Events, queues & pub/sub
Amazon SNS vs Azure Service Bus / Azure Event Grid
Amazon SNS maps to Azure Service Bus topics (durable fan-out to subscriptions) and Azure Event Grid (push to webhooks and services).
For SMS, email, and mobile push, Azure uses Azure Communication Services and Notification Hubs, which aren't mapped here.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Amazon SNS | Azure Service Bus Azure Event Grid |
| Lifecycle | SNS Message Data Protection entered maintenance (Mar 31, 2026). | Generally available Generally available |
| What it is | Pub/sub topics (Standard and FIFO) that fan out to SQS, Lambda, HTTP, Firehose, email, SMS, and mobile push, with filter policies. | Enterprise message broker with queues and topics/subscriptions. Supports sessions (FIFO), duplicate detection, transactions, dead-lettering, scheduled messages, AMQP 1.0, and JMS 2.0 (Premium). Managed pub/sub event routing. System topics for Azure events, custom topics and namespaces, CloudEvents, push and pull delivery, and an MQTT broker (v3.1.1 and v5). |
| Pricing model | Per million publishes plus per-delivery charges that vary by endpoint type (HTTP, SQS, and Lambda are cheap, while SMS is priced per message by country). | Service Bus Standard and Premium pricing (operations or messaging units). Event Grid per million operations. |
| Docs | Amazon SNS docs | Azure Service Bus docs Azure Event Grid docs |
| Pricing page | Amazon SNS pricing | Azure Service Bus pricing Azure Event Grid pricing |
| Exams | DVA-C02 Retiring SAA-C03 | AZ-204 Retired AI-200 |
Key differences
- SNS combines app-to-app fan-out (to SQS, Lambda, HTTP, Firehose) and app-to-person delivery (SMS, email, mobile push) in one service. Azure splits these across Service Bus topics or Event Grid (A2A) and Communication Services or Notification Hubs (A2P).
- Filtering. SNS uses subscription filter policies on attributes or the body. Service Bus subscriptions use SQL or correlation filters. Event Grid has subject and advanced filters.
- FIFO. SNS FIFO topics pair with SQS FIFO queues. Service Bus sessions on topic subscriptions provide ordering.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Per million publishes plus per-delivery charges that vary by endpoint type (HTTP, SQS, and Lambda are cheap, while SMS is priced per message by country). Amazon SNS pricing →
- Azure
- Service Bus Standard and Premium pricing (operations or messaging units). Event Grid per million operations. Azure Service Bus pricing → Azure Event Grid pricing →
Certification exam mapping
| Exam | Provider | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Developer – Associate DVA-C02 | AWS | Associate | retiring Being updated to DVA-C03. Registration for DVA-C03 opens Oct 27, 2026. Last day to take DVA-C02 is Nov 30, 2026. |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03 | AWS | Associate | current Italian version retires after Dec 31, 2026. |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Developer Associate AZ-204 | Azure | Associate | retired The certification and renewal assessment are retired (the page doesn't give a date). The closest current developer credential is AI-200 (Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate). That's our reading, not an official mapping. |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate AI-200 | Azure | Associate | current Back-end services, containers, and architecture for AI solutions on Azure. |
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 SNS?
Amazon SNS maps to Azure Service Bus topics (durable fan-out to subscriptions) and Azure Event Grid (push to webhooks and services). For SMS, email, and mobile push, Azure uses Azure Communication Services and Notification Hubs, which aren't mapped here.
How does pricing compare between Amazon SNS and Azure Service Bus and Azure Event Grid?
AWS: Per million publishes plus per-delivery charges that vary by endpoint type (HTTP, SQS, and Lambda are cheap, while SMS is priced per message by country). Azure: Service Bus Standard and Premium pricing (operations or messaging units). Event Grid per million operations. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
Which certification exams cover this topic?
AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) [retiring]; AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03); Microsoft Certified – Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204) [retired]; Microsoft Certified – Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (AI-200).