Purchase options & licensing
EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations vs Azure on-demand capacity reservation
EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations map to Azure on-demand capacity reservation.
Both hold capacity at pay-as-you-go rates whether you use it or not, and both stack with commitment discounts.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| Service | EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations | Azure on-demand capacity reservation |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | Reserve capacity for an instance type in an AZ, either immediately with no commitment or future-dated with a commitment. Billed at On-Demand rates whether you use it or not. Discounts come from Savings Plans or regional RIs. | Reserve VM capacity in a region or availability zone for any duration, with no term commitment and an SLA. Billed at pay-as-you-go rates. It can be combined with reservations for a discount. |
| Pricing model | Billed at the On-Demand rate for the reserved instance type, used or unused. Immediate reservations have no term, and future-dated ones carry a minimum commitment. | Billed at the pay-as-you-go rate for the reserved size, used or unused. No term commitment. |
| Docs | EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations docs | Azure on-demand capacity reservation docs |
| Pricing page | EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations pricing | Azure on-demand capacity reservation pricing |
| Exams | SAA-C03 SAP-C02 Retiring | AZ-305 |
Key differences
- Scope. EC2 reserves in one Availability Zone. Azure reserves in a region or a specific availability zone, and it carries an SLA.
- Future-dated. EC2 can schedule future-dated reservations (with a commitment period, at least 32 vCPUs, and C/G/I/M/R/T/U/X families). EC2 also has interruptible capacity reservations and, for ML, Capacity Blocks.
- Discounts. On AWS, Savings Plans and regional RIs apply, but zonal RI discounts don't. On Azure, reservations and the savings plan apply.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Billed at the On-Demand rate for the reserved instance type, used or unused. Immediate reservations have no term, and future-dated ones carry a minimum commitment. EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations pricing →
- Azure
- Billed at the pay-as-you-go rate for the reserved size, used or unused. No term commitment. Azure on-demand capacity reservation pricing →
Certification exam mapping
| Exam | Provider | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03 | AWS | Associate | current Italian version retires after Dec 31, 2026. |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional SAP-C02 | AWS | Professional | retiring Being updated to SAP-C03. Registration for SAP-C03 opens Oct 27, 2026. Last day to take SAP-C02 is Nov 16, 2026. |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 | Azure | Expert | current English version updated Apr 17, 2026. |
Relevance is based on each exam's published scope, not a line-by-line objective match. Check the official study guide.
FAQ
What is the Azure equivalent of EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations?
EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations map to Azure on-demand capacity reservation. Both hold capacity at pay-as-you-go rates whether you use it or not, and both stack with commitment discounts.
How does pricing compare between EC2 On-Demand Capacity Reservations and Azure on-demand capacity reservation?
AWS: Billed at the On-Demand rate for the reserved instance type, used or unused. Immediate reservations have no term, and future-dated ones carry a minimum commitment. Azure: Billed at the pay-as-you-go rate for the reserved size, used or unused. No term commitment. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
Which certification exams cover this topic?
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03); AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C02) [retiring]; Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305).