AWS vs Azure: Which is Best for Singapore Businesses in 2025

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure are leading cloud computing platforms that offer a wide range of on-demand services, including compute, storage, networking, databases, security, AI, IoT, and more. They serve as the backbone infrastructure for many of today’s websites, apps, and enterprise systems.

In Singapore, businesses of all sizes and industries use AWS and Azure to run their operations in the cloud. This article will help you compare both platforms so you can choose the one that suits your business needs—or decide if using both (a multi-cloud strategy) is the better option.

Since Azure and other providers bill in USD, we'll also mention how the Wise Business Card can help you avoid unnecessary foreign transaction fees and hidden exchange rate markups from traditional banks, saving you money on your ongoing cloud costs.

Table of contents
AWS vs Azure: Quick comparison All about AWS All about Azure Manage your cloud service payments with Wise Business AWS and Azure FAQs AWS vs Azure: Which is best for you?

AWS vs Azure: Quick comparison

AWS and Azure are the two titans of cloud computing. Launched in 2006, AWS is the oldest and most mature cloud provider, with the largest global market share at 30%. Azure, launched later in 2010, is the second largest at 21% but is steadily gaining ground.¹

While both offer similar core services, they differ slightly in certain areas. The table below provides a quick overview:

	AWS	Azure
Services offered	200+ services	200+ services
Global infrastructure	37 regions, 117 availability zones	70+ regions, 400+ data centres
Target audience	Startups, developers, enterprises	Enterprises, Microsoft users, hybrid cloud adopters
Pricing model	Pay-as-you-go with volume and long-term discounts	Pay-as-you-go with volume and long-term discounts
Free tier	100+ free-tier products, including short-term trials, 12-month free offers, and always-free services	12-month trials, 65+ always-free services, $200 credit for 30 days
Security & compliance	300+ security features, 143 certifications	100+ compliance offerings, 78T threat signals analysed daily
Integration	Strong open-source and third-party integration	Deep integration with Microsoft ecosystem

*Details accurate as of 25th June 2025

📖 We've taken a deeper look at AWS pricing and features in other articles. If you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out these helpful resources:

• AWS Pricing Plans for Singapore [2025]
• Digital Ocean vs AWS: Which is Best in 2025?

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How does AWS work?

AWS provides over 200 on-demand cloud computing services, which users can access over the internet, reducing the need for customers to own and manage their own physical servers and data centres.

For example, users can launch virtual servers (Amazon EC2), store data in the cloud (Amazon S3), run databases (Amazon RDS), and much more. Businesses and individuals rent these resources from AWS, paying only for what they use—making it a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solution.

AWS is the most widely adopted cloud platform globally, trusted by millions of users across nearly every industry. With over 19 years of experience, AWS is known for its unmatched reliability. Leading companies like BMW, Coca-Cola, Netflix, and Epic Games rely on it to power their digital operations.

AWS pricing and fees

AWS uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model, meaning you only pay for the services you use. However, with hundreds of services—each priced individually and often with multiple pricing options based on region, usage, duration, and other variables—it's not feasible to list all prices here. We recommend using the AWS Pricing Calculator to help estimate costs.

Here are some sample prices for popular AWS services in the Singapore region:

• EC2: Pricing depends on several variables, such as the operating system and instance type.
• S3 Standard Storage (first 50 TB): USD 0.025 per GB per month for frequently accessed data or USD 0.0138 for infrequently accessed.
• AWS Lambda: USD 0.20 per 1 million requests plus USD 0.0000133334 per GB-second
• Amazon CloudFront (first 50 TB): USD 0.120 per GB data transfer out to the internet, plus USD 0.012 per 10,000 HTTPS requests.

Discounts are available if you have predictable or long-term workloads through AWS's "Save When You Commit" and "Pay Less by Using More" programs.

