DNS & DNS-based routing
Route 53 routing policies and health checks vs Azure Traffic Manager
Route 53 routing policies and health checks map to Azure Traffic Manager.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Route 53 routing policies and health checks | Azure Traffic Manager |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | DNS-based traffic routing (weighted, latency, failover, geolocation, geoproximity, IP-based, multivalue) with health checks. | DNS-based global traffic routing (priority, weighted, performance, geographic, multivalue, subnet) with endpoint health monitoring and nested profiles. |
| Pricing model | Routing policy queries are charged per million (higher for latency, geo, and IP-based), plus per health check per month. | Per million DNS queries plus per monitored endpoint per month. |
| Docs | Route 53 routing policies and health checks docs | Azure Traffic Manager docs |
| Pricing page | Route 53 routing policies and health checks pricing | Azure Traffic Manager pricing |
| Exams | SAA-C03 ANS-C01 Retiring | AZ-104 AZ-700 |
Key differences
- Methods. Route 53 has simple, weighted, latency, failover, geolocation, geoproximity, IP-based, and multivalue routing. Traffic Manager has priority, weighted, performance, geographic, multivalue, and subnet routing, and nested profiles to combine them.
- Integration. Route 53 routing lives in your hosted zone. Traffic Manager is a separate profile with its own trafficmanager.net name, which you point to with a CNAME (or an Azure DNS alias record).
- Alternatives. For HTTP apps, Microsoft recommends Front Door for faster failover than DNS.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Routing policy queries are charged per million (higher for latency, geo, and IP-based), plus per health check per month. Route 53 routing policies and health checks pricing →
- Azure
- Per million DNS queries plus per monitored endpoint per month. Azure Traffic Manager 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 Advanced Networking – Specialty ANS-C01 | AWS | Specialty | retiring The exam is being retired. The last day to take it is Dec 31, 2026. Existing certifications stay active for their three-year period. |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Administrator Associate AZ-104 | Azure | Associate | current |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Network Engineer Associate AZ-700 | Azure | Associate | current |
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 Route 53 routing policies and health checks?
Route 53 routing policies and health checks map to Azure Traffic Manager.
How does pricing compare between Route 53 routing policies and health checks and Azure Traffic Manager?
AWS: Routing policy queries are charged per million (higher for latency, geo, and IP-based), plus per health check per month. Azure: Per million DNS queries plus per monitored endpoint per month. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
Which certification exams cover this topic?
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03); AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty (ANS-C01) [retiring]; Microsoft Certified – Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104); Microsoft Certified – Azure Network Engineer Associate (AZ-700).