Cloud Instances Price Comparison: AWS vs Azure vs Google vs IBM

CLOUD INSTANCES PRICE COMPARISON:
AWS VS AZURE VS GOOGLE VS IBM

• Kim Weins
• VP Marketing and Cloud Cost Strategy, RightScale
Presenters

Multi-Cloud is the Strategy of Choice
Multi-Cloud
85%

• What’s New
• Comparing Discount Options
• Comparing Cloud Prices
• Winners
• Takeaways
Agenda
5

WHAT’S CHANGING?
PRICES ARE DROPPING
PRICING OPTIONS MORE SIMILAR

• Per second billing
• AWS adds per second billing for EC2 and a few other services
• Google extends per-second billing with 1 minute minimum
• Azure offers per second billing for container instances
• Discounting gone wild
• Azure adds reserved instances
• Google adds Committed Use Discounts
• AWS adds 1 Year Convertible Reserved Instances
• New instances in our comparison
• AWS adds C5s
• Azure Dv3, Ev3, Fv2
• Hyperthreading on v3s -- pay attention to the ACUs
• IBM adds “families”
What’s Changed in the Last 9 Months
7

• Local Disk
• AWS steering you away from local disk
• More instances with EBS only
• More EBS optimization
• Prices on instances with local disk not dropping as much (eg m3 vs m4)
• Google dropped prices on local disk
• They were a significant premium
• Latest Azure instances have smaller local disk
• Prices dropped on 68% of the instances we included in this analysis
• AWS dropped 19 of 26 prices
• Azure dropped 22 of 26
• Google dropped 4 of 26
• IBM dropped 26 of 26
Cont...What’s Changed in the Last 9 Months
8

AWS RIs Azure RIs Google SUD/CUD
IBM Monthly
(or Negotiated)
Length of
commitment
1 or 3 years 1 or 3 years SUD: No
commitment
CUD: 1 or 3 years
Monthly: Commit by
month
Range of discount
levels
1Y 24-58%
3Y 32-75%
Up to 72% SUD: Up to 30%
CUD: 37% (1Y) or
55% (3Y)
Monthly: About 10%
How long
instance must run
to save
Breakeven
1Y 5-9 months
3Y 9-24 months
TBD SUD: 25% of month
CUD 1Y: 7.5 months
CUD 3Y: 16 months
Month
Payment options No Upfront
Partial Upfront
All Upfront
All Upfront No Upfront Negotiated
Other
documented
programs
-Volume discounts,
for RIs
-Spot instances
-Hybrid Use
Discount -Enterprise
Agreement
Preemptible VMs Negotiated
Comparing Compute Discount Options

AWS RIs Azure RIs Google SUD/CUD
Buy based on: Region
Instance family
OS
Region
Instance family
Instance size
Region
# of vCPUs
# of GBs RAM
Flexibility Convertible: Can
exchange for combo of
RIs of equal or greater
value
Standard: Availability
zone, Size, Network
Can change across any
region or series
Automatically applies to
all instances in the region
Returnable Can sell on Marketplace
(often impossible to find
buyers)
Yes - cost TBD No
Commitment Discounts

AWS Reserved
Instances:
Standard Zone
AWS Reserved
Instances:
Standard Regional
AWS Reserved
Instances:
Convertible
(lower discount)
Buy based on: Region
AZ
Instance family
Instance Size
OS
Network Type
Region
Instance family
Instance size
OS
Network Type
Region
Instance family
Instance size
OS
Network Type
Automatic
changes
None Applies to any AZ
Applies to any size in the
same family (vanilla Linux
only)
Same as Standard
Manual changes AZ
Instance size
Network Type
Network Type Exchange for equal value
of RIs
Three Types of AWS Reserved Instances

About Google Sustained Use Discount (SUD)
• No commitment. The more you use an instance family during
the month, the higher the discount.
Usage Level
% of Billing Cycle
Incremental Rate
% of On-Demand Baseline
Sample Rate
n1-standard-1
Total Cost
0-25% 100% $0.050 $9.00
25-50% 80% $0.040 $7.20
50-75% 60% $0.030 $5.40
75-100% 40% $0.020 $3.60
Monthly Cost
at 100% usage
30% discount $25.20

