Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Public Cloud Comparison
Compare Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Public Cloud features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
7.9/10
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.
Public Cloud
6.1/10
OpenStack-based pay-as-you-go IaaS from Swiss host Infomaniak. It offers instances, block and S3-compatible object storage, and Kubernetes, all hosted in Swiss data centers.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.9/10 | 6.1/10 |
| Analytics | 8/10 | 3/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Customization | 10/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Integration | 10/10 | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 9/10 | 6/10 |
| Scalability | 10/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| 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 | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| VPS Hosting | ||
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Managed Databases | Not listed | |
| Multiple Regions | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Public Cloud cost by team size
| Team size | Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Public Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Has a free plan (Public Cloud does not)
- Higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Scalability score (10/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (10/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose Public Cloud
- Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (5/10 vs 4/10)
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.
Public Cloud
Pros
- Owned data centers located only in Switzerland, which supports data-sovereignty requirements
- Built on standard OpenStack, so existing tooling works and moving to another provider is easier
- Hourly billing that excludes most charges for stopped instances
- CHF 300 of free credit for the first 3 months
- S3-compatible object storage, encrypted block storage and DDoS protection
Cons
- All regions are in Switzerland, so there is no wider geographic footprint
- Invoices can only be paid by credit card
- Third-party benchmarks note missing monitoring charts and reverse DNS
- Very few independent user reviews on G2 or Capterra
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Amazon Web Services (AWS) scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7.9/10 against 6.1/10 for Public Cloud. The largest gap is in Analytics: 8/10 for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and 3/10 for Public Cloud.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a free plan; Public Cloud does not list one.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 10/10 for them, against 5/10 for Public Cloud.
