AWS and Azure are neck-and-neck on base compute pricing. The difference is in reserved pricing, Windows licensing and ecosystem. Here is the complete 2026 comparison.
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AWS m6i.xlarge: $0.192/hr. Azure D4s v5: $0.192/hr. On-demand rates are almost identical. The difference emerges with reserved pricing and Azure Hybrid Benefit.
AWS 3yr RI: $0.116/hr (40% saving). Azure 3yr Reserved: $0.109/hr (42% saving). Azure edges AWS on raw reserved pricing.
AHB eliminates Windows OS cost. D4s v5 Windows drops from $0.288/hr to $0.192/hr — 33% saving on top of RI discount. AWS has no equivalent. Windows-heavy: Azure is 20-35% cheaper.
S3 standard: $0.023/GB/month. Azure Blob (LRS): $0.018/GB/month. EBS gp3: $0.08/GB/month. Azure Managed Disk: $0.0135/GB/month. Azure wins on storage.
Azure wins: Windows Server, SQL Server, Microsoft 365, storage-heavy. AWS wins: Linux-heavy, DevOps ecosystem, broadest managed services. Run TCOIQ for your specific environment.
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