Google SUD uses “Inferred Instances”
Source: Google

• Commit to # of vCPUs and GBs of RAM
• 1 yr (37% discount) or 3 yr (55% discount)
• Can be used for any instance type or size in a region
• SUD still applies for non-committed use
About Google Committed Use Discount

RightScale Optima: Reserved Instance Plan
16

VM Type AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large 7.5 32 n1-standard-2 7.5 375 D2s v3 8 32 BL1.2x8.200 8 200
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large 8 0 n1-standard-2 7.5 0 D2s v3 8 32 B1.2x8.25 8 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large 15 32 n1-highmem-2 13 375 E2s v3 16 16 M1.2x16x25 16 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r4.large 15.25 0 n1-highmem-2 13 0 E2s v3 16 16 M1.2x16x25 16 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large 3.75 32 n1-highcpu-2 1.8 375 F2 v2 4 32 C1.2x2.25 2 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c5.large 4 0 n1-highcpu-2 1.8 0 F2 v2 4 32 C1.2x2.25 2 25
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM Compute
Source: RightScaleAs of Nov 13, 2017

VM Type AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
Different amounts of
memory on HighCPU

VM Type AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
AWS has families with
and without local disk

VM Type AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
Google lets you add on local
SSD but min is 375 GB

VM Type AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
Azure always includes
local disk

VM Type AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
IBM includes 25GB disk by
default.(Some local. some SAN)

VM Type
US
Linux
AWS OD
Hourly
Google OD
Hourly
Azure OD
Hourly
IBM OD
Hourly
AWS OD
/GB RAM
Google OD
/GB RAM
Azure OD
/GB RAM
IBM OD
/GB RAM
Standard
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$0.133 $0.136 $0.100 $0.137 $0.018 $0.018 $0.013 $0.017
Standard
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$0.100 $0.095 $0.100 $0.112 $0.013 $0.013 $0.013 $0.014
Highmem
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$0.166 $0.159 $0.133 $0.179 $0.011 $0.012 $0.008 $0.011
Highmem
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$0.133 $0.118 $0.133 $0.179 $0.0089 $0.009 $0.008 $0.011
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$0.105 $0.112 $0.085 $0.075 $0.028 $0.062 $0.021 $0.038
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$0.085 $0.071 $0.085 $0.075 $0.021 $0.039 $0.021 $0.038
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM
On-Demand Hourly

VM Type
US
Linux
AWS OD
Hourly
Google OD
Hourly
Azure OD
Hourly
IBM OD
Hourly
AWS OD
/GB RAM
Google OD
/GB RAM
Azure OD
/GB RAM
IBM OD
/GB RAM
Standard
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$0.133 $0.136 $0.100 $0.137 $0.018 $0.018 $0.013 $0.017
Standard
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$0.100 $0.095 $0.100 $0.112 $0.013 $0.013 $0.013 $0.014
Highmem
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$0.166 $0.159 $0.133 $0.179 $0.011 $0.012 $0.008 $0.011
Highmem
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$0.133 $0.118 $0.133 $0.179 $0.009 $0.009 $0.008 $0.011
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$0.105 $0.112 $0.085 $0.075 $0.028 $0.062 $0.021 $0.038
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$0.085 $0.071 $0.085 $0.075 $0.021 $0.039 $0.021 $0.038
On-Demand Hourly

VM Type
US
Linux
AWS
1Y RI
Annual
Google
1Y CUD
Annual
Azure
EA 30% off
Annual
IBM
Monthly +
30% off
Annual
AWS
1Y RI
Annual
/GB RAM
Google
1Y CUD
Annual
/GB RAM
Azure
EA 30% off
Annual
/GB RAM
IBM
Monthly +
30% off
Annual
/GB RAM
Standard
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$867 $884 $613 $764 $116 $118 $77 $95
Standard
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$622 $524 $613 $624 $78 $70 $77 $78
Highmem
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$946 $1,013 $816 $998 $63 $78 $51 $62
Highmem
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$850 $653 $816 $998 $56 $50 $51 $62
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w Local SSD
$666 $751 $521 $418 $178 $417 $130 $209
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no Local disk
$543 $391 $521 $418 $136 $217 $130 $209
Discounted Annual

