Microsoft Azure vs MWS Cloud: Complete Comparison (2026)

Why choose Microsoft Azure

• Has a free plan (MWS Cloud does not)
• Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 5/10)
• Higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 4/10)
• Better fit for developers (7/10 vs 5/10)

Why choose MWS Cloud

• Higher Support score (6/10 vs 5/10)

Microsoft Azure

Pros

• Free account includes a 200 USD credit plus always-free allowances such as 1 million Functions requests and Azure DevOps for 5 users.
• Close integration with Microsoft products such as Entra ID and Power BI is repeatedly praised by reviewers.
• Very broad catalogue covering compute, Kubernetes, serverless, databases, storage and AI services.
• Global footprint of over 400 datacenters across 70 regions as of fiscal 2025.
• Reviewers credit built-in identity management and security.

Cons

• Reviewers on Capterra and TrustRadius say monthly bills are hard to understand and predict.
• Steep learning curve, with many services carrying similar names.
• Some PeerSpot reviewers report support tickets taking weeks or months to resolve.
• Paid support is extra, from 29 to 1,000 USD per month beyond the free Basic plan.
• Integration with non-Microsoft platforms and documentation for new releases draw criticism.

MWS Cloud

Pros

• It holds Russian compliance certifications, including 152-FZ at UZ-1, GOST R 57580, and PCI DSS 4.0.1.
• It runs on MTS's own data centers and network, with Tier III facilities and a stated 99.95% availability.
• The catalog is broad: managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, ClickHouse, Kafka, Valkey and Kubernetes, plus Object Storage and a CDN.
• Infrastructure can be automated through the API, CLI and Terraform as well as the web console.
• Security services include Anti-DDoS, WAF, KMS, Secret Manager and SOC.

Cons

• A 2025 Habr review found that most platform services were in preview, and Compute had no SLA.
• At review time, onboarding meant a form and a manual approval that could take up to 10 days, and the CDN was available only on request.
• The same review found no NAT gateway, only one storage class, and no automatic issuance of SSL certificates.
• Prices are not shown on the website, and one user comment called VM prices much higher than those of budget VPS hosts.
• Billing at review time had no budget alerts or forecasting.