AWS Snowball vs Azure NetApp Files comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and NetApp are both solutions in the Cloud Migration category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.2, while NetApp is ranked #8 with an average rating of 7.3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 0.9% mindshare in CM, compared to NetApp’s 14.0% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

AWS Snowball

Read 10 AWS Snowball reviews

3,177 Views
32 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Azure NetApp Files

Read 17 Azure NetApp Files reviews

2,634 Views
948 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

AWS Snowball

Azure NetApp Files

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

AWS Snowball and Azure NetApp Files compete in cloud data transfer and storage solutions. AWS Snowball is renowned for ease of use and swift customer service, while Azure NetApp Files is preferred for its expansive features and integration within the Azure ecosystem.

Features: AWS Snowball offers secure offline data transfer, end-to-end encryption, and edge computing support. Azure NetApp Files provides high-speed SQL backup, seamless Azure integration, and ultra-fast provisioning. Both products cater to different user priorities, with AWS focusing on offline capabilities and Azure on high-performance cloud integration.

Room for Improvement: AWS Snowball could enhance its software features, improve cloud integration, and diversify protocol support. Azure NetApp Files may improve its pricing transparency, reduce complexity in deployment, and expand support for hybrid clouds. Each product has unique opportunities to refine user experiences and broaden functionality.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Snowball is known for its straightforward hardware deployment and robust customer support. Azure NetApp Files offers flexible, cloud-based deployment with strong service support within Azure. While AWS shines with standalone implementation ease, Azure's strength lies in seamless Azure ecosystem integration.

Pricing and ROI: AWS Snowball presents a simple pricing model due to its physical nature, offering quick ROI through efficient data migrations. Azure NetApp Files, though complex in cost structure, promises higher ROI with extensive features and integration capabilities within Azure. AWS focuses on cost-effectiveness in data transfer, while Azure emphasizes the value of integrated cloud services.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Snowball vs. Azure NetApp Files Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball vs. Azure NetApp Files

July 2025

Download the complete report

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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

AWS Snowball

Ranking in Cloud Migration

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Migration Appliances (1st)

Azure NetApp Files

Ranking in Cloud Migration

8th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Storage (9th), Public Cloud Storage Services (10th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Cloud Migration category, the mindshare of AWS Snowball is 0.9%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure NetApp Files is 14.0%, down from 17.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Migration

Featured Reviews

Kevin-Davis

Global CTO AWS Business Group at Eviden

Seamless data transfer and efficient migration with customizable storage sizes

I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in. The interface for getting my data onto the Snowball is so streamlined. I don't know if you've ever seen it before. It's really cool. I connect them to the backplane of our existing network. I'm able to address it quickly and move the data quickly inside my customers' data centers. There's a little screen on it, which changes the UPS codes and all that stuff. The label and everything AWS electronic, so I don't have to deal with shipping issues. It makes it super simple and easy to use from end to end.

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AjayKumar13

Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees

Fast, reliable, and helps meet our SLAs

The most valuable feature is that the sixty-terabyte database snapshot can be done in less than two to three minutes. It is faster. It is quicker. It is reliable. You don't need to take the snapshot. Snapshots are compressed. It doesn't take storage from the back end. It takes three minutes to do sixty terabytes of the database. You don't have to go to the tape and store it outside, which takes hours and hours. It also uses a lot less of the storage. It's very easy to restore or copy the snapshots to other locations for disaster recovery. There are a lot of benefits. In terms of the snapshot's rapid restore capability, we were testing the load of performance testing, and we needed to rebuild the DR site. If I need to rebuild the DR for a standby database, it takes sixty terabytes to copy onto the another site, which will take at least a day. Now, the snapshot is easy. We just copy the snapshots, and then we do the cross-region application. The snapshots came along with that, and that's where we were able to build the DR site within a few hours rather than days. All together, instead of a four-day process, instead of a day.

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 most valuable features of AWS Snowball for me are its security measures and its flexibility."

"The flexibility of AWS Snowball is valuable. Its security allows for the ability to move and secure data without concern if the device is lost and the option to trace it back to AWS data centers."

"AWS helps save time and costs, being a managed cloud provider with evolving services."

"I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in."

