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Amazon S3 vs Microsoft Azure File Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 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 S3
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure File Storage
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Amazon S3 is 11.6%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure File Storage is 10.0%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

Vagner Martins - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced data security with seamless integration and static website capabilities
S3 is a great service offering numerous possibilities. It allows for storing objects and files of various types. I appreciate its capability to create static websites and integrate with services like CloudFront, EC2, and DynamoDB. Despite being focused on security, I leverage features such as cryptography and integration with CloudTrail.
PrashanthR - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamlessly streamlines document processing with advanced file storage and OCR integration
We need to store data over there. We process documents through Kofax Time is a major benefit, as well as ease of processing. With configuration, it happens quite easily, and we can finish tasks early. File storage is complemented by OCR with Azure Cognitive Service. This enhances the processing…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Amazon S3 is its flexibility as a solution to suit many different use cases."
"Amazon S3 is scalable and available."
"Amazon S3 is very stable. I don't worry about data stored in the S3 bucket as it's safe."
"It is easy to manage and easy to understand."
"The most valuable feature of Amazon S3 is storage, which provides a personal capacity."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that I mostly used the tool's free tier version, so I like the fact that its cost is very low."
"The tool offers great scalability to its users."
"Amazon S3 is very flexible and provides high storage."
"It's a stable product."
"My client had zero data loss while using the solution for backups and file security."
"The most significant aspect of Microsoft Azure File Storage is its life cycle functionality, which enables us to transfer files to various storage options, such as hot storage, full storage, and archive. This feature is crucial since we can apply a life cycle method to files that have not been in use for an extended period, and then move them to a cheaper cold storage option to save costs. Since the newest files are stored in the hot storage, it met our specific requirements. Consequently, older files can be transferred to archive and cold storage."
"The product is a reliable cloud solution."
"The solution is user-friendly and integrates easily with web apps."
"Implementing Microsoft Azure has meant that we are using the same solution as our customers who use Azure Public Cloud. This allows us to integrate our application, as well as provide the solution to them."
"It's a scalable solution."
"The product can integrate with all platforms. My team also does data visualization, and Power BI can directly connect with those nodes. We can very conveniently connect with multiple tools for our database. The benefit here is that by utilizing the same storage application, my application is linked with their application through the same server. This setup provides real analytics and data for a holistic purpose, which is advantageous."
 

Cons

"They could always increase object storage ability."
"Sometimes, there is latency in getting data, especially if the file size is large. This could be improved."
"The solution could improve by having a simpler way to have the detail size of a file in the CLI to be read or understood easier. Today, it's a little raw in the way the details are presented. You have to make some scripts and some modifications to be able to see the information properly of the size of a given bucket or the size of a file."
"The tool needs to improve its flexibility in support."
"Maybe they need to expand their range of physical locations."
"The UI should be more user-friendly."
"Enhancements in security features might be beneficial."
"Amazon S3 could improve by being more secure."
"The security could always be modernized."
"If the file is large, there may be a delay in download time."
"Maybe Microsoft can make it more economical because it is a costly affair."
"Azure File Storage's stability is okay, but sometimes we have trouble with the link to the Azure VPN disconnecting."
"It should allow better methods for handling large files."
"It's a bit complex to set up. Other than that, there is nothing to improve."
"It would be good if they added some features that make the solution easier to access for everyone."
"There is room for improvement in helping customers understand and integrate Azure File Storage into their operations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing depends on your region and is reasonable."
"Not many products in the market beat the solution in terms of quality or price."
"Amazon S3 is a cheap solution."
"I know it is very inexpensive compared to other solutions."
"There is a license to use Amazon S3."
"The solution is cost-effective because it is based on a pay-as-you-go model, where I can purchase and use it according to my needs."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"The solution is very inexpensive at 50 cents per gigabyte, per month."
"I think the pricing of the product can be reduced."
"Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive."
"For one terabyte of data, we are spending about 150 Euro every month."
"The solution is a bit pricey compared to AWS and Google."
"I give the pricing of the solution a seven out of ten."
"There are fewer hidden costs involved compared to other solutions, and when our customer is already a Microsoft partner, they typically have access to more affordable fees."
"One of the major benefits for AWS is that they have a very large customer representative base where clients can be picked from, they offer large discounts and credit. We were not able to receive the same kind of offers from Microsoft Azure File Storage. We tried to approach Azure while hiring for our disaster recovery discussion, but we didn't receive anything from Azure."
"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being the most expensive. It's not cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
63%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 management policies, costs can be optimized over time. On a scale from one to ten, I w...
What needs improvement with Amazon S3?
AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) should provide more attractive and comprehensive documentation, especially while integrating Amazon S3 with other AWS services like Elemental MediaConvert. Curr...
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure File Storage?
The pricing for Microsoft Azure File Storage is five out of ten, not so expensive and not so low.
 

Also Known As

S3, Simple Storage Service
MS Azure File Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Netflix, Airbnb, Thomson Reuters, Zillow, Alert Logic
Talon, Camden
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon S3 vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.