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Amazon S3 vs Google Cloud Storage vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.9
Users report positive ROI from Amazon S3 due to cost savings, scalability, data integrity, and advanced analytics benefits.
Sentiment score
1.0
Google Cloud Storage is reliable and efficient but lacks cost-saving benefits compared to Azure, with favorable return on investment.
Sentiment score
4.3
Microsoft Azure Block Storage offers significant cost savings and ease of management, proving valuable for data backup and disaster recovery.
Moving infrequently accessed data to cheaper classes like Glacier is beneficial for long-term storage at a lower cost.
Amazon S3 has a reasonable price as you pay a flat price to use it.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Amazon S3 support is knowledgeable and helpful, but users desire faster response times; documentation reduces support necessity.
Sentiment score
3.8
Google Cloud Storage's customer support is generally praised for responsiveness, though some users report slower response times and prefer forums.
Sentiment score
5.0
Microsoft Azure Block Storage support is responsive for priority issues, but delays and expertise inconsistencies challenge users.
I rate the technical support from Amazon for S3 a ten out of ten.
An engineer is assigned based on the severity of the issue.
The technical support for Amazon S3 is rated ten out of ten.
We have self-studied to learn the services.
For SAP loads, Google provided a specific team, which resulted in good support.
Support quality is good, but the main issue is the delay in handling tickets.
The response time for enterprise support needs improvement.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Amazon S3 is praised for its scalability, flexibility, and security, ideal for enterprise-level applications despite cost considerations.
Sentiment score
5.8
Google Cloud Storage is highly scalable, allowing easy capacity adjustments and stable performance for both small and large user bases.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Azure Block Storage offers reliable scalability, supporting auto-scaling and manual scaling to meet diverse enterprise requirements efficiently.
Data placed in an S3 bucket is replicated across availability zones in a region, ensuring scalability and availability.
The level of scalability allows storage to automatically scale on demand, without the need for manual intervention.
Amazon S3's automatic scaling has benefited me, as I don't need to plan storage requirements.
Google Cloud Storage is scalable, but there are limitations.
The ability to scale is well-supported.
It is a significant advantage of the product.
We are on a premium plan, which should handle scalability automatically.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Amazon S3 is highly stable and reliable with excellent performance, minimal maintenance, and slight security and upload speed concerns.
Sentiment score
6.6
Google Cloud Storage is reliable and efficient, with high stability and performance ratings, maintaining data integrity globally.
Sentiment score
7.5
Azure Block Storage is generally stable, with high ratings, though some large users report regional reliability concerns.
There is zero latency or downtime.
Transitioning between S3 storage classes, like moving data from the standard class to Glacier or Glacier Deep Archive, has been challenging.
Amazon S3 is highly stable.
There was no direct experience with any instability during my involvement.
It isn't as stable as sound storage systems in a premise environment.
Overall, the stability is very good.
None of the other storage vendors have all these features so easily manageable and fast to set up as Block Storage.
 

Room For Improvement

Users want a more intuitive Amazon S3 interface, enhanced speed, security features, simplified pricing, and better service integration.
Google Cloud Storage needs speed, cost improvements, user-friendly management, and enhanced security, integration, capacity, pricing, and data tools.
Microsoft Azure Block Storage needs better documentation, UI, support, pricing flexibility, security, third-party integration, and performance improvement.
An improvement could be associating the naming with personal accounts, allowing more familiar or desired names without conflicting with global conventions.
The practice of protecting data could be more streamlined or mandatory.
I would like to see an increase in the data upload limit, similar to DynamoDB, where there is no data limit.
They cover a broad range of products, which might affect their ability to compete well in certain niches.
Its compatibility with various platforms could be enhanced to allow for a seamless operation across different cloud environments.
Some alternatives are cheaper and available for long trial periods before the payment.
Enabling SFTP on Microsoft Azure Block Storage didn’t allow us to get the IP address, as Azure doesn’t support it.
 

Setup Cost

Amazon S3's pay-as-you-go model offers cost-effectiveness, though advanced features may increase expenses compared to competitors.
Enterprise buyers find Google Cloud Storage pricing competitive, citing flexibility and moderate fees, despite occasional cost increases.
Microsoft Azure Block Storage offers pay-as-you-go pricing, seen as competitive yet pricey, with discounts available for specific usage.
I've used the free tier and haven't been charged yet.
S3 offers multiple classes, allowing you to move data to cheaper classes for cost savings.
It is somewhat justified due to the benefits, but there is room for reconsideration.
Depending on your setup, Google Cloud Storage is economical, especially if you do not need high stability and scalability.
Google Cloud was cheaper compared to AWS and Azure.
For medium-sized companies, especially when discussing cost and scalability, it can be quite expensive.
The cost for Azure Data Factory, utilized for intensive data migration, was high but expected, as it's a one-time activity.
It is reasonable, however, it can be cheaper.
 