Hourly On-Demand Cost by Region:
Standard 2 vCPU
27
Google
Azure Google Azure
Google Azure

Annual Cost by Region: No Local Disk
28
Google lowest across the board

Annual Cost by Region: With Local SSD
29
Azure Azure
Google Azure
Google Azure

Annual Cost: Attached Storage
30
Google
IBM

Annual Cost: Linux vs Windows
31
Google
Google
Google
IBM

Annual Cost by Flavor: No Local Disk
32
Google lowest across the board

Annual Cost by Flavor: Local SSD
33
Azure Azure
Google Azure
IBM
IBM

Annual Cost by Flavor per GB RAM: No Local
Disk
34
Google Google
Google Google
Azure
Azure

Annual Cost by Flavor per GB RAM: Local SSD
35
Azure lowest across the board

AWS Google Azure IBM
Lowest Price 0 24 18 4
Highest Price 15 9 6 19
Who Has Lowest and Highest Prices?
We looked at 46 scenarios for this webinar.
(There are many more)

AWS Google Azure IBM
On-Demand
Annual
$1,667 $1,605 $1,436 $1,871
Discounted
Annual
$1,235 $1,486 $1,022 $1,192
Linux Scenario Totals (per GB RAM)
Highly dependent on your
negotiated discounts

• Type of storage matters
• If you need local disk, Azure tends to be lowest
• If no local disk, Google tends to be lowest
• For attached volumes, Google and IBM
• Discounting matters
• Google is strong in on-demand for continuous workloads due to
Sustained Use Discount
• Azure Reserved Instances may reduce Azure prices further
• Your negotiated discounts matter - especially for IBM, but also
additional discounts for other clouds
Tips
38

• AWS often provides more flexible options
• Instances with or without local storage, storage with or without PIOPs
• Partial/All Upfront 1yr RIs or 3 yr RIs or can save more
• Google SUDs reduce On-Demand costs, CUDs save more
• Is often the lowest cost (unless you require local storage)
• Don’t use local storage unless you absolutely need it – Persistent Disk is cheaper
• Azure IS matching or beating AWS On-Demand prices
• Your level of EA discount makes a difference in your discounted costs
• Consider Azure Reserved Instances (available shortly)
• IBM is going to be about the negotiated discounts
• Lower attached storage pricing
• VERY good prices on Windows
Cloud Provider Specific Tips

• Lowest cost depends on
• Your use case
• Your need for local storage
• Amount and Type of RIs you are buying on AWS or CUDs on Google
• Your level of discount on Azure and IBM
• Make sure you…
• Pick the right regions
• Don’t overprovision
• Make the right level of “commitments” to get discounts
• Thinks Multi-Cloud
• Negotiating leverage
• Pick the lowest cost option for each dev/test/batch workload
Takeaways

A Multi-Cloud Approach Can Save You Money
41

Contact sales@rightscale.com for more info
To compare features of cloud providers:
cloudcomparison.rightscale.com
For webinar comparing storage for cloud providers:
https://www.rightscale.com/webinars/lp/aws-vs-azure-vs-google
-cloud-storage-webinar
For other webinars:
https://www.rightscale.com/webinars
Q&A
42

Cloud Instances Price Comparison: AWS vs Azure vs Google vs IBM

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Cloud Instances Price Comparison: AWS vs Azure vs Google vs IBM

Similar to Cloud Instances Price Comparison: AWS vs Azure vs Google vs IBM (20)

More from RightScale

More from RightScale (19)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (18)

Cloud Instances Price Comparison: AWS vs Azure vs Google vs IBM