Identity & access management · AWS vs Google Cloud
IAM roles for AWS services vs Service accounts
IAM roles for AWS services map to service accounts attached to Google Cloud resources, which receive short-lived credentials automatically.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Service | IAM roles for AWS services | Service accounts |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | Roles assumed by EC2 instance profiles, Lambda execution roles, ECS task roles, and EKS Pod Identity, giving workloads temporary credentials from AWS STS with no stored keys. | Identities for workloads; attach a service account to a resource to get short-lived credentials without keys. |
| Pricing model | Free. | No charge for service accounts. |
| Docs | IAM roles for AWS services docs | Service accounts docs |
| Pricing page | IAM roles for AWS services pricing | — |
Key differences
- A service account is a principal with its own IAM roles, rather than a role assumed by a service.
- Avoid service account keys; attached service accounts and federation remove the need for them.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Free. IAM roles for AWS services pricing →
- GCP
- No charge for service accounts.
And on Azure?
Direct match Azure's equivalent is Managed identities for Azure resources. AWS vs Azure comparison →
FAQ
What is the Google Cloud equivalent of IAM roles for AWS services?
IAM roles for AWS services map to service accounts attached to Google Cloud resources, which receive short-lived credentials automatically.
How does pricing compare between IAM roles for AWS services and Service accounts?
AWS: Free. Google Cloud: No charge for service accounts. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
What is the Azure equivalent?
Managed identities for Azure resources (direct match). IAM roles for EC2, Lambda, ECS, and EKS map to Azure managed identities (system-assigned or user-assigned).