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AWS Fargate vs AWS Lambda comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

AWS Fargate
Ranking in Compute Service
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
AWS Lambda
Ranking in Compute Service
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Compute Service category, the mindshare of AWS Fargate is 15.0%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Lambda is 21.0%, down from 24.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Compute Service
 

Featured Reviews

Subrata Mukherjee - PeerSpot reviewer
Boost demand response with cost-efficient serverless architecture
We are a venture builder company, and if we select AWS for our product. Our design is based on a serverless architecture model. ECS Fargate is the most convenient way in terms of scalability, integration, and cost control Thanks to the serverless model and easy integration features, a few…
Wai L Lin O - PeerSpot reviewer
A serverless solution with easy integration features
We use AWS Lambda because it provides a solution for our needs without requiring us to manage our infrastructure. With the tool, we only pay for the resources we use. Additionally, it is straightforward to implement and integrates with other services like API Gateway. The tool's serverless nature has had the most significant impact on our workflow. I find it particularly attractive because it eliminates the need for managing servers. In my previous experience, managing upgrades and updates was quite challenging. The solution's integration process with other AWS services was relatively easy. We primarily use AWS services such as EventBridge for scheduling processes and log management.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fargate's integration with other AWS services is really good."
"AWS Fargate is a fully managed service, and it's very easy to use compared to other services like Elastic Beanstalk Service (EBS)."
"I like their containerization service. You can use Docker or something similar and deploy quickly without the know-how related to, for example, Kubernetes. If you use AKS or Kubernetes, then you have to have the know-how. But for Fargate, you don't need to have the know-how there. You just deploy the container or the image, and then you have the container, and you can use it as AWS takes care of the rest. This makes it easier for those getting started or if you don't have a strong DevOps team inside your organization."
"By using a server's compute resources, one can observe the resource metrics. With AWS, one can determine when servers will be used based on CloudWatch results. For example, CloudWatch informs the application and service platform when the hit ratio has reached the threshold value."
"If you create your deployment with a good set of rules for how to scale in, you can just set it and forget it."
"We appreciate the simple use of containers within this solution, it makes managing the containers quick and easy."
"It allows for focusing on applications instead of managing infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of AWS Fargate is its ability to run on demand without the constant run time of basic resources."
"The programming language and the integration with other AWS services are the most valuable features."
"Provides a good, easy path from when you're using an AWS cluster."
"One of the most valuable features of AWS Lambda is the performance. Lambda is very technical and has very high performance, as well as good real-time performance."
"What I like most about AWS Lambda is that it's very easy to deploy."
"Lambda is the preferred compute option because of on-demand cost. We don't have to provision any hardware beforehand. We don't have to provision the capacity required for the services because it is serverless."
"It is my preferred product, as it provides me with source code within the solution."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the API Gateway."
"I like that it's easy to use and maintain. Lambda is good and supports different platforms, so you don't need to worry about language or maintenance."
 

Cons

"Service computing is not as straightforward compared to other computing services. It requires more effort to use effectively."
"There are features that could be added or enhanced."
"I would like to see enhanced faster application scaling and better integration with the elastic file system to unify storage volumes and improve the launch time of instances."
"AWS Fargate needs improvement in terms of setup complexity."
"I would like to see the older dashboard instead of the newer version. I don't like the new dashboard."
"There is a tool named Compose that helps in converting the Docker Compose file into a Kubernetes file. For ECS and Fargate, AWS reads a Dockerfile and helps with conversion. However, I am uncertain if it's ready for deployment after conversion."
"I heard from my team that it's not easy to predict the cost. That is the only issue we have with AWS Fargate, but I think that's acceptable. AWS Fargate isn't user-friendly. Anything related to Software as a Service or microservice architecture is not easy to implement. You're required to have DevOps from your side to implement the solution. AWS Fargate is just a temporary solution for us. When we grow to a certain level, we may use AKS for better control."
"AWS Fargate could improve the privileged mode containers. We had some problems and they were not able to run."
"AWS Lambda has some size limitations in the code line, you can't do a couple of functions to do the job."
"We face some problems with the event-driven execution model."
"The solution should continue to streamline integrations with AWS services."
"If it is a specific ETL process or a long-term one, then AWS Lambda is not a good option."
"If you're running a new application with a significant load, you need to be prepared for potential bottlenecks."
"It can be a bit difficult to switch between accounts when creating services for customers."
"The first time Lambda is started up, it takes some time to spin up an instance for serving the consumer requests. AWS has been trying to solve this in a variety of ways but have not yet managed to do so."
"We need to invest time in learning the tool's language variant. We have encountered instances of downtime as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the price of AWS Fargate a four out of five."
"We would advise that this solution has a slightly-higher price point than others on the market. There is a free plan available for start-ups, but the free and lower range licensing models do not provide the full functionality."
"The fees are volume-based."
"AWS Lambda is cost-effective, with a minimal maintenance cost."
"The cost is based on runtime."
"AWS Lambda is inexpensive."
"Lambda is a good and cheap solution and I would recommend it to those without a huge payload."
"AWS is slightly more expensive than Azure."
"AWS Lambda license is paid on a monthly basis."
"AWS Lambda is cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
69%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Fargate?
The most valuable feature of Fargate is that it's self-managed. You don't have to configure your own clusters or deploy any Kubernetes clusters. This simplifies the initial deployment and scaling p...
What needs improvement with AWS Fargate?
As I have not worked with Fargate extensively, I do not have any specific improvements.
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Fargate?
AWS Fargate is easily manageable. We just need to create a cluster and focus on our infrastructure. Customers do not need to take downtime since everything is managed by AWS with no downtime. Overa...
Which is better, AWS Lambda or Batch?
AWS Lambda is a serverless solution. It doesn’t require any infrastructure, which allows for cost savings. There is no setup process to deal with, as the entire solution is in the cloud. If you use...
What do you like most about AWS Lambda?
The tool scales automatically based on the number of incoming requests.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Lambda?
AWS Lambda is cheaper compared to running an instance continuously. You only pay for what you use, making it cost-effective.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Netflix
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Fargate vs. AWS Lambda and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,194 professionals have used our research since 2012.