save.
What is most valuable?
The features that I have found most valuable are that we can increase the storage of EC2. This is very helpful because sometimes when it comes to data transformation in far transfer, it gets really big because of the number of clients we have. Then we have to find a way to sort out archive data, etc.
It really makes it easy to either transfer data as an S3 bucket or increase the drive storage on the server. That is really useful. Another thing I really like about the services is that you can install Trend Micro Security on it. Most of the AWS services have gone with Trend Micro Security, which you can get installed on it. It helps to protect the servers and gives you that additional level of security.
What needs improvement?
In terms of what could be improved, it depends on the server. I would say they are so much better these days with updates, especially when it comes to Linux servers and there are so many material updates. AWS is really on the ball with ensuring that security practices are there, etc.. Windows is just the same old Windows. The problem is not Amazon but Windows itself.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Amazon EC2 for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is pretty stable regarding downtime. We probably get one downtime a month, for a few seconds up to a minute, but it rarely happens. The helpful thing about having EC2 instances is that you have CloudWatch. So it gives you logs of your downtime or the off time of the server. It gives you all that information if something is gone wrong with your server and you can fix it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Amazon EC2 is highly scalable. But one thing I found that may be an issue is moving from one instance type to another. Because I found that you can't just switch instances. It seems you're limited to a certain category depending on the one you initially started with. But I'm not a hundred percent sure because I've only found that issue on one server and I know we've switched instance types before. Maybe just with that particular server I can't switch out of the categories of instances. I have to remain on the I's and I can't go to the M's or the C's or anything like that. I don't know if it's specific to that instance, though.
I don't know how many users are on it in total. I'd say less than 10. Most of them do data integration and team reporting, sometimes IT administration, and security, which is my team.
How are customer service and technical support?
I haven't used technical support for EC2. I've used it for other AWS solutions, but not for EC2.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I am familiar with Azure servers and I find them more expensive than EC2. I find them quite difficult to use and they are not as scalable as AWS. They are not even that robust. I don't like Azure that much. The setup is also confusing.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is actually very straightforward because if you follow the guidance given on AWS you can get everything done pretty quickly without any problems. The only way it gets difficult is when you try to configure things your own way. Of course, sometimes you need to do things your own way because you have certain requirements for that particular server. Then it could get complex.
It depends, again, on the server. If it's a Windows server it is very easy, like on the fly. If it is Linux, you might find it difficult to install some AM-AWS services. So that configuration may be tough. But if you're using the basic, it's pretty easy.
But then you need to know what each of the instances are. You need to know what you're using it for and how these instance sites apply to your organization. You need an understanding of the basic information about AWS before you can just configure it. It's not like every person can just come in and configure it. It's easy to configure, but then it may not be what you need it for.
It is project dependent. Sometimes we follow the basic strategies. Sometimes we have to consider it based on the particular project which we're working on at the time.
What about the implementation team?
We usually configure it ourselves in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I think Amazon EC2 has fair pricing. I actually think the pricing is manageable. I have Free Tiers, as well. You can get on the Free Tier pricing and they just charge you for data storage.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to anyone considering this is that they need to evaluate if it's necessary to have EC2, or if it is cheaper to run something in-house. It's very important because you don't want to throw money at cloud service providers if you can do it yourself. But the good thing is that cloud service providers take care of all the infrastructure and everything so you don't have to worry about that. It's nice to also have someone else accountable for your every structure rather than employing so many people at your job to do the work. That's the only good side about it. It is easy to learn Azure and all those GCP products.
On a scale of one to ten I would give Amazon EC2 an 8.
I definitely would not give it a 10. It's not the best of the best because we still have issues with downtime. We still have issues with the cost of storage, with all these different instance styles, and how much it costs. They cost an arm and a leg the higher you go. Sometimes performance is an issue because of the kind of incidents that you have. That is why it cannot be a nine or a 10. But because CloudWatch is embedded in it, it lets you know when your system fails by sending you an email. It also has Trend Micro included. I think you may have to pay for it, am not sure. So it has benefits if you use it with other AWS services.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Lead Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
An affordable, mature, and organized product that is very scalable and provides very good support
Pros and Cons
- "The product is very mature and organized."
