Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs CARTO (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is our pick, scoring 7.6/10 against 7.3/10 for CARTO on our AI Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Customization score (10/10 vs 8/10). Only Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
7.6/10
Amazon's public cloud platform, with over 200 pay-as-you-go services for compute, storage, databases, networking and AI, used by startups through large enterprises and governments.
CARTO
7.3/10
CARTO is a cloud-native location intelligence platform that runs spatial analysis, mapping and geospatial apps directly in cloud data warehouses for enterprise data teams.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.6/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Integration | 10/10 | 9/10 |
| Analytics | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 10/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Scalability | 10/10 | 9/10 |
| Security | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Free plan | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | Not listed | |
| Managed Databases | Not listed | |
| Multiple Regions | Not listed | |
| Object Storage | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
| Cloud Compute | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| GIS and Mapping | Not listed | |
Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs CARTO cost by team size
| Team size | Amazon Web Services (AWS) | CARTO |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree plan | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | FreeFree plan | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | FreeFree plan | Contact for pricing |
| 25 users | FreeFree plan | Contact for pricing |
| 50 users | FreeFree plan | Contact for pricing |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who Amazon Web Services (AWS) and CARTO suit
Amazon Web Services (AWS) fits small business better than CARTO.
| Audience | Amazon Web Services (AWS) | CARTO |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business | 5/10It is affordable at low usage, but complex billing and setup can overwhelm non-technical small teams. | 3/10There are no published prices, the minimum contract is 12 months, and reviewers say the cost may be high for smaller teams. |
| Developers | 9/10The full API, CLI and SDK tooling and the breadth of services suit engineers, though the learning curve is steep. | 8/10Offers APIs, deck.gl support, coding agents and an MCP server for building geospatial apps. |
| Enterprise | 10/10Enterprise and Unified Operations support tiers and a broad compliance and service range are aimed at large organisations. | 9/10Committed tiers, self-hosting, SSO, audit logs and Elite support are aimed at large organizations. |
| Government | 8/10AWS runs dedicated GovCloud regions, which have their own support pricing. | Not rated |
| SaaS Companies | 9/10Multi-region infrastructure and managed services support running production SaaS workloads. | Not rated |
| Startups | 8/10The free plan credits and pay-as-you-go billing let startups begin cheaply and scale, which G2 reviewers note. | Not rated |
| Utilities | Not rated | 6/10Suited to spatial analysis of network data held in a warehouse, but it has no asset maintenance or field tooling. |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Has a free plan (CARTO does not)
- Higher Customization score (10/10 vs 8/10)
- Higher Security score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for small business (5/10 vs 3/10)
Why choose CARTO
- Higher Ease of Use score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Analytics score (9/10 vs 8/10)
Pros & Cons
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Pros
- The service catalogue is unusually broad, with over 200 services across 38 regions, so most infrastructure needs can be met on one platform.
- EC2 has a 99.99% region-level SLA with credits of up to 100%, and instances unavailable for more than six minutes in an hour are not billed for that hour.
- The free plan gives up to $200 in credits, and more than 30 always-free services let new teams experiment at low cost.
- Support scales from a $29 minimum up to dedicated Enterprise and Unified Operations tiers for mission-critical workloads.
- G2 rates it 4.4 across more than 17,000 reviews, and reviewers praise its scalability and global reach.
Cons
- Reviewers widely cite a steep learning curve across the console and services.
- Usage pricing is complex and can produce unexpected bills unless spend is monitored closely.
- Paid support is billed as a percentage of total AWS spend, so support costs rise with usage.
- A July 2025 billing console bug showed customers estimated charges in the billions, which hurt trust in its cost tooling.
CARTO
Pros
- Runs analysis directly inside BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift and Oracle without copying data, which reviewers say saves time and storage.
- Builder renders very large datasets, and reviewers rate it highly for mapping and visualization.
- The Data Observatory gives access to more than 12,000 datasets for enrichment.
- Can be bought through the Google Cloud, AWS, Azure and Snowflake marketplaces, and self-hosting is available on committed tiers.
- SoftwareReviews users report strong loyalty, with 98 percent planning to renew.
Cons
- Advanced analysis still requires SQL, so non-technical users face a learning curve.
- No public prices, and even Pay As You Go needs a 12-month contract.
- Warehouse query costs can be hard to predict at high usage.
- Reviewers give lower marks for mobile and web GIS, and there is no field or maintenance tooling.
- The trial lasts 30 days, cannot be extended and cannot be used in production.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Amazon Web Services (AWS) scores higher on our AI Software criteria: 7.6/10 against 7.3/10 for CARTO. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 4/10 for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and 7/10 for CARTO.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a free plan; CARTO does not list one.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the better fit for small business: we rate it 5/10 for them, against 3/10 for CARTO.
