Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Amazon AWS vs Amazon Lightsail comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon AWS
Ranking in PaaS Clouds
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
255
Ranking in other categories
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) (2nd)
Amazon Lightsail
Ranking in PaaS Clouds
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of Amazon AWS is 12.9%, down from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Amazon Lightsail is 1.8%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
PaaS Clouds
 

Featured Reviews

Arun Srivastav - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows for automatic scaling of resources and provides built-in firewalls and security features, eliminating the need for external security solutions
One thing that's a bit different is that we're still accustomed to speaking to someone directly. AWS doesn't offer that kind of support. It's only through bots. You're speaking to chatbots, and that can sometimes be frustrating because there's no person on the other side. AI is not a substitute for a person. AWS marketplace is very strong, but somehow AWS doesn't promote it much. They have a huge customer base across the globe, and if products were launched in their marketplace, they could sell like hotcakes. They should improve their marketplace and promote the same product across the globe. They can take a cut, but they should promote it. That's something they don't do very much. So, AWS should promote its marketplace software. The company should promote it aggressively. Currently, they keep it very subtle. If you ask for it, they'll help you out. But they don't seem to advertise, "You're building a product on our platform? Why don't you sell it in our marketplace?" Improvement in AI: AWS is a little behind Microsoft Azure in terms of AI. AWS is still getting there, but the kind of examples and help files available in Azure for AI are much better. So AWS still needs to work on its AI functionality.
Vitor Gabriel Reis Lux Barboza - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides preconfigured templates for common setups and allows for easy configuration of firewall settings directly from the console
There were templates for Ubuntu, for instance, that I used. I used it if I remember, going to 20.04, I guess. It was ready, and I just used the template and it worked well. There is a template for Windows Server, but I didn't test them. Also, the configurations over the firewall in the console work very good for the purpose that we need to isolate it from the internet but allow the connection from specific IP addresses in specific ports. So the filtering in the Lightsail Firewall works good. And I am able to isolate the virtual machine well from the internet in order to avoid DDoS attacks and stuff like that.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Using AWS is really helpful for saving costs."
"AWS has many integrations and plenty of tools available for anyone to take advantage of. There are new features being added all the time."
"The product has a lot of new functionality."
"You can build and release applications quickly with AWS instead of waiting for months to get the necessary hardware. That's the real benefit. The time-to-market for developing applications is much shorter."
"Amazon is a really good solution with high performance. They offer more connectors than some of their competitors, such as Microsoft Azure."
"It is enough for us in terms of features. We don't have too many transactions, and it is sufficient for our current needs."
"The most useful feature of Amazon AWS is it can be accessed from anywhere."
"The solution also helps organizations to move applications to a containerized platform."
"In Lightsail, they simplified to do it in as few clicks as possible. So, around ten clicks, I have a virtual machine deployed."
"One of the product's most valuable features is its fixed pricing, which makes it ideal for small projects and websites that do not require scaling."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"The instances optimized for WordPress are very lightweight and straightforward in configuration."
"Implementations are completed with a few clicks, allowing efficient transitions to other development stages, and setup is easy whether for online support or basic business requirements."
"We use Amazon Lightsail for hosting security components in-house and AI modules."
"EC2 instances are pre-configured and upgraded, so you can simply select and instantly pay for an EC2 instance to set up WordPress, Node.js, or a server container using Docker."
"I find Lightsail particularly valuable for hosting WordPress as it is easier to set up than a bare metal server, which requires extensive configuration and package installations."
 

Cons

"I would appreciate more direct support from AWS."
"We have had several issues with the products and services but as of now, there are no good alternatives."
"There are numerous use cases, and the setup varies from complicated to very simple in some cases."
"There is no control of downtime."
"Amazon AWS could be improved with cheaper licensing costs."
"The use of this tool should be extended to Google and Apple operating systems."
"There is room for improvement in pricing."
"The web console of AWS is not so user-friendly."
"When you need to add some custom rules to Amazon Lightsail, the auto scaling feature is a bit difficult."
"The solution could be smoother than it is."
"It would be beneficial if Lightsail allowed easier upgrade and change processes, similar to EC2 instances, without needing to fully back up and reinstall configurations."
"To improve, I feel the disk management is too basic. I can't easily partition the disk for the operating system. I have to follow the main configuration that is already set up in the template. To partition the disk, I would need to deploy the operating system first and then make changes, but it's not an ideal method. I would recommend improving the disk management."
"I don't see this solution as enterprise-ready, for bigger companies like banks."
"The main area for improvement in Lightsail is the difficulty in scaling down resources."
"The product's network features need enhancement."
"Backward compatibility and the flexibility to choose software versions while installing would be improvements."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is reasonable. It's not expensive, nor will it be cheap, but the free credits initially given provide leverage for new companies to start their businesses."
"The price of the Virtual Desktop service from Amazon AWS could improve, it is more expensive than competitors. The pricing model we are using is pay-as-you-go. You only pay for what you use."
"It's my understanding that our company is charged a few hundred dollars on a monthly basis."
"If I was going to compare the cost of Amazon AWS to Microsoft Azure, they are approximately the same."
"We pay for Amazon AWS annually."
"With Amazon AWS, you pay as you go."
"It is comparable if you add in the price structure to an on-prem solution."
"The price for AWS is good."
"The prices are better than EC2 machines, for instance, because they are simplified management, but it works well, and I am able to run everything that I need on it."
"It's very cheap."
"A few months ago, Lightsail's pricing increased, likely due to the addition of the new VPC feature."
"The affordability of starting at five dollars makes it an attractive option for startups and medium-sized companies, aligning with budget considerations while offering essential cloud services."
"Amazon Lightsail is a bit cheaper than Amazon EC2."
"The services that it provides are good for the price."
"Lightsail is available at an affordable cost starting from five dollars per month."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which PaaS Clouds solutions are best for your needs.
848,253 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user8586 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 14, 2013
Amazon vs Rackspace vs Microsoft vs Google: Cloud Hosting Services Comparison
Amazon Web Services, Rackspace OpenStack, Microsoft Windows Azure and Google are the major cloud hosting and storage service providers. Athough Amazon is top of them and is oldest in cloud market, Rackspace, Microsoft and Google are giving tough competition to each other and to Amazon also for…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
19%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does OpenShift compare with Amazon AWS?
Open Shift makes managing infrastructure easy because of self-healing and automatic scaling. There is also a wonderful dashboard mechanism to alert us in case the application is over-committing or ...
How is SAP Cloud Platform different than Amazon AWS?
How is SAP Cloud Platform different than Amazon AWS? Amazon AWS offers options both in terms of upgrading and expanding capabilities as well as acquiring greater storage space. These upgrades can ...
Looking to compare Google Firebase, Amazon AWS, and Microsoft Azure
We like Google Firebase hosting and authentication and also the excellent cloud functionality. Our team found the flexibility of handling and dealing with the database through EDL to be very useful...
What do you like most about Amazon Lightsail?
In Lightsail, they simplified to do it in as few clicks as possible. So, around ten clicks, I have a virtual machine deployed.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon Lightsail?
Lightsail is available at an affordable cost starting from five dollars per month. This cost may increase with additional features like a static IP.
What needs improvement with Amazon Lightsail?
The main area for improvement in Lightsail is the difficulty in scaling down resources. While it is easy to scale up, scaling down is not straightforward and involves additional complexities.
 

Also Known As

Amazon Web Services, AWS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Pinterest, General Electric, Pfizer, Netflix, and Nasdaq.
Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon AWS vs. Amazon Lightsail and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,253 professionals have used our research since 2012.