- "The GUI used to deploy EC2 must be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We have a lot of use cases. Some of our customers have deployed their SIEM solutions on EC2 instances. Our company has also deployed a couple of business applications on EC2 instances.
What is most valuable?
The product is very mature and organized. I haven't had any issues with any of the AWS services.
What needs improvement?
The GUI used to deploy EC2 must be improved. Azure’s GUI is more guided compared to EC2’s GUI.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for five to six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
If I buy only one EC2 instance with fewer resources but use it for many resources without putting it in the Auto Scaling group, the tool will not be stable. If I deploy the solution according to AWS's best practices and recommendations, it will be scalable. If I deploy it under Load Balancing or Auto Scaling, it will automatically go up and down as per the demand, and we have to pay for only what we use. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is very scalable. The scalability depends on the deployment architecture. Our clients who have big infrastructures are using the product. They have multiple accounts. My own organization is also using the solution. We are planning to increase the usage.
How are customer service and support?
The support is very quick. Everything is guided pretty well. AWS’s support is always very good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. The product is cloud-based. If I am buying the solution for many CPUs, it might take two to three hours. It will take four to five hours if I'm deploying with fewer resources.
The deployment process is pretty simple. We can go to the EC2 dashboard and create an instance if we have an AWS account subscription. The product would guide us with the help of dropdowns. It will ask us how many resources we want, how much storage we want, which security group we want to integrate, and what kind of Access Control we want to integrate. There’ll be a lot of questions, and we just need to select the answers.
What about the implementation team?
EC2 is like a virtual machine. It doesn’t require a whole team for deployment. The number of people required for deployment depends on the complexity of the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We need to pay a monthly license fee for the product. The pricing also depends on the type of instance we use. Reserved Instances are dedicated to a single user and cost more. If we use Spot Instances, we must pay for what we use. It will be added to our monthly bill. It is not an expensive solution.
What other advice do I have?
Azure uses Sentinel, which is dedicated to security information and event management. However, AWS does not have a centralized solution for SIEM. AWS is using security hubs like GuardDuty, but it is for different purposes. We have to log in to these dashboards separately. AWS needs to have a centralized SIEM solution.
People who want to use the product must consider the future predictability and decide whether they need a single EC2 instance or a Load Balancing or Auto Scaling infrastructure deployment and deploy accordingly.
Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software developer at TAIGLE LLC
Easy to deploy, scalable, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is autoscaling."
- "Currently in the autoscaling process if we have multiple issues we are not able to connect some of the VPC through the SMS."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to host our backend servers.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is autoscaling.
What needs improvement?
I would like the ability to connect SMS to EC2 using the VPC endpoint. Currently in the autoscaling process if we have multiple issues we are not able to connect some of the VPC through the SMS.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution has an autoscaling feature making it very scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. We follow an internal document for deployment and it takes around 15 minutes to implement.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was completed in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are using a pay-as-you-go model.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution a nine out of ten.
We require two people for deployment and maintenance.
I recommend the solution to others.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Enterprise Solutions Architect at OORWIN LABS INC
Excellent support, scalable, and straightforward implementation
Pros and Cons
- "Amazon EC2 has plenty of scalability options to decrease or increase the number we need. Based on our bandwidth usage we may go for a higher or downgrade level. We can do it ourselves."
- "We're expecting to have Graviton instances. Graviton means it's not internal, it's a low-cost instance. At present time, Graviton is not supported for a few packages."
What is our primary use case?
We are running all of our application services on Amazon EC2.
What needs improvement?
We're expecting to have Graviton instances. Graviton means it's not internal, it's a low-cost instance. At present time, Graviton is not supported for a few packages.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Amazon EC2 for approximately five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Amazon EC2 has plenty of scalability options to decrease or increase the number we need. Based on our bandwidth usage we may go for a higher or downgrade level. We can do it ourselves.
Our applications are running on Amazon EC2 instances only, we have approximately 15,000 that can use on a daily basis.
We have been receiving a lot of customer sign-ups. There are user licenses with the application, based on users' usage count we may increase or decrease the server instances types if needed.
How are customer service and support?