AWS pros and cons

Pros:

• First major cloud provider and recognised market leader, with the most mature platform, largest global infrastructure, and biggest market share.
• Offers the broadest range of services, with over 200 available and new ones added regularly.
• Proven reliability at scale with 99.99% uptime,² trusted by leading brands like Salesforce, Airbnb, Cisco, and GoDaddy.
• Robust free tier with 100+ AWS products, including short-term trials, 12-month free offers, and always-free services.³
• Largest ecosystem, supported by a vast user community, tons of learning resources, and wide integration with third-party tools.

Cons:

• Pricing can be complex and difficult to navigate, making cost management challenging and increasing the risk of unexpected high bills due to misconfiguration.
• Beginners or small teams without cloud expertise may feel overwhelmed by the vast number of services and technical complexity.
• Hiring AWS-certified professionals is often challenging and expensive due to high salaries and strong competition for talent.
• Managing resources on AWS can be complex and time-consuming, requiring specialised knowledge and ongoing learning to keep up with updates.
• After setting up on AWS, migrating to another provider can be difficult and costly due to its reliance on proprietary services.

All types and sizes of Singapore businesses use AWS, but it's especially well-suited for organisations that need maximum flexibility, proven global reliability, and access to the broadest range of mature cloud services.

How does Azure work?

Azure is Microsoft's answer to Amazon's AWS, offering on-demand access to IT resources—like servers, storage, databases, networking, and software—over the internet. Like AWS, it boasts a massive collection of services, a significant market share, and a global network of data centres.

However, Azure differentiates itself in a few key ways. For instance, it integrates natively with Microsoft products like Office 365, Dynamics, Active Directory, and Windows Server—tools many enterprises already use.

Azure also leads in hybrid cloud solutions with services like Azure Arc and Azure Stack, letting businesses run applications not only in the cloud but also on their own servers and in edge environments. Additionally, Azure is leaning into enterprise-ready AI with AI Foundry, a platform for building and deploying intelligent apps and agents at scale.

Azure pricing and fees

Azure also uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model, so you only pay for what you use. You can easily scale your services up or down as needed. There are also ways to save money—for example, by prepaying or committing to a 1- or 3-year plan.

Like AWS, Azure offers hundreds of services, each with its own pricing. Because of this, it's not practical to list every price here. To get a more accurate estimate, it's best to use the Azure Pricing Calculator.

Below are sample prices for several popular Azure services, with the Southeast Asia region (Singapore) selected:

• Azure Virtual Machines: Pricing varies considerably depending on many variables, but starts as low as around 0.101 USD per hour.
• Blob Storage: Costs around 0.02 to 0.05 USD per GB per month for frequently accessed data.
• Azure SQL Database: Pricing starts around 0.18 USD to 0.36 USD per vCore-hour for provisioned compute.
• Azure App Service: Pricing varies depending on many variables but typically starts from 0.075 USD per hour.

Azure pros and cons

Pros:

• Like AWS, Azure offers a wide range of services, with over 200 products available.⁴
• Trusted by top companies like HP, Experian, Siemens, and Heineken, Azure has proven its ability to reliably handle large-scale needs.
• Excellent support for hybrid cloud setups, making it great for businesses that want to combine their on-premises data centres with cloud services.
• Provides over 65 always-free services, along with 12-month free trials on many services for new customers.⁵
• Works smoothly with other Microsoft products, making it a natural choice for organisations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Cons:

• Like AWS, Azure pricing and billing structures can be complex, making it challenging to predict expenses accurately.
• Steep learning curve for new users, especially for teams without experience in Microsoft's ecosystem or cloud computing.
• Integration with non-Microsoft tools can be less seamless than with native Microsoft products.
• Bills exclusively in USD for Singapore accounts, which may result in foreign exchange fees charged by your bank or card provider.⁶
• Holds a smaller market share, resulting in a less extensive ecosystem, fewer third-party integrations, and a smaller pool of community and open-source resources.

Like AWS, Azure is used by businesses of all sizes and industries, but it’s particularly well-suited for Singapore enterprises already using Microsoft products or those needing hybrid cloud setups.

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Manage your cloud service payments with Wise Business

It's important to check which currency you'll be billed in if you're using cloud services like AWS or Azure. Many providers, including Azure, still charge in USD or other major foreign currencies.

