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Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Azure Data Lake Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon EFS (Elastic File Sy...
Ranking in Cloud Storage
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (10th)
Azure Data Lake Storage
Ranking in Cloud Storage
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is 5.0%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Data Lake Storage is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Azure Data Lake Storage1.3%
Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)5.0%
Other93.7%
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

MuhammadAzhar Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Auto-scaling capabilities enhance file management while reducing downtime
The most valuable feature of Amazon EFS is its auto-scaling capability. It's really easy to configure EFS by just creating it and running a command to directly configure it with my servers. It supports unlimited use, and charges are applied based on the file usage at the end of the month. The solution offers reduced downtime and increased durability through its auto-scaling features.
Chetan Jayatheertha - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option
Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option. These features help in cost-saving and provide an excellent mechanism for backing up data. Furthermore, Data Lake Storage can interact with any other Azure resources, providing seamless integration and connectivity.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We haven't seen any downtime or challenges when using the services."
"The most beneficial feature of the product for data storage stems from the fact that it serves as a shared file storage."
"Its elasticity and flexible pricing are the most valuable. For Amazon EFS, you are charged based on the storage. It is also very fast and stable with a very simple and intuitive interface."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"Elastic File Systems allow me to share data, provision, and manage capacity and performance in AWS."
"Amazon EFS is extremely stable, as it is managed by AWS."
"Amazon EFS offers the flexibility of scaling as needed without requiring pre-provisioned storage."
"I appreciate Amazon's extensive range of services, which makes it a favorable choice."
"I'd rate the solution nine out of ten."
"Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option."
"The tool's best feature is that it can store different types of data - structured, unstructured, and semi-structured—in one lake. We can use the required data for analytics and dashboard design."
"The tool offers a big storage layer. The security aspect is quite good. In Azure, there's an option for soft deletes and policy management. This allows us to store only the most up-to-date data while everything else can be policy-managed. This makes handling and management easier."
"Storage within Azure Data Lake is cheaper, which is one of the reasons we moved to it."
"The most valuable feature is the scalability due to the blob, which allows us to scale our data effectively."
"I also like its speed. It's basically built on Azure Blob Storage, which was already fast. But Azure Data Lake Storage adds the hierarchical structure for even better performance."
"The solution is worth the money because it allows you to gain insights into your business and implement forecasting solutions to predict future trends."
 

Cons

"When we faced some issues, the support team took a lot of time to resolve them."
"The platform's connectivity could be improved to be more comparable to S3 buckets, which offer better API availability."
"Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS."
"There are challenges related to AWS, such as ensuring proper security measures with IMS code and encryption."
"Specifically, when it comes to the file system for the learning system, we encountered performance issues with both Azure and AWS."
"Their response was not prompt, and it took them a while to figure out solutions. While the time to respond was good, the time to resolve was not optimal, as it took more than a week."
"Elastic File Systems can be expensive due to the nature of data transfer costs, using services like SSTP, and potentially being costly in a rate-shift context."
"Its deployment process could be faster while installing the Python package directly into the environment."
"I suggest enhancing the connectors for improvement. Some software, like HubSpot and Xero, has connectors, but they're limited to a few fields. That's why we use REST API calls instead. It would be better if the connectors could retrieve all data."
"The scalability is limited. However, it's easy to set up."
"Currently, Azure Data Lake Storage has blob, table, and file share, but no vector feature."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Improvement is needed in the migration process from Lakehouse to Enterprise Data Lake (EDL)."
"Microsoft, in general, needs to simplify its licensing model. That's one of the biggest issues with Microsoft. The licensing model is either quite difficult to understand or is constantly evolving."
"When you store your files manually, you can't ensure complete data integrity, which can impact data security."
"Improvement is needed in the migration process from Lakehouse to Enterprise Data Lake (EDL). Currently, migration is only one-way possible, and it would be beneficial if this aspect could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has flexible pricing. You are charged based on your storage."
"Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) offers a pay-as-you-go model, so whenever you use its services, you need to pay."
"The product charges are based on the amount of data stored."
"The solution's price is mid-ranged."
"I would rate the pricing 7 out of 10."
"The product's price depends on the services and the size and capacity at which it is used in a business environment."
"The main challenge with EFS is its cost, which is slightly higher compared to EBS or S3. For one GB or ten GB of data, S3 is much cheaper. EFS could cost around $30 to $50 per month for similar usage."
"It's a pay-as-you-go model. Your charges are based on the amount of data you store."
"Pricing is tricky because it depends on the solution you're building and the type of Data Lake storage you use—hot or cold."
"I rate the product price as two or three, where one is high, and ten is low. The product's price is really high."
"From one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as five."
"The tool is cheap, depending on the services and requirements you need."
"It costs just a few dollars per terabyte per month."
"The tool's licensing model is pay-as-you-go. Regarding pricing, there's always competition between Azure Data Lake Storage and AWS. They're quite similar, but to attract more customers, Azure Data Lake Storage could consider adjusting its pricing to be more competitive with AWS. This might make Azure Data Lake Storage a more appealing option for users."
"One of the most affordable products from the vendor"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
5%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

Which file storage system is better - Amazon EFS (elastic file storage) or Azure File Storage?
Amazon EFS is easy to set up: you can use the AWS management console, API, or command-line. Amazon EFS can grow to petabytes and deliver consistent low latencies and high levels of throughput. This...
What do you like most about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
The product's initial setup phase is easy, as per the configurations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
We don't need to purchase it; we are just using it and paying Amazon as per the utilization. We make direct payments to Amazon based on our usage.
What do you like most about Azure Data Lake Storage?
The tool's most valuable feature is security access policies.
What needs improvement with Azure Data Lake Storage?
The speed of support response needs to improve, especially for critical, high-priority issues. Having a quick SLA response time is crucial.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Arcesium, Atlassian, Seeking Alpha, Zend
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Azure Data Lake Storage and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.