Amazon Lightsail vs IBM Cloud Private comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and IBM are both solutions in the PaaS Clouds category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #7 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.0. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 2.1% mindshare in PSP, compared to IBM’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 60% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Amazon Lightsail

Read 13 Amazon Lightsail reviews

1,089 Views
1,089 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Private

Read 5 IBM Cloud Private reviews

622 Views
616 Comparison Views

60% willing to recommend

Amazon Lightsail

IBM Cloud Private

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

IBM Cloud Private and Amazon Lightsail are competing products in cloud computing. Amazon Lightsail seems to have the upper hand due to its simplicity and cost efficiency.

Features: IBM Cloud Private offers advanced security, scalability, and integration with IBM's broader suite, making it suitable for complex enterprise needs. Amazon Lightsail provides an intuitive, all-in-one service with pre-configured environments and simplified setup, fitting for startups or small-scale projects.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Cloud Private requires substantial initial configuration and technical know-how, potentially making its setup time-intensive, yet comes with robust customer support for personalized assistance. Amazon Lightsail enables rapid deployment with user-friendly interfaces, reducing setup times and technical barriers, though its efficient support may lack the tailored assistance of IBM.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Cloud Private has a higher setup cost reflecting its enterprise-targeted features, which may delay ROI until fully leveraged. Amazon Lightsail's pricing is more competitive, offering quicker ROI, particularly for smaller businesses seeking budget-friendly solutions without sacrificing essential cloud functionalities.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Cloud Private Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Cloud Private

December 2025

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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 Lightsail

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

7th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Cloud Private

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

18th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of Amazon Lightsail is 2.1%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Cloud Private is 1.3%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

PaaS Clouds Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Amazon Lightsail	2.1%
IBM Cloud Private	1.3%
Other	96.6%

PaaS Clouds

Featured Reviews

VictorAugusto De Souza E Silva

Cloud Engineer at Leek Solucoes

Has simplified website migration and reduced hosting costs significantly

Amazon Lightsail should have some kind of scale service. To be more clear, if I need to scale up my instance or VPS, I need to create a snapshot and create a new instance from this snapshot with more resources, such as CPU, RAM, or disk. It would be beneficial to have a welcome instance where we can just set the instance, go there to edit and select a greater instance from large to x-large or 2x-large. I do not see the need to scale down, but it would be good too. When we are on an x-large for testing purposes and need to do a rollback to a large one, we need to scale down. We do not have this capability on Amazon Lightsail.

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Vaseem Mohamed

Executive Manager - Strategy & Enterprise Architecture Office at Al Rajhi Bank

Helps in microservices environment but satellite layer needs to improve

We opted for the IBM Private Cloud due to the prevalence of IBM applications in our ecosystem, including IBM IIB, IBM API Connect, DataPower, IBM ESB, and IBM FileNet. The seamless integration with our middle layer, the IBM Integration Hub, was a key factor in our decision. Leveraging API Connect simplified the integration process, aligning well with our overall architecture.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The intuitive management console of Amazon Lightsail is very good because it is simple; with just a few clicks, I can set a blog online, a WordPress blog online, a new e-commerce online, or just a new application with NodeJS."

"We use Amazon Lightsail for hosting security components in-house and AI modules."

"The initial setup is pretty easy."

"Amazon Lightsail is a virtual instance that is a service of Amazon AWS, designed to store data securely and provide applications through the cloud at an affordable cost to the SME sector."

"In Lightsail, they simplified to do it in as few clicks as possible. So, around ten clicks, I have a virtual machine deployed."

"The benefit of using Amazon Lightsail over the AWS console management is that it is a small platform that is easy to understand, as it has only the instance, DNS, Route 53, snapshots, backups, and load balancing network."

"The most valuable features are the usability and customer service."

"One of the product's most valuable features is its fixed pricing, which makes it ideal for small projects and websites that do not require scaling."

More Amazon Lightsail pros

"The product's framework is good, it integrates well with API Connect, and the private cloud allows for use in any location."

"Our core banking process was monolithic. To address this, we transitioned to a microservices-based architecture. Leveraging Microsoft technologies, including Terminals version 23, we’ve revamped our banking operations. Not all services are microservices; some remain monolithic for simplicity. Containerization is pivotal, with OpenShift (based on Kubernetes and Docker) managing our microservices."

