AWS vs GCP: Choosing the Right Cloud Platform
A comprehensive comparison of Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform for your next project.
Choosing between AWS and GCP? Here's what you need to know.
Market Overview🔗
- AWS: ~32% market share, the pioneer
- GCP: ~10% market share, the challenger
- Azure: ~22% market share (for reference)
Comparison Matrix🔗
| Aspect | AWS | GCP |
|---|---|---|
| Compute | EC2 | Compute Engine |
| Kubernetes | EKS | GKE ⭐ |
| Serverless | Lambda | Cloud Functions |
| Database | RDS, DynamoDB | Cloud SQL, Firestore |
| ML/AI | SageMaker | Vertex AI ⭐ |
| Pricing | Complex | Simpler |
AWS Strengths🔗
- Breadth of services: 200+ services
- Enterprise adoption: Battle-tested
- Global reach: Most regions
- Documentation: Extensive
# AWS CLI example
aws ec2 describe-instances \
--filters "Name=instance-state-name,Values=running"GCP Strengths🔗
- Kubernetes: GKE is the gold standard
- Data & AI: BigQuery, Vertex AI
- Developer experience: Cleaner console
- Pricing: Sustained use discounts
# GCP CLI example
gcloud compute instances list \
--filter="status=RUNNING"When to Choose AWS🔗
- Enterprise environments
- Need specific services
- Existing AWS investment
- Maximum flexibility
When to Choose GCP🔗
- Kubernetes-heavy workloads
- Data analytics / ML focus
- Startup or greenfield project
- Cost optimization priority
My Recommendation🔗
Start with what your team knows. Both platforms are excellent.
For ML workloads: GCP
For enterprise: AWS
For Kubernetes: GCP
The cloud wars benefit us all with better services and competitive pricing!