"The features I like best are the tool's high capacity, scalability, end-to-end encryption for data security, ease of use, durability, and cost-effectiveness. It's particularly cost-effective for transferring large amounts of data compared to high-speed internet transfers."

"The solution is elastic."

"It's a nice way of shipping a lot of data without using a network."

"The support team's awesome, and they've always been very responsive."

More AWS Snowball pros

"You can change it non-disruptively. You can increase the size and decrease the size online, which is a huge benefit compared to Azure disks. It just works seamlessly. You don't need to stop the instances."

"Azure NetApp Files has been stable."

"One aspect of Azure NetApp Files that I truly appreciate is its remarkable performance capabilities."

"The availability is good, meaning downtime or network issues rarely occur. The system also offers flexibility, allowing for increases in data volume, IOPS, and other capabilities without requiring downtime, which is a strong point. Based on the money spent, we can get performance improvements and high availability."

"It has saved a lot of time. Because in the older, conventional hardware system, they need to raise a ticket to go to storage engineering, then storage engineering would increased the size. Now, it's dynamic. You don't have to do anything. This improved the time by more than 50 percent."

"We use Azure NetApp Files mainly for backup."

"The most valuable features of the solution is replication to another region and the performance. The solution is stable. The solution is scalable. The initial setup is straightforward."

"I think the easiest part is, when you do a comparison, it is the throughput versus the cost. And it's much easier to set up."

More Azure NetApp Files pros

Cons

"It would be helpful if Snowball provided more kinds of connectivity. That will make it easier to add and move data."

"The stability of the solution isn't ideal and should be improved."

"If AWS Snowball is intercepted, there is a potential risk of unauthorized access to the data."

"It's not an easy product to start using for a beginner, but If you're a professional, it's easy to understand."

"AWS support could be more responsive."

"Snowball is not interesting and is a pain to deal with."

"The costs of services the customer needs also matter, such as storage requirements and whether storage is rational."

"There's always room for improvement as you use the service more and gain expertise. Some challenges I've faced include the time factor (data transfer can be time-consuming), data validation after the transfer, risks associated with physical handling and shipping of the device, and ensuring data security during transit."

More AWS Snowball cons

"Its pricing can be better."

"I would like to see multi-zone redundancy so that I don't have to worry about it. I just back up my data to that one SMB share and I know that it's replicated to a different region."

"I have a hunch that storage could be now the most expensive portion of our monthly bill. So I can imagine that, not this year, but next year we will be talking about looking deeper into ways how we can optimize the cost."

"We were looking for a clustered solution that has over-complicated things because we had it in AWS, which is Amazon. There was a solution for clustered NetApp. That meant there would be two NetApps that were not clustered because there was no solution for a cluster. We would like there to be an HA cluster solution."

"We would like to have backup functionality built-in so that we don't run into the issue where the replication process makes a copy of the corrupted data."

"The deployment process is somewhat complex compared to other storage solutions."

"The solution needs to improve it's ABS environment."

"The pricing definitely needs to be improved."

More Azure NetApp Files cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not a cheap solution, but the price is right for the product."

"The tool's pricing depends on the type of Snowball device you choose, the amount of data you need to transfer, and the service fees involved. There’s a standard price for larger data transfers and a flat job fee, which includes the first ten days of on-site usage. Typically, there are no additional data transfer fees."

"NetApp is a premium offering, so it's not a cheap product, but it is well-priced. It combines a couple of properties which customers like us are willing to pay. Could it be cheaper? Yes, but if you combine fully supported, fully managed, easily provisioned, scalable, and quick all in one product, it's a good selling point. You can ask a lot of money for all these. If you have a use case like we do, it's a perfect match. It's like the Porsche of storage solutions in the cloud. It is totally worth the cost."

"It is expensive, especially with NetApp Ultra Storage."

"The performance has improved by about 30 percent."

"It is expensive in small environments, which could be better. The reason is the four terabyte minimum. A one terabyte minimum would be better."

"This solution is very expensive compared to the alternatives."

"Our pricing has not been determined because we are still waiting on additional features."

"We are currently on a pay-as-you-go model with the storage that we use."

"The pricing depends on your scaling and consumption."

More Azure NetApp Files pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Microsoft Azure Data Box or AWS Snowball?

