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Google Cloud Storage Nearline 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

Google Cloud Storage Nearline
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
10
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 May 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is 10.6%, up from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure File Storage is 10.3%, down from 13.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
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 capacity and space on offer are excellent."
"The data structure and the types of data that are supported are very good."
"It provides the necessary support and flexibility to manage data storage effectively, especially during times of variable data flow."
"I find the flexibility in storing documents or data and the ease of retrieval valuable with this solution."
"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."
"The most valuable aspect of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is its integration with the wider Google Cloud ecosystem."
"Nearline is highly stable."
"The most valuable aspect of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is its integration with the wider Google Cloud ecosystem."
"The interface is very good."
"Its simplicity of use is most valuable. It's easy to start working with it and understand it. It's easier to transfer files between different users. I'm able to move files from my device to my manager's device without any issues or without facing any problems in between."
"It is a very scalable solution. I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten."
"I like that Microsoft Azure File Storage works fine and is quick to deploy. It's also easy to connect to it, particularly when connecting it with my on-premise file servers."
"The most valuable aspect of Azure File Storage is that all the features are available in one place."
"The product is a reliable cloud solution."
"The tool offers a secure way to access storage. You can also easily share the files securely across Azure."
"Azure File Storage gives us easy access to cloud solutions at the storage level."
 

Cons

"The suggestion for improvement primarily revolves around cost efficiency."
"They need a better, more visual, user interface for folders and files."
"They should provide more options or flexibility in terms of pricing."
"The UI could be a little bit more effective."
"The interface for managing file storage in the buckets could be improved."
"The solution needs to offer better System Information and Event Management (SEIM). I'd like to discover how we could implement something like that within Google's cloud."
"Nearline security could be better. The solution could integrate better with SEIM tools."
"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."
"Microsoft's technical support could be improved. Their response time is usually high, and it takes considerable time to get a response."
"Microsoft Azure File Storage needs more integrations. In the future, I also want to see GRC added to the portal. If you enroll or sign up for Azure services, your country may not have GRC available in the portal, so you may have to choose a strange country, for example, Kenya, to activate credit."
"Considering the enterprise licensing required for the solution, the cost of the solution is an area where the product needs improvement."
"The tool needs to add more controls and enhance Power BI. For instance, I'm just suggesting the visualization layer. Power BI can increase visualization as much as possible, and the product can add more controls to the data flows."
"Sometimes it takes very long to refresh the information."
"I have had issues migrating my data to another subscription."
"Microsoft Azure File Storage is not that scalable. Once you reach the boundaries, you need to migrate to another solution."
"The transparency of cost should be improved."
 

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."
"We have Microsoft Azure File Storage's enterprise license."
"The product must improve its price."
"Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive."
"We pay for both yearly and monthly licenses. The yearly one is cheaper than the monthly one."
"The product's pricing need improvement."
"Microsoft Azure File Storage has a reasonable price."
"The solution is a bit pricey compared to AWS and Google."
"The licensing cost for Microsoft Azure File Storage comes with an agreement from Microsoft."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
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 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.
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

No data available
MS Azure File Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Talon, Camden
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.