AWS, Azure, or GCP: Which cloud service to choose?

AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are the three largest cloud computing platforms in the world. AWS leads the market with 28%, Azure stands out for its integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, and GCP for data and AI (Artificial Intelligence).

• What is cloud computing?
• AWS, Azure, or GCP: what is the difference?
• Types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
• When to choose AWS?
• Strengths and limitations of Microsoft Azure
• When to choose Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is the model for delivering IT (Information Technology) resources — servers, storage, databases, networks, software, and analytics — over the internet, on demand and with pay-per-use billing. Instead of buying and maintaining their own data centers, the company rents infrastructure from providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

This model has stopped being a trend and become the foundation of corporate IT. According to the Synergy Research Group, worldwide spending on cloud infrastructure reached US$129 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone, with growth of 35% a year — the ninth consecutive quarter of acceleration, driven mainly by demand for generative AI.

Cloud services offer scalability, flexibility, and accessibility: the company scales resources up or down according to demand, pays only for what it consumes, and eliminates heavy investments in physical hardware and maintenance. It's this elasticity that lets startups and large corporations alike adapt quickly to market changes.

AWS, Azure, or GCP: what is the difference?

The central difference lies in each platform's focus: AWS offers the broadest service catalog and the greatest maturity; Azure delivers the best integration with Windows Server, SQL Server, and Microsoft 365; and GCP leads in data analytics, Kubernetes, and machine learning. In market share, Synergy Research Group recorded in the first quarter of 2026: AWS with 28%, Azure with 21%, and Google Cloud with 14% — together, the three control more than 60% of the world market.

Types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS

Every cloud service fits one of three models, which vary in the level of responsibility that remains with the customer:

1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) — provides virtual servers, storage, and networks. The customer has full control over configuration and management; in exchange, they need technical knowledge to administer the environment. It's the ideal model for those who want maximum freedom over the infrastructure.
2. PaaS (Platform as a Service) — delivers a ready environment to create, deploy, and manage applications, with scalability and automatic updates. It saves development time but limits infrastructure customization. Examples: Heroku, Google App Engine, and Azure App Service.
3. SaaS (Software as a Service) — makes the final software available over the internet, with no local installation or maintenance. The provider handles updates and availability; the customer accepts less customization and some vendor lock-in. Examples: Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Google Workspace.

In practice, AWS, Azure, and GCP offer all three models: virtual machines (IaaS), application platforms (PaaS), and ready-made software (SaaS) coexist in each provider's catalog — the real decision is how much control your team wants to take on.

When to choose AWS?

Choose AWS when the project requires the largest service catalog on the market, global reach, and a mature ecosystem of documentation, certifications, and community. The leader since the segment's creation, AWS covers computing, storage, databases, networking, data analytics, and artificial intelligence at scale.

Infrastructure is its main strength: according to the official AWS documentation, Amazon's cloud operates 123 availability zones across 39 geographic regions, with new regions announced for Saudi Arabia and Chile. In practice, that means lower latency and more data-residency options for global applications.

AWS's weak point is complexity: with so many overlapping services, configuring and managing the environment requires study, especially for beginners — and the bill can surprise you without cost discipline. To start with the fundamentals, see the CodeCrush guide on servers and the AWS universe in cloud programming.

Strengths and limitations of Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is the natural choice for companies that already depend on the Microsoft ecosystem: native integration with Windows Server, SQL Server, Microsoft 365, and Active Directory reduces migration friction and simplifies licensing. Azure also stands out in hybrid scenarios, connecting local data centers to the public cloud with tools like Azure Arc.

This corporate strength shows up clearly in regulated segments. Gartner projects that worldwide spending on sovereign-cloud IaaS will total US$80 billion in 2026, a market where Azure competes for government contracts and sectors like health and finance, which demand local data residency and control.

The most-cited limitation of Azure is cost: depending on the workload, the platform can be more expensive than its competitors, and the portal, with hundreds of services, also has a learning curve. FinOps practices to maximize profits in cloud computing help keep the bill under control on any provider.

When to choose Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?

Choose GCP when the project is data-centric, machine learning, or containers. Google's platform created Kubernetes, offers BigQuery for large-scale data analytics, and Vertex AI for training and serving models — a direct heritage of the infrastructure that runs products like Search and YouTube.

On price, GCP applies automatic discounts for sustained use, without requiring upfront contracts, and is recognized for network performance, security, and compliance. The smaller market share (14%) also translates into a leaner catalog than AWS's — which can be an advantage for teams who get lost in the overlap of services.

GCP's trade-offs are a learning curve considered steeper by those coming from other providers and a corporate presence still smaller than that of AWS and Azure. To know the platform in depth, read the analysis of the Google Cloud ecosystem and its scalability proposition.

Conclusion

There is no absolute winner among AWS, Azure, and GCP — there is the right provider for your context. If the priority is service breadth and maturity, start with AWS; if the company breathes Microsoft, Azure pays back the investment quickly; if the product lives on data and AI, GCP offers the best technical cost-benefit. The most expensive mistake is not choosing the "wrong" cloud, but ignoring cost management and vendor lock-in: design the architecture so that switching providers is expensive, but never impossible.