Microsoft Azure Databox is a 45-pound, super rugged, tamper-resistant, human-managed hardware appliance that can transfer up to 100TB of data capacity to copy, store, then send to the Azure cloud. ...

See all answers

What do you like most about AWS Snowball?

The most valuable features of AWS Snowball for me are its security measures and its flexibility.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Snowball?

Depending of what is your priority; UseAWS Snowball if you are heavily invested in AWS or need edge computing features Choose Azure Data Box for smooth integration with Azure and potentially lower ...

See all answers

How does Azure NetApp Files compare to NetApp ONTAP?

Azure NetApp Files is a Microsoft Azure file storage service built on NetApp technology. The platform combines the file capabilities of Azure and NetApp to move critical file-based applications to ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Azure NetApp Files?

The availability is good, meaning downtime or network issues rarely occur. The system also offers flexibility, allowing for increases in data volume, IOPS, and other capabilities without requiring ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure NetApp Files?

It is expensive, especially with NetApp Ultra Storage.

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Transfer Appliance vs AWS Snowball

Compared 50% of the time

Microsoft Azure Data Box vs AWS Snowball

Compared 39% of the time

IBM Cloud Mass Data Migration vs AWS Snowball

Compared 5% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs AWS Snowball

Compared 3% of the time

AWS Snowball Edge vs AWS Snowball

Compared 2% of the time

More AWS Snowball Competitors

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 31% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 27% of the time

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 8% of the time

Nasuni vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 7% of the time

Amazon FSx vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 6% of the time

More Azure NetApp Files Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball

August 2025

Download AWS Snowball product report

Buyer's Guide

Azure NetApp Files

August 2025

Download Azure NetApp Files product report

Also Known As

Amazon AWS Snowball, Amazon Snowball, Snowball

NetApp ANF, ANF

Overview

Snowball is a petabyte-scale data transport solution that uses devices designed to be secure to transfer large amounts of data into and out of the AWS Cloud. Using Snowball addresses common challenges with large-scale data transfers including high network costs, long transfer times, and security concerns. Customers today use Snowball to migrate analytics data, genomics data, video libraries, image repositories, backups, and to archive part of data center shutdowns, tape replacement or application migration projects. Transferring data with Snowball is simple, fast, more secure, and can be as little as one-fifth the cost of transferring data via high-speed Internet.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Azure NetApp Files is designed for unstructured data, virtualized SAP systems, SQL backups, NFS and CIFS protocols, Azure Virtual Desktop storage, and optimizing file share services. It supports high performance and networking integration in Microsoft Azure.

Azure NetApp Files offers features such as SnapMirror for data protection, rapid provisioning, elastic scaling, and ultra-fast SQL backup and restore. It provides a seamless experience with fast snapshotting, high availability, security, and ease of setup. Users benefit from significant performance improvements and the ability to manage substantial workload migrations effortlessly. This service is ideal for environments like Azure Kubernetes Service and cloud EPM platforms, where speed, flexibility, and performance are crucial.

What are the key features?

Flexibility: Adaptable to diverse storage needs.
Rapid response time: Ensures quick data access and operations.
SnapMirror: Provides replication and data protection.
SEC compliance: SnapLock ensures regulatory adherence.
Ultra-fast SQL backup: Quicker backup and restore operations.
Elastic scaling: Easily adjusts resources based on demand.
Fast snapshotting: Enables quick data snapshots.
High availability: Ensures consistent data access.
Security: Robust measures for data protection.

What are the expected benefits and ROI?

Performance: Notable improvement in processing speeds.
Simplicity of setup: Easy deployment and configuration.
Scalable management: Handles significant workload migrations with ease.
Cost efficiency: Allows comparing throughput versus cost effectively.

Azure NetApp Files is implemented in various industries requiring robust file storage solutions, from educational environments where performance boosts are critical to businesses leveraging Azure Kubernetes Service for containerized applications. It supports high-demand environments, optimizing data management and improving efficiency.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Wazee Digital, Craftsy, Live Nation, Essess

SAP, Restaurant Magic

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball vs. Azure NetApp Files

July 2025

Free Report: AWS Snowball vs. Azure NetApp Files

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