"We have control of the ESXi."

"The most valuable attribute is the platform's ability to consistently deliver high reliability."

"Excellent technical support."

Cons

"Backward compatibility and the flexibility to choose software versions while installing would be improvements."

"It would be beneficial if Lightsail allowed easier upgrade and change processes, similar to EC2 instances, without needing to fully back up and reinstall configurations."

"Based on my limited exploration of Amazon Lightsail so far, I would like to see improvements in the console, particularly in user behavior and some cost-related aspects."

"To improve, I feel the disk management is too basic. I can't easily partition the disk for the operating system. I have to follow the main configuration that is already set up in the template. To partition the disk, I would need to deploy the operating system first and then make changes, but it's not an ideal method. I would recommend improving the disk management."

"Amazon Lightsail should have some kind of scale service. To be more clear, if I need to scale up my instance or VPS, I need to create a snapshot and create a new instance from this snapshot with more resources, such as CPU, RAM, or disk."

"Currently, there is limited support available while installing or configuring it, and resources are primarily available through community-contributed articles."

"When you need to add some custom rules to Amazon Lightsail, the auto scaling feature is a bit difficult."

"The solution could be smoother than it is."

More Amazon Lightsail cons

"I've noticed that the satellite services layer requires some improvement compared to platforms like Azure or Microsoft. While it's in development, I believe the satellite layer has room for enhancement. Additionally, the DevOps layer could benefit from closer integrations, especially for using external applications like Jenkins."

"One issue with the solution is latency because there is lag time when we connect."

"The support and pricing need to improve."

"lacking in multi-cloud management."

"Auto-scaling and managing pod scaling in the microservices architecture, a core feature of IBM Cloud Private, can pose challenges, especially when dealing with larger volumes of traffic."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The services that it provides are good for the price."

"It's very cheap."

"A few months ago, Lightsail's pricing increased, likely due to the addition of the new VPC feature."

"Lightsail is available at an affordable cost starting from five dollars per month."

"The prices are better than EC2 machines, for instance, because they are simplified management, but it works well, and I am able to run everything that I need on it."

"The affordability of starting at five dollars makes it an attractive option for startups and medium-sized companies, aligning with budget considerations while offering essential cloud services."

"Amazon Lightsail is a bit cheaper than Amazon EC2."

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The solution is expensive."

"We pay annual licensing fees."

"In general, the cost is on the higher side."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

13%

University

12%

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Lightsail?

In Lightsail, they simplified to do it in as few clicks as possible. So, around ten clicks, I have a virtual machine deployed.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon Lightsail?

Lightsail is available at an affordable cost starting from five dollars per month. This cost may increase with additional features like a static IP.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Amazon Lightsail?

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Private?

Our core banking process was monolithic. To address this, we transitioned to a microservices-based architecture. Leveraging Microsoft technologies, including Terminals version 23, we’ve revamped ou...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Private?

I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Private?

I've noticed that the satellite services layer requires some improvement compared to platforms like Azure or Microsoft. While it's in development, I believe the satellite layer has room for enhance...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 26% of the time

Google Cloud vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 25% of the time

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 11% of the time

Render vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 10% of the time

Google App Engine vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 9% of the time

More Amazon Lightsail Competitors

Red Hat OpenShift vs IBM Cloud Private

Compared 39% of the time

Pivotal Cloud Foundry vs IBM Cloud Private

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Azure vs IBM Cloud Private

Compared 11% of the time

VMware Tanzu Platform vs IBM Cloud Private

Compared 11% of the time

Amazon AWS vs IBM Cloud Private

Compared 11% of the time

More IBM Cloud Private Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Lightsail

January 2026

Download Amazon Lightsail product report

Buyer's Guide

PaaS Clouds

December 2025

Download IBM Cloud Private product report

Also Known As

No data available

ICP

Overview

Lightsail is ideal for simpler workloads, quick deployments, and getting started on AWS. It’s designed to help you start small, and then scale as you grow.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

IBM Cloud Private is a private cloud platform for developing and running workloads locally. It is an integrated environment that enables you to design, develop, deploy and manage on-premises, containerized cloud applications behind your firewall. It includes the container orchestrator Kubernetes, a private image repository, a management console and monitoring frameworks.

IBM

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Cloud Private

December 2025

Free Report: Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Cloud Private

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