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Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs Microsoft Azure Block 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

Google Cloud Storage Nearline
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Block Storage
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is 8.2%, up from 7.6% 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 (%)
Google Cloud Storage Nearline8.2%
Microsoft Azure Block Storage1.0%
Other90.8%
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

AmitKumar36 - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible, seamless, and scalable document storage with AI and analytics integration, providing reliable support
The solution is very flexible in terms of scalability. It is an online service, so we can scale it anytime with some pre-planning. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. As for the users using this solution in our organization, that varies according to what time of the day and what day it is, but it goes around 2,000 to 3,000 users. The maximum is about 3,000. On average, it stays somewhere between 2,000 and 1,800.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Nearline is highly stable."
"The capacity and space on offer are excellent."
"The best part of Nearline storage is the ability to take backups at optimal costs and its availability across multiple regions."
"The most valuable aspect of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is its integration with the wider Google Cloud ecosystem."
"It provides the necessary support and flexibility to manage data storage effectively, especially during times of variable data flow."
"It can isolate files and stop them from corrupting other files."
"I find the flexibility in storing documents or data and the ease of retrieval valuable with this solution."
"The data structure and the types of data that are supported are very good."
"In terms of latency, bandwidth, and productivity, Azure Block Storage is better than other solutions."
"The most important reason we use Azure Block Storage is the ability to store large files. When we were building the solution, we knew we needed to store images and video files that are 100 MBs or more. The second thing is speed when dealing with such large file sizes."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is the security and the management of user access from on-premise to the cloud."
"The public access with more security available is valuable."
"The most valuable part of Microsoft Azure is its scalability and availability, which make it easy to work with."
"The setup is straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is its performance."
"It's easy to deploy, easy to scale up, and pay-as-you-go."
 

Cons

"The interface for managing file storage in the buckets could be improved."
"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."
"From a storage standpoint, it would be beneficial if the retrieval cost could be optimized, as it is comparatively higher than storage costs in Nearline."
"They should provide more options or flexibility in terms of pricing."
"The suggestion for improvement primarily revolves around cost efficiency."
"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."
"Nearline security could be better. The solution could integrate better with SEIM tools."
"The UI could be a little bit more effective."
"The solution can be improved by including quicker hard drive access and larger bandwidth as part of the standard licensing fee."
"One of the biggest challenges on Azure infrastructure is that sometimes we don't get what we want. Either we have to wait for it or contact support because something is not working for us... It's the system availability that is the difficult point."
"I have used Amazon's solutions which are better than Microsoft's. However, since I have predominately Microsoft solutions it is a better choice for me to use another Microsoft solution."
"Improving the pricing structure would be beneficial."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is more complex than Google Drive, but it is still not too difficult."
"Support is an area where improvements can be made, particularly in response time for enterprise support."
"Some alternatives are cheaper and available for long trial periods before the payment."
"The support response time could be quicker."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Google Cloud Storage Nearline is very inexpensive. It costs us less than $50 a month to store our files. We use approximately 10 terabytes. Overall, I would rate the product a five out of five for affordability."
"Right now, for the number of servers and the storage that I have, I would say I'm charged between $125 and $150 per month."
"The price of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is expensive. They should provide a more efficient cost."
"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a pretty cheap and affordable product, so we have not seen any budget issues related to the solution in our company."
"I would rate the pricing as five out of ten."
"I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"I use Microsoft Azure Block Storage's free version."
"Azure Block Storage is higher priced than its competitors."
"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is expensive. Its licensing costs are monthly."
"I would rate the solution’s pricing a nine out of ten and it’s cheaper than Amazon S3."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
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 Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
The most valuable feature of Nearline is the access. It's helpful to move data that is generated once a month, such as salary information, to Nearline.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
The storage and access cost of Nearline are considered optimal compared to other cloud storage solutions, although I lack a clear view of other cloud storage costs.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
From a storage standpoint, it would be beneficial if the retrieval cost could be optimized, as it is comparatively higher than storage costs in Nearline.
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 and databases for this purpose.
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 for the last couple of months. The cost for Azure Data Factory ( /products/azure-...
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 asymmetric keys for access. Though we have solutions, it is lacking in these areas.
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Azure Block Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Mazda, BlinkBox, Rakuten Showtime, Xbox One, Serko, ChronoDrive
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.