Most businesses in Singapore use their corporate bank card for these payments—often without realising the hidden costs involved. These can include foreign transaction fees and hidden exchange rate markups that quickly add up.

These extra costs can increase your monthly expenses and cut into your profits. With the Wise Business multi-currency card, even if you get billed in a foreign currency, you can pay for the cloud service with low conversion fees, and always get the real, mid-market exchange rate without getting hit with a foreign transaction fee.

➡️Get Wise Business for Smart Savings

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AWS and Azure FAQs

Which cloud provider has stronger security?

Both AWS and Azure offer enterprise-grade security and privacy features, and are trusted by financial institutions, healthcare providers, and government agencies to protect their most sensitive data.

Microsoft Azure, for example, invests over 4 billion USD annually in cybersecurity, employs a global team of more than 10,000 security experts, and processes 78 trillion security signals daily.⁷

AWS, likewise, supports over 143 security and compliance certifications, blocks more than 99% of password-based attacks, and provides encryption across all 117 AWS services that store customer data.⁸

Can I use multi-cloud strategies with AWS and Azure together?

Yes, you absolutely can—and many enterprises already do this to increase resiliency, avoid vendor lock-in, and gain flexibility. AWS and Azure support and actively promote multi-cloud strategies by offering tools and services to simplify cross-cloud management.

From AWS’s side, tools like AWS Systems Manager let you manage resources across other cloud platforms, including Azure. On Azure’s side, Azure Arc serves as the bridge that extends Azure services across other environments, including AWS.

How do AWS and Azure compare in terms of global reach?

Both providers offer extensive global coverage. AWS spans over 117 Availability Zones across 37 geographic regions,⁹ while Azure operates in more than 70 regions worldwide—more than any other cloud provider—and has over 400 data centres.¹⁰

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AWS vs Azure: Which is best for you?

AWS and Azure are the leading cloud service providers, with considerable overlap in their core services. Choosing the right one for your Singapore-based organisation depends largely on your specific needs, but here are a few key considerations:

• If your business is heavily invested in Microsoft products or requires a robust hybrid cloud setup, Azure is likely your best choice.
• Do you prioritise access to the broadest range of services, a mature ecosystem, and the largest global infrastructure footprint? AWS may be a better fit.

For many large enterprises, a multi-cloud strategy could offer the most value—increasing resiliency, avoiding vendor lock-in, and optimising costs.

For Singapore businesses undergoing digital transformation—shifting from legacy, on-premises infrastructure to scalable, cloud-based solutions like AWS or Azure—especially when expanding into new international markets to quickly deploy services closer to overseas customers, it’s worth taking a closer look at your current business account setup.

Is it truly supporting your global ambitions, or simply accumulating unnecessary fees and offering poor exchange rates?

💡If you're growing a global business, you'll quickly face a daunting wall of costs, complexity, and hidden fees when receiving international payments. Wise Business helps you bypass this wall, making it easy to receive money from around the world and start getting paid like a local today.

• Obtain account details to receive payments in GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD and more for a one-time fee of S$ 99.
• Simply share your account details with customers or add them to invoices.
• Hold, send, and convert money at the mid-market rate in one account.
• Simplify customer payments with Wise request payment feature.
• Accept payments from customers and payment service providers (PSPs) like Stripe and Amazon.
• Generate payment links to request money in specific currencies.

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Sources:

1. Chart: Amazon and Microsoft Stay Ahead in Global Cloud Market | Statista
2. AWS Service Level Agreements
3. Free Cloud Computing Services - AWS Free Tier
4. Cloud Computing Services | Microsoft Azure
5. Explore Free Azure Services | Microsoft Azure
6. Learn the supported currencies for AWS billing
7. Trust your cloud | Microsoft Azure
8. Encrypt Data at Rest - Navigating GDPR Compliance on AWS
9. Global Infrastructure - AWS
10. Global Infrastructure | Microsoft Azure

Sources checked on 25th June 2025