Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage comparison

Google and Microsoft are both solutions in the Public Cloud Storage Services category. Google is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.5, while Microsoft is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.9. Google holds a 9.6% mindshare in PCSS, compared to Microsoft’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Read 10 Google Cloud Storage Nearline reviews

1,627 Views
1,611 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Read 54 Microsoft Azure Object Storage reviews

511 Views
501 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

Google Cloud Storage Nearline and Microsoft Azure Object Storage are two prominent solutions for cloud storage. Users indicate higher satisfaction with Microsoft Azure Object Storage due to its robust features, but Google Cloud Storage Nearline offers competitive pricing and reliable support.

Features: Google Cloud Storage Nearline provides efficient data retrieval, durable storage, and a user-friendly API. Microsoft Azure Object Storage offers scalable storage solutions, strong integration capabilities, and advanced features for extensive integration.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Google Cloud Storage Nearline could benefit from faster data access times, improved security measures, and enhanced global reach. Microsoft Azure Object Storage could improve its global reach, offer more intuitive access management, and provide faster deployment times.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Cloud Storage Nearline receives positive feedback for its straightforward deployment process and commendable customer service. Microsoft Azure Object Storage, while slightly more complex to deploy, is appreciated for its extensive support resources and comprehensive problem resolution.

Pricing and ROI: Google Cloud Storage Nearline is praised for its cost-effectiveness and substantial ROI for small to medium-sized data requirements. Microsoft Azure Object Storage, though considered more expensive, delivers a high ROI due to its extensive feature set and better data management solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage

July 2025

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Helped 865,384 peers since 2012

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

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is 9.6%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is 2.1%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Public Cloud Storage Services

Featured Reviews

Victor Oladejo

Data Engineer at Electronics Collections Group

A reliable solution for long-term data storage with room for improvement regarding its cost efficiency

The suggestion for improvement primarily revolves around cost efficiency. Currently, Google Cloud Storage Nearline charges a minimum of thirty days for data access. I propose a more flexible approach. Instead of a fixed thirty-day minimum charge, there could be a programmatic adjustment based on data access patterns. For instance, if Google Cloud notices that certain data is no longer frequently accessed, they could automatically adjust the billing. When data isn't actively used, the charges for access to that data should decrease. This approach would ensure that users are billed fairly for the actual access they require, especially when data access patterns vary over time.

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Akram Zabat

Consultant - Architecture Solution at Onepoint

Provides versatile data storage solutions with a simple setup and easy to use

It's similar to S3 for AWS. The ability to store everything inside Blob or Object storage and use it for archiving data is beneficial. For example, you can transform data from relational databases, flatten it, and store it in Object storage to save space within the databases. If I want to save data and do not require legacy access, it's a good solution, for instance, to migrate archives from databases to Object storage. This can also be used for business intelligence purposes. Having a storage solution for data makes it the best place to store it. Azure has its own solution for StatsQ Web Apps.

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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 aspect of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is its integration with the wider Google Cloud ecosystem."

"The capacity and space on offer are excellent."

"Nearline is highly stable."

"I find the flexibility in storing documents or data and the ease of retrieval valuable with this solution."

"It can isolate files and stop them from corrupting other files."

"It provides the necessary support and flexibility to manage data storage effectively, especially during times of variable data flow."

"The data structure and the types of data that are supported are very good."

"Google is always introducing new features and tends to have a new release every month."

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline pros

"The file retention and object retention have been most valuable."

"The ability to store everything inside Blob or Object storage and use it for archiving data is beneficial."

"We can do data queries easily."

"It's easy to use."

"The metadata that the solution provides is quite valuable for us. If we need to analyze the latest data from a particular department or particular user, we can simply query through the metadata we store in Azure Object Storage and simply fetch those records which are maybe one day or one month old. this metadata storage is really handy for us."

"The benefits of using Microsoft Azure Object Storage include being able to keep all unstructured data in the storage, allowing users to access it from anywhere by configuring the storage explorer in their system, based on the policies we apply during the implementation."

"The solution offers good documentation."

"Blob Storage is one of the best resources in Azure for storing unstructured data such as files, video files, audio files, and Excel files."

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage pros

Cons

"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."

"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."

"The UI could be a little bit more effective."

"The pricing is quite high."

"Nearline security could be better. The solution could integrate better with SEIM tools."

"They should provide more options or flexibility in terms of pricing."

"The interface for managing file storage in the buckets could be improved."

"The suggestion for improvement primarily revolves around cost efficiency."

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline cons

"I have no complaints about Microsoft Azure Object Storage, but maybe its market size could be more extensive, and its backup speed enhanced."

"The stability could be improved."

"The tool should be a little bit cheaper."

"Improvements should be made as per customer requirements."

"The solution can be quite slow."

"Uploading files from the UI has presented some issues. When editing work and once you delete a file, it takes some time to recreate the same file."

"The stability of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

"Sometimes, I have issues with the Microsoft portal, which interrupts the service."

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage cons

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 solution is not affordable for small businesses."

"Pricing is always confusing for all Microsoft products. For this solution, they do provide the estimates, but it is not easy to guess the exact amount that we will be billed."

"The licensing cost of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is monthly. We have two types of licenses. One is the EA enterprise license and the other is a CSP license."

"We have a separate package and pay extra for additional technical support."

"Microsoft Azure Object Storage is an expensive solution."

"The pricing for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is high and needs some reduction. It's a seven out of ten, price-wise, because it currently limits your consumption, so the solution should have better pricing."

"For the cloud, you get charges every day if you are going to download anything, besides the cost for storage those charges are always there."

"Microsoft Azure Object Storage is not expensive."

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

University

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

16%

Retailer

Insurance Company

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.

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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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Object Storage?

The layout of Microsoft is professional.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Object Storage?

The licensing cost of Microsoft Azure Object Storage is cheaper compared to other competitors, such as Google or third-party solutions, which easily engages customers. They also get multiple servic...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Object Storage?

The improvement needed for Microsoft Azure Object Storage is to reduce the transactional charges, as these read and write operation charges are higher. If reduced, we could engage more customers. M...

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Compared 94% of the time

Amazon S3 vs Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Compared 6% of the time

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline Competitors

Oracle Cloud Object Storage vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 43% of the time

Amazon S3 vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 33% of the time

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 15% of the time

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) vs Microsoft Azure Object Storage

Compared 9% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Object Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

August 2025

Download Google Cloud Storage Nearline product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Object Storage

August 2025

Download Microsoft Azure Object Storage product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, Azure Object Storage, MS Azure Object Storage

Overview

A low-cost, highly-durable and highly available storage service for infrequently accessed data, data archiving, online backup and disaster recovery. Data is available instantly, not within hours or days. With sub-second average response times and 1 cent per GB/month pricing, Cloud Storage Nearline gives you terrific performance at a low cost.

Google

REST-based object storage for unstructured data in the cloud

Store infrequently accessed data in a low-cost cool storage tier
Store frequently accessed application data in a hot storage tier
Stream video, audio, and other media to web, mobile, or desktop applications
Power big data analytics
Access your data more securely, both over the wire and at rest

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Umbraco, Xbox, Radioshack, 343 Industries, McKesson

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage

July 2025

Free Report: Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Object Storage

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