Valuable Features

Amazon S3 is favored for its security, scalability, unlimited storage, and integration with AWS, ideal for diverse data needs.
Google Cloud Storage provides scalability, strong security, seamless integration, and flexible features, making it reliable and user-friendly.
Microsoft Azure Block Storage offers scalable, reliable storage with encryption, easy management, and seamless integration, supporting diverse data types and fast access.
Its stability and scalability are also impressive, as it allows for increased storage space according to demand.
I appreciate its capability to create static websites and integrate with services like CloudFront, EC2, and DynamoDB.
Security measures like encryption, access controls, and the block public access feature are also important.
We do not experience any disruptions, and the service meets our needs and requirements.
The user interface of Google Cloud Storage is easy and consistent across all their products.
The tool allows me to download to my device, control access, and manage data with ease.
The ability to increase and scale out is really easy, allowing us to manage a large amount of data with reduced dependency on scalability issues.
I can store data, use the storage account as a queue, and the pricing is also quite economical.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Amazon S3 is 14.1%, up from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Storage is 8.3%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Amazon S314.1%
Google Cloud Storage8.3%
Microsoft Azure Block Storage1.0%
Other76.6%
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

Roberto Costa - PeerSpot reviewer
Have used multiple features effectively and find the pricing reasonable
What I appreciate most about Amazon S3 is the tiering of the objects; with the tiering, we can determine if an object won't be accessed frequently and send it to cold storage or a Glacier storage unit, which greatly lowers AWS costs. The inventory feature, called S3 Inventory, is a cool feature as well. The object access point is another notable feature. Amazon S3 has many useful features; I can simply host my website, which has to be a static web page, but even so, it's beneficial to put my code inside of Amazon S3 as a static website that people worldwide can access. I have worked with many petabytes of data stored in Amazon S3, and I have never had any performance issues, stability issues, or anything similar.
Manimaran Tannimalai - PeerSpot reviewer
User interface consistency facilitates seamless project planning and design for specialized tasks
While Google has made efforts to address SAP loads, the company lacks a product specialist focus. They cover a broad range of products, which might affect their ability to compete well in certain niches. Google's strength lies in their adapted approach to specific tasks, as seen with SAP loads. Generally, their focus is widespread.
MatsHagberg Olsson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Empowers secure data management with affordable tools and minimal hassle
The most valuable feature is that it's very affordable in comparison to competitors. The absolute best feature is the Azure Storage Explorer tool. The tool allows me to download to my device, control access, and manage data with ease. Additionally, the joint use of Azure portal further facilitates management depending on my location.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
University
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Healthcare Company
10%
Performing Arts
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon S3?
We can easily connect to the AWS resources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon S3?
AWS pricing for Amazon S3 starts at a higher cost, particularly in the standard class. However, with lifecycle manage...
What needs improvement with Amazon S3?
That is a hard question; I cannot think of any improvements right now because all the necessary features are already ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Storage?
Google Cloud ( /products/google-cloud-reviews ) was cheaper compared to AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) and Azur...
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Storage?
It took only five minutes to get everything working with Google Cloud Storage, so it was easy. For Google Cloud Stora...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
We use the solution to develop SaaS platforms on Azure. We utilize various Microsoft components like block storage an...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
Our experience with pricing has been positive. The budget for Microsoft Azure services has been within expectations f...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
Based on my experience, the feature they need to introduce for Microsoft Azure Block Storage is key rotations and asy...
 

Also Known As

S3, Simple Storage Service
No data available
MS Azure Block Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Netflix, Airbnb, Thomson Reuters, Zillow, Alert Logic
1. Adobe 2. Airbnb 3. Amazon 4. Apple 5. AT&T 6. Baidu 7. Cisco 8. Coca-Cola 9. Dell 10. eBay 11. Facebook 12. Ford 13. Google 13. HP 14. IBM 15. Intel 16. JPMorgan Chase 17. LinkedIn 18. Lyft 19. Microsoft 20. Netflix 21. Nike 22. Oracle 23. PayPal 24. Pinterest 25. Qualcomm 26. SAP 27. Spotify 28. Tesla 29. Toyota 30. Twitter 31. Visa 32. Walmart 33. WeWork
Mazda, BlinkBox, Rakuten Showtime, Xbox One, Serko, ChronoDrive
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Microsoft and others in Public Cloud Storage Services. Updated: September 2025.
869,513 professionals have used our research since 2012.