Scaling, placement & rightsizing · AWS vs Google Cloud
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling vs Managed instance groups (MIGs) and autoscaler
EC2 Auto Scaling groups map to managed instance groups (MIGs) with the autoscaler.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling | Managed instance groups (MIGs) and autoscaler |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | Auto Scaling groups that keep a target number of instances healthy and scale with target tracking, step, scheduled, or predictive policies. Mixed instances policies blend Spot and On-Demand. Warm pools are supported. | Groups of identical VMs built from an instance template, with autoscaling, autohealing, rolling updates, and zonal or regional distribution. |
| Pricing model | There's no charge for EC2 Auto Scaling. You pay for the instances and CloudWatch alarms or metrics used. | No charge for MIGs or the autoscaler; you pay for the VMs. |
| Docs | Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling docs | Managed instance groups (MIGs) and autoscaler docs |
| Pricing page | Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling pricing | Managed instance groups (MIGs) and autoscaler pricing |
Key differences
- Regional MIGs spread instances across zones; zonal MIGs stay in one zone.
- MIGs also do autohealing (health-check based recreation) and rolling updates from instance templates, like launch templates.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- There's no charge for EC2 Auto Scaling. You pay for the instances and CloudWatch alarms or metrics used. Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling pricing →
- GCP
- No charge for MIGs or the autoscaler; you pay for the VMs. Managed instance groups (MIGs) and autoscaler pricing →
And on Azure?
Direct match Azure's equivalent is Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets. AWS vs Azure comparison →
FAQ
What is the Google Cloud equivalent of Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling?
EC2 Auto Scaling groups map to managed instance groups (MIGs) with the autoscaler.
How does pricing compare between Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling and Managed instance groups (MIGs) and autoscaler?
AWS: There's no charge for EC2 Auto Scaling. You pay for the instances and CloudWatch alarms or metrics used. Google Cloud: No charge for MIGs or the autoscaler; you pay for the VMs. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
What is the Azure equivalent?
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (direct match). Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling maps to Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets with autoscale.