Amazon's support is the best because the agents can react faster than competitors. They provide a very good service.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have previously used many other services.
How was the initial setup?
The initial installation was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
I have done the implementation of Amazon EC2 and I handle the maintenance and support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required to use this solution and we pay on a monthly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Amazon EC2 a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Manager -Datacenter Planning and Operations at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Scalable and flexible solution for configuring Kubernetes
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is EC2 is scalable, so when you want to move to market, you don't need to wait until your provision is fast, you can just go and provision it and then easily install your application."
- "The ease of migrating applications could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use EC2 to configure the Kubernetes environment clusters and to reconfigure Kubernetes by applications and microservices.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is EC2 is scalable, so when you want to move to market, you don't need to wait until your provision is fast, you can just go and provision it and then easily install your application. We can also size the instances correctly based on our requirements, so for example, there are multiple instance types and families, and we can choose according to the requirement, which is very convenient.
What needs improvement?
The ease of migrating applications could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using EC2 for more than three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
EC2 is stable, but it depends on the architecture - if you don't protect it with other control and security mechanisms, it'll be cumbersome.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
EC2 is scalable, you can just go and provision it and then easily install your application.
How are customer service and support?
Normally when we have operations issues, we escalate tickets to the support team, and they've always responded on time.
How was the initial setup?
The amount of time it takes to install depends on how you configure and how many instances of EC2 you want.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have a monthly primary account that pays for the licensing, with multiple accounts below it. So whenever we want to have a new solution, we create a new account under the paying account.
What other advice do I have?
I would give this solution a rating of eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Founder & CEO at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Encryption of the data being saved and cloud storage very helpful
Pros and Cons
- "The Key Management Service (KMS) feature is very helpful for security. It encrypts the data that is being saved. Cloud storage is also very helpful, and it could be AWS S3, which a lot of people use."
- "They should fix the key pair name functionality and provide the ability to assign multiple key pair names to an EC2 instance. It is a key pair feature, and it provides you the ability to actually log into the server. It is basically like a password. In terms of new features, it should have the ability to increase and decrease the instance size based on certain times of the day. We should be able to do this without turning off the EC2 instance. Currently, you have to turn it off and then turn it back on. It should also have HTTPS or SSL integration."
What is our primary use case?
I build solutions in the infrastructure of my clients. I use Amazon EC2 in their AWS cloud.
With EC2, there are many different operating systems that you can use. If we were to talk about the size, I use the T2 and T3 instances and central apps for production and for Windows.
What is most valuable?
The Key Management Service (KMS) feature is very helpful for security. It encrypts the data that is being saved. Cloud storage is also very helpful, and it could be AWS S3, which a lot of people use.
What needs improvement?
They should fix the key pair name functionality and provide the ability to assign multiple key pair names to an EC2 instance. It is a key pair feature, and it provides you the ability to actually log into the server. It is basically like a password.
In terms of new features, it should have the ability to increase and decrease the instance size based on certain times of the day. We should be able to do this without turning off the EC2 instance. Currently, you have to turn it off and then turn it back on. It should also have HTTPS or SSL integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for five years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very powerful platform. I feel very comfortable and confident while deploying on this platform. I also feel confident in telling my clients that it is very stable and very reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I know it can scale. I have no doubts about its scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have used their technical support, and I would say that they are pretty responsive and helpful.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
EC2 was the first service that I used. If we are talking about cloud platforms, I actually started with Azure eight years ago. I went for the AWS platform because it had a maturity of services over Azure in the past, that is, a year or two ago. If I were to do it over again, I would choose Azure based on what the customer needed at that point in time.
How was the initial setup?
I am pretty technical, so I kind of knew how to do it. I also use Hydra. When comparing both platforms, I would say that AWS is just a bit more confusing or complex.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend identifying the active directory configuration of your clients. The majority of client type integrations will have some active directory involved, and they also have Office 365 now. Getting a better understanding of that configuration will help the solution implementer in using the AWS platform.
I would rate Amazon EC2 a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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You may simply scale your EC2 instances up or down based on traffic or workload demands with AWS EC2 Auto Scaling. This makes it a very valuable feature because it helps to guarantee top performance and financial effectiveness.