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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 April 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Amazon S3 is 11.5%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure File Storage is 10.8%, down from 13.3% 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

"This solution is good at storing historical data and we were using it for other purposes."
"Amazon S3 is a storage bucket service with good stability."
"I don't have any problems with the solution. It's issue-free."
"The users have nothing to worry about as the solution is well established."
"Amazon S3 is very stable, and I have never had any performance issues."
"It allows for storing objects and files of various types."
"The most valuable feature is the sharing capabilities."
"I used Amazon AWS/S3 solution to prove my concept before deploying it on real hardware. It was a great experience and was really scalable."
"What I like about Microsoft Azure File Storage is its convenience for customers, cost-effectiveness, and high availability."
"The immutable storage features are valuable."
"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."
"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."
"File storage is complemented by OCR with Azure Cognitive Service."
"The interface is very good."
"The best part is the accessibility to all the files."
"The solution is easy to use."
 

Cons

"The support is better than other cloud providers but sometimes it takes a while to have a resolution to our issues."
"It would be good if Amazon S3 had an API to get screenshots or video streaming continuously."
"We need the mapping to Windows. That feature is needed in S3. That feature is in the Azure cloud where we can map it like a drive. We can map the cloud storage to the effort driving our Windows PC. But Amazon is not providing that feature for the S3 solution."
"I would like a batch downloading option added to the AWS console."
"It could maybe use more integration."
"The service could improve by offering mobile backups, which would be great since using Google Backup is costly."
"There are some scalability limitations."
"They could always increase object storage ability."
"The storage account key could be a security issue."
"Lacks integration with other platforms."
"Licensing costs are expensive."
"Importing and exporting data needs to have a bit more documentation."
"The product’s pricing could be better."
"The solution is not user-friendly."
"The way retention policies are applied could be more optimized."
"They should make the solution more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Amazon S3 could be less expensive."
"The licensing is pay as you go, and I'm happy with the pricing."
"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 tool's licensing costs are yearly. I rate it a six to seven out of ten."
"The price is okay."
"For pricing, I would give it a six or seven out of ten."
"The cost of Amazon S3 could be better. As the number of data increases, you'll pay more for Amazon S3. It's around $200, which is okay, but my company uses it less often."
"The license of Amazon S3 is based on volume, capacity, and time. The overall price of the solution could improve. The support has to be added if you want it at an additional cost."
"I think the pricing of the product can be reduced."
"The pricing could be more flexible."
"For one terabyte of data, we are spending about 150 Euro every month."
"I give the pricing of the solution a seven out of ten."
"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."
"Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive."
"The price of the solution is reasonable. The pricing model is based on usage."
"The product's pricing need improvement."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
75%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
2%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
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?
S3 is a pay-as-you-go service. I pay based on the data volume I am using.
What needs improvement with Amazon S3?
There is a limitation with the data upload size, such as the five terabytes restriction. I would like to see an increase in the data upload limit, similar to DynamoDB, where there is no data limit.
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: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.