Industry & specialized ML
Amazon Forecast / Amazon SageMaker Canvas vs Azure ML automated ML (AutoML)
Amazon Forecast (no new customers since July 2024) maps to Azure Machine Learning AutoML forecasting.
AWS itself points Forecast users to SageMaker Canvas.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Amazon Forecast Maintenance Amazon SageMaker Canvas | Azure ML automated ML (AutoML) |
| Lifecycle | No longer available to new customers (announced July 29, 2024). AWS recommends SageMaker Canvas. Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | Managed time-series forecasting. No-code ML for analysts. Tabular, time series, text, and image predictions, plus access to foundation models. | AutoML for classification, regression, forecasting, computer vision, and NLP, from code (SDK/CLI v2) or a no-code studio UI. |
| Pricing model | Canvas uses session hours plus training and prediction. Forecast is still available to existing customers at its own rates. | Compute for AutoML training plus endpoint or batch inference. |
| Docs | Amazon Forecast docs Amazon SageMaker Canvas docs | Azure ML automated ML (AutoML) docs |
| Pricing page | Amazon Forecast pricing Amazon SageMaker Canvas pricing | Azure ML automated ML (AutoML) pricing |
| Exams | MLA-C01 Retiring | AI-300 |
Key differences
- Forecast was a turnkey forecasting API. Azure AutoML forecasting trains and deploys models in your workspace, so you manage endpoints and retraining.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Canvas uses session hours plus training and prediction. Forecast is still available to existing customers at its own rates. Amazon Forecast pricing → Amazon SageMaker Canvas pricing →
- Azure
- Compute for AutoML training plus endpoint or batch inference. Azure ML automated ML (AutoML) pricing →
Certification exam mapping
| Exam | Provider | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate MLA-C01 | AWS | Associate | retiring Being updated to MLA-C02 (beta registration opened Sep 1, 2026). Last day for MLA-C01 in English was Sep 28, 2026; Korean, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese remain until MLA-C02 GA. |
| Microsoft Certified – Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate AI-300 | Azure | Associate | current MLOps and GenAIOps infrastructure on Azure (IaC with Bicep/CLI, GitHub Actions). Closest successor in scope to the retired DP-100. |
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 Amazon Forecast and Amazon SageMaker Canvas?
Amazon Forecast (no new customers since July 2024) maps to Azure Machine Learning AutoML forecasting. AWS itself points Forecast users to SageMaker Canvas.
How does pricing compare between Amazon Forecast and Amazon SageMaker Canvas and Azure ML automated ML (AutoML)?
AWS: Canvas uses session hours plus training and prediction. Forecast is still available to existing customers at its own rates. Azure: Compute for AutoML training plus endpoint or batch inference. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
Which certification exams cover this topic?
AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate (MLA-C01) [retiring]; Microsoft Certified – Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate (AI-300).