Virtual machines & images · AWS vs Google Cloud
Amazon EC2 vs Compute Engine
The Google Cloud equivalent of Amazon EC2 is Compute Engine, which runs VM and bare metal instances in zones within regions.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Amazon EC2 | Compute Engine |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | Resizable virtual servers (instances) on the Nitro System, with On-Demand, Spot, Savings Plans, Reserved Instance, and Dedicated purchase options. | Google Cloud's IaaS for virtual machine and bare metal instances, with per-second billing and live migration during host maintenance. |
| Pricing model | Per-second On-Demand billing (60-second minimum) for Linux and Windows. Spot, Savings Plans, and Reserved Instances discount it, and Dedicated Hosts are billed per host. EBS, data transfer, and public IPv4 addresses are billed separately. | Billed per second (1-minute minimum) for vCPUs, memory, and attached resources, by machine type and region. Sustained use discounts apply automatically to some series; committed use discounts and Spot pricing are also available. |
| Docs | Amazon EC2 docs | Compute Engine docs |
| Pricing page | Amazon EC2 pricing | Compute Engine pricing |
Key differences
- Compute Engine live-migrates most VMs during host maintenance instead of scheduling reboot events.
- Instances and disks are zonal resources inside a project; VPC networks are global, with regional subnets.
- Some machine series get sustained use discounts automatically, with no commitment.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Per-second On-Demand billing (60-second minimum) for Linux and Windows. Spot, Savings Plans, and Reserved Instances discount it, and Dedicated Hosts are billed per host. EBS, data transfer, and public IPv4 addresses are billed separately. Amazon EC2 pricing →
- GCP
- Billed per second (1-minute minimum) for vCPUs, memory, and attached resources, by machine type and region. Sustained use discounts apply automatically to some series; committed use discounts and Spot pricing are also available. Compute Engine pricing →
And on Azure?
Direct match Azure's equivalent is Azure Virtual Machines. AWS vs Azure comparison →
FAQ
What is the Google Cloud equivalent of Amazon EC2?
The Google Cloud equivalent of Amazon EC2 is Compute Engine, which runs VM and bare metal instances in zones within regions.
How does pricing compare between Amazon EC2 and Compute Engine?
AWS: Per-second On-Demand billing (60-second minimum) for Linux and Windows. Spot, Savings Plans, and Reserved Instances discount it, and Dedicated Hosts are billed per host. EBS, data transfer, and public IPv4 addresses are billed separately. Google Cloud: Billed per second (1-minute minimum) for vCPUs, memory, and attached resources, by machine type and region. Sustained use discounts apply automatically to some series; committed use discounts and Spot pricing are also available. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
What is the Azure equivalent?
Azure Virtual Machines (direct match). The Azure equivalent of Amazon EC2 is Azure Virtual Machines.