Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage comparison

Google and Microsoft are both solutions in the Public Cloud Storage Services category. Google is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.7, while Microsoft is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.1. Google holds a 9.6% mindshare in PCSS, compared to Microsoft’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Read 9 Google Cloud Storage Nearline reviews

1,721 Views
1,513 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Read 63 Microsoft Azure Block Storage reviews

365 Views
300 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

Google Cloud Storage Nearline and Microsoft Azure Block Storage are two leading cloud storage solutions. Azure Block Storage offers superior features and customer deployment experience, while Nearline is more affordable based on pricing.

Features: Google Cloud Storage Nearline integrates seamlessly with Google’s ecosystem and offers excellent scalability. Microsoft Azure Block Storage provides advanced security features and robust disaster recovery solutions. Azure Block Storage outperforms in security and recovery, whereas Nearline excels in integration and scalability.

Room for Improvement: Google Cloud Storage Nearline needs faster data retrieval speeds and enhanced data management tools. Microsoft Azure Block Storage requires improvements in user guidance and cost transparency. Nearline could benefit from performance enhancements, and Azure from clearer cost and user guidance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Cloud Storage Nearline is easy to deploy but has mixed reviews on customer service responsiveness. Microsoft Azure Block Storage offers comprehensive deployment support and higher customer service ratings. Azure leads in deployment support and service quality compared to Nearline’s fewer deployment issues.

Pricing and ROI: Google Cloud Storage Nearline offers lower entry costs and good ROI for small to medium-sized enterprises. Microsoft Azure Block Storage, despite higher setup costs, is seen as providing better long-term ROI due to advanced features. Nearline is budget-friendly, while Azure presents better value in the long run.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage

January 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 837,501 peers since 2012

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

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

10th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is 9.6%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is 0.8%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Public Cloud Storage Services

Featured Reviews

AmitKumar36

Solution Architect at HCL Technologies

Flexible, seamless, and scalable document storage with AI and analytics integration, providing reliable support

The solution is very flexible in terms of scalability. It is an online service, so we can scale it anytime with some pre-planning. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. As for the users using this solution in our organization, that varies according to what time of the day and what day it is, but it goes around 2,000 to 3,000 users. The maximum is about 3,000. On average, it stays somewhere between 2,000 and 1,800.

Read full review

MatsHagberg Olsson2

Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology

Empowers secure data management with affordable tools and minimal hassle

The most valuable feature is that it's very affordable in comparison to competitors. The absolute best feature is the Azure Storage Explorer tool. The tool allows me to download to my device, control access, and manage data with ease. Additionally, the joint use of Azure portal further facilitates management depending on my location.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Nearline is the access. It's helpful to move data that is generated once a month, such as salary information, to Nearline."

"Google is always introducing new features and tends to have a new release every month."

"The most valuable aspect of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is its integration with the wider Google Cloud ecosystem."

"It can isolate files and stop them from corrupting other files."

"The capacity and space on offer are excellent."

"It provides the necessary support and flexibility to manage data storage effectively, especially during times of variable data flow."

"I find the flexibility in storing documents or data and the ease of retrieval valuable with this solution."

"The data structure and the types of data that are supported are very good."

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline pros

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Azure Block Storage are it stores different types of data traditional data and connectivity through FTP. Additionally, we do not need a high-speed fetching system for operations and filesharing works well for us."

"The product’s security features are valuable."

"The ability to increase and scale out is really easy."

"It can scale."

"The product offers hierarchical storage and we like the main space storage with business."

"Data is securely stored."

"Microsoft is currently updating a few features, such as object sizes and tiering, which were not available previously."

"The scalability of the solution is good."

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage pros

Cons

"The UI could be a little bit more effective."

"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."

"The suggestion for improvement primarily revolves around cost efficiency."

"They should provide more options or flexibility in terms of pricing."

"Nearline security could be better. The solution could integrate better with SEIM tools."

"The solution needs to offer better System Information and Event Management (SEIM). I'd like to discover how we could implement something like that within Google's cloud."

"They need a better, more visual, user interface for folders and files."

"The interface for managing file storage in the buckets could be improved."

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline cons

"Improving the pricing structure would be beneficial."

"The solution needs a direct connection to visualization."

"Data gathering features could be improved."

"There needs to be an improvement in overcoming certain limitations, such as adaptability to non-cloud environments."

"There are some space limitations."

"The platform's technical support services could be enhanced. They could provide better resolution and improve the response time."

"The implementation can be quite technical."

"Support is an area where improvements can be made, particularly in response time for enterprise support."

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Google Cloud Storage Nearline is very inexpensive. It costs us less than $50 a month to store our files. We use approximately 10 terabytes. Overall, I would rate the product a five out of five for affordability."

"Right now, for the number of servers and the storage that I have, I would say I'm charged between $125 and $150 per month."

"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is not an expensive tool. I'm subscribed to the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors program, so Microsoft gives me between $120 to $150 credit each month."

"The solution is affordable, and we only pay for what we use."

"The storage part costs us $223. That's on a monthly basis for 20TB of data storage."

"The price of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is less expensive than other solutions on the market, such as Cloud Storage from GCP."

"I rate the product price as seven on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price and ten means high price. The tool is expensive. There are no additional costs attached to the product, so it is available at a fixed price."

"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is expensive. Its licensing costs are monthly."

"The cost is very low. The cost is something like $0.01 to $0.50 per gig. It's pay per use. We have a yearly license."

"The pricing for Microsoft Azure Block Storage is high because of MSA and SBA contracts, where Microsoft takes care of the security aspects, apart from the maintenance, and Microsoft has service level agreements with the customers."

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Public Cloud Storage Services solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

22%

University

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Cloud Storage Nearline?

The most valuable feature of Nearline is the access. It's helpful to move data that is generated once a month, such as salary information, to Nearline.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Storage Nearline?

The pricing of the different storage classes is hard to compare. The higher the zone, the higher the price. The advantage is that you can access the data frequently, and the speed of the response i...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Cloud Storage Nearline?

The UI could be a little bit more effective. Now, the UI is just a white background, but it's really helpful if there are options to change the theme. I prefer that.

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Block Storage?

We use the solution to develop SaaS platforms on Azure. We utilize various Microsoft components like block storage and databases for this purpose.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Block Storage?

Pricing could be rated as eight out of ten. It is reasonable, however, it can be cheaper.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Block Storage?

At the moment, I do not have anything specific in mind for improvements. The most important thing for me is accessibility and easy provisioning to multiple servers with different vendors.

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Compared 97% of the time

Amazon S3 vs Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Compared 3% of the time

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline Competitors

Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Compared 80% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Compared 20% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

February 2025

Download Google Cloud Storage Nearline product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

February 2025

Download Microsoft Azure Block Storage product report

Also Known As

No data available

MS Azure Block Storage

Overview

A low-cost, highly-durable and highly available storage service for infrequently accessed data, data archiving, online backup and disaster recovery. Data is available instantly, not within hours or days. With sub-second average response times and 1 cent per GB/month pricing, Cloud Storage Nearline gives you terrific performance at a low cost.

Google

Massively scalable cloud storage for your applications

Store and help protect your data. Get durable, highly available data storage across the globe and pay only for what you use.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Mazda, BlinkBox, Rakuten Showtime, Xbox One, Serko, ChronoDrive

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage

January 2025

Free Report: Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage report.

See our list of best Public Cloud Storage Services vendors.

We monitor all Public Cloud Storage Services reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.