Amazon Lightsail vs IBM Public Cloud comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and IBM are both solutions in the PaaS Clouds category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.5, while IBM is ranked #14 with an average rating of 6.3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.6% mindshare in PSP, compared to IBM’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 86% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Amazon Lightsail

Read 9 Amazon Lightsail reviews

1,263 Views
1,030 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Public Cloud

Read 17 IBM Public Cloud reviews

4,665 Views
3,181 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Amazon Lightsail

IBM Public Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

IBM Public Cloud and Amazon Lightsail compete in cloud solutions, with Amazon Lightsail having an upper hand in accessibility and simplicity, while IBM Public Cloud excels in robust enterprise features.

Features: IBM Public Cloud provides AI integration, large-scale data processing, and compliance certifications, suitable for enterprises. Amazon Lightsail offers virtual servers, databases, and networking services, designed for small businesses and developers seeking ease and speed.

Room for Improvement: IBM Public Cloud could improve deployment speed and integrate more intuitive user interfaces for small businesses. Amazon Lightsail might enhance scalability options, bolster security features, and offer more enterprise-grade support for growing businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Amazon Lightsail ensures intuitive deployment through pre-configured blueprints and extensive documentation, suitable for quick launches. IBM Public Cloud offers extensive support for complex environments, which, while thorough, may require longer setup times for comprehensive operations.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Public Cloud has higher initial setup costs but offers ROI with its scalability and extensive features for large enterprises. Amazon Lightsail provides a cost-effective model with predictable monthly costs, yielding favorable ROI for smaller operations given its lower expenses.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Public Cloud Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Public Cloud

March 2025

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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 Lightsail

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Public Cloud

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

14th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IoT Platforms (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of Amazon Lightsail is 1.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Public Cloud is 3.2%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

PaaS Clouds

Featured Reviews

Vitor Gabriel Reis Lux Barboza

IT Specialist Architecture at Nidec Global Appliance

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.

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Shivakumar Kuppannan

Founder & CEO at Star Systems India Private Limited

No hidden charges, 100% stable, and allows us to have bare metal servers for dedicated workload

It pretty much has all the features. There are many applications and features, and because of that, we need to walk through or study all the material and do hands-on. We need clear documentation or support for using IBM Public Cloud. The UI is fine, and everything else in terms of usability and configuring the cloud is also fine. The only thing is that when we're stuck or get an error, we need some technical support. Normally, for any cloud, we get a lot of information on the web, but that is missing in the case of IBM Public Cloud. We need some technical support documents. That is the only thing missing in IBM Public Cloud.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"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."

"The most valuable features are the usability and customer service."

"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."

"The instances optimized for WordPress are very lightweight and straightforward in configuration."

"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."

More Amazon Lightsail pros

"The availability is second to none. Customer support is very good."

"It provides robust analytics and management tools to give customers complete visibility into their environment and infrastructure."

"I've found the stability to be excellent. The performance is good."

"The price of IBM Cloud is most valuable for us. The service is personable and gives us a good rapport. I can't say it's the best, but it was enough for our needs."

"This product is very good because it is accessible in remote locations, and anyone can deploy from any place."

"What I like most in IBM Public Cloud is how easy it is to create serverless functions. They are called IBM functions, but in AWS, they are called Lambda functions. Those are pretty standard, and another thing I like the most is that you have fewer restrictions on the amount of data you can transfer across those functions. IBM Public Cloud is way more flexible than AWS. I also like that IBM Public Cloud is pretty straightforward to integrate. As long as you have all the tools IBM provides you, getting everything up and running is straightforward."

"The beauty of cloud service providers, especially public cloud service providers, is that they are scalable every time when you need them because their payment model is pay-as-you-go."

"It is a scalable product. You can scale it up and down."

More IBM Public Cloud pros

Cons

"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."

"Backward compatibility and the flexibility to choose software versions while installing would be improvements."

"The main area for improvement in Lightsail is the difficulty in scaling down resources."

"I don't see this solution as enterprise-ready, for bigger companies like banks."

"When you need to add some custom rules to Amazon Lightsail, the auto scaling feature is a bit difficult."

"Currently, there is limited support available while installing or configuring it, and resources are primarily available through community-contributed articles."

"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."

"The product's network features need enhancement."

More Amazon Lightsail cons

"Support could be improved."

"Normally, for any cloud, we get a lot of information on the web, but that is missing in the case of IBM Public Cloud. We need some technical support documents. That is the only thing missing in IBM Public Cloud."

"An area for improvement in IBM Public Cloud is getting up-to-date information on how to set up everything. It's hard to find new documentation."

"They could improve on customizing reporting capabilities."

"The solution needs to be more autonomous. It should let the DL go to allow for more jobs on the cloud. It could have a better interface as well."

"It could be more secure."

"They do not have a very good virtual network implemented, and the VPC is the most important feature that needs to be improved."

"I would like to see a more user-friendly deployment process in the next release of this solution."

More IBM Public Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Amazon Lightsail is a bit cheaper than Amazon EC2."

"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."

"The services that it provides are good for the price."

"It's very cheap."

"A few months ago, Lightsail's pricing increased, likely due to the addition of the new VPC feature."

"Lightsail is available at an affordable cost starting from five dollars per month."

"We are using the trial version of this solution, so we have not paid anything."

"The price of IBM Cloud is very cheap compared to competitors AWS and Azure."

"The licensing fees are straightforward and predictable."

"In order to be competitive, you have to commit to a contract for at least one year, but you pay a fixed monthly fee."

"IBM has a lesser price compared to other cloud service providers like Azure and AWS."

"Pricing is not as fair as Amazon or Azure."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten."

"IBM Public Cloud is pretty cheap. They have an ongoing free tier that basically won't expire, so as long as your solution is small enough, you can have a test set that you can use for demos, which will cost you almost nothing."

More IBM Public Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Educational Organization

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

University

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Which is preferable - IBM Public Cloud or Microsoft Azure?

IBM Public Cloud is IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service. It aims to provide organizations with a secure cloud environment to manage data and applications. One of the features we like is the cloud activity ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud?

The front end is not pervasive, so it is very difficult get the status of your current services or account from a mobile device.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Public Cloud?

The most valuable feature of IBM Public Cloud is the AI integrations.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 38% of the time

Google Cloud vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 34% of the time

Heroku vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 12% of the time

AWS Elastic Beanstalk vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 5% of the time

Google App Engine vs Amazon Lightsail

Compared 3% of the time

More Amazon Lightsail Competitors

Microsoft Azure vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 36% of the time

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 33% of the time

Amazon AWS vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 14% of the time

Dell ECS vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 3% of the time

Salesforce Platform vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Public Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

PaaS Clouds

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

IBM Public Cloud

March 2025

Download IBM Public Cloud product report

Also Known As

No data available

IBM Bluemix

Overview

Lightsail is ideal for simpler workloads, quick deployments, and getting started on AWS. It’s designed to help you start small, and then scale as you grow.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

IBM Cloud is a full-stack cloud platform that spans public, private and hybrid environments. Build with a robust suite of advanced data and AI tools, and draw on deep industry expertise to help you on your journey to the cloud.

IBM

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Uvionics Tech, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Alpha Modus, Inventive, Web Business Consulting, FindBrok, SilverHook Powerboats, United Way of Allegheny County

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Public Cloud

March 2025

Free Report: Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Public Cloud

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Lightsail vs. IBM Public Cloud and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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