Overview
Azure Blob Storage and Amazon S3 are the two most widely used object storage services in the cloud. Both are designed to store massive amounts of unstructured data such as images, videos, backups, logs, and application assets.
While they serve the same purpose, the experience, pricing model, and ecosystem integration can feel very different depending on whether your infrastructure is built primarily on Azure or AWS.
Pros and Cons
Azure Blob Storage – Pros
- Strong integration with Azure services and enterprise identity models
- Clear access tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive) for cost control
- Well suited for organizations already using Microsoft technologies
Azure Blob Storage – Cons
- Archive tier requires rehydration before access
- Performance scaling may require planning across multiple storage accounts
- Pricing varies significantly by region and redundancy option
AWS S3 – Pros
- Very mature ecosystem with broad third-party support
- High scalability through simple parallel access patterns
- Strong safeguards to prevent accidental public access
AWS S3 – Cons
- Pricing can be complex due to multiple storage classes and request fees
- Requires careful policy configuration to avoid misconfigurations
- Some optimizations rely on additional AWS services
Security Features
Both platforms offer enterprise-grade security and can meet strict compliance requirements when configured correctly.
| Feature | Azure Blob Storage | AWS S3 |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption at rest | Enabled by default, supports customer-managed keys | Enabled by default, supports AWS-managed and KMS keys |
| Private access | Private endpoints and firewall rules | VPC endpoints and bucket policies |
| Public access protection | Account-level and container-level access controls | Block Public Access feature |
| Immutability (WORM) | Immutable blob storage with retention policies | Object Lock with retention and legal hold |
Pricing Comparison
Pricing for both services depends on storage tier, request volume, retrieval frequency, and data transfer. The advertised cost per GB is only part of the picture.
Example: 1 TB of frequently accessed data
- AWS S3 Standard: Approximately $23–$25 per month for storage alone
- Azure Blob Hot tier: Comparable pricing depending on region and redundancy
Additional costs may apply for API requests, data egress, and access to colder tiers.
Performance and Scalability
Both platforms are designed for massive scale, but performance depends heavily on how applications access the data.
- AWS S3 scales request rates by using parallel access and object prefixes
- Azure Blob Storage provides documented throughput targets per storage account
- For public content, a CDN usually has a larger performance impact than the storage backend itself
Companies Using Azure and AWS
Both platforms power large global organizations across many industries.
- AWS: Netflix, Airbnb, Amazon retail platforms
- Azure: Microsoft, Toyota, Starbucks, enterprise SaaS platforms
5 Things to Consider When Choosing
- Where your compute workloads already run
- Your identity and access management model
- How often the data is accessed
- Expected request volume and concurrency
- Data transfer and CDN strategy
What Type of Media to Store Where
- Images, videos, and static assets work equally well on both platforms
- Backups and archives benefit from cold or archive tiers on either service
- Analytics and data lake workloads often follow the cloud provider used for compute
FAQ
Is Azure Blob cheaper than AWS S3?
It depends on region, access frequency, and tier selection. Either platform can be cheaper depending on usage patterns.
Which one is faster?
Raw storage performance is comparable. CDN usage and network proximity usually matter more.
Can both be used for secure backups?
Yes. Both support encryption, immutability, and long-term retention.
Which is better for enterprise workloads?
Azure often aligns well with Microsoft-centric enterprises, while AWS fits organizations already invested in the AWS ecosystem.