Most .NET teams deploying to the cloud choose between Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Both run modern .NET very well. This comparison of Azure vs AWS for .NET maps the main services side by side and explains where each platform has an edge.
How the core services map
| Need | Azure | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Managed web hosting | App Service | Elastic Beanstalk, App Runner |
| Containers | Container Apps, AKS | ECS / Fargate, EKS |
| Serverless functions | Azure Functions | AWS Lambda |
| SQL Server | Azure SQL Database, SQL Managed Instance | Amazon RDS for SQL Server |
| PostgreSQL | Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Amazon RDS / Aurora PostgreSQL |
| Messaging | Service Bus, Event Grid | SQS, SNS, EventBridge |
| Object storage | Blob Storage | S3 |
| Secrets | Key Vault | Secrets Manager |
| Identity | Microsoft Entra ID | IAM, Cognito |
| Monitoring | Azure Monitor, Application Insights | CloudWatch, X-Ray |
| Generative AI | Azure OpenAI in Azure AI Foundry | Amazon Bedrock |
Where Azure has an edge for .NET teams
- Tooling integration: Visual Studio, Azure DevOps and GitHub integrate closely with Azure deployment and diagnostics.
- Microsoft identity: Entra ID for employees and managed identities for services simplify authentication without secrets.
- SQL Server heritage: Azure SQL is a natural home for existing SQL Server databases.
- Microsoft agreements: organizations with Microsoft licensing and enterprise agreements often get commercial benefits.
- Azure OpenAI for teams that want OpenAI models inside Azure governance — see Azure OpenAI vs OpenAI.
See Microsoft's .NET on Azure documentation.
Where AWS has an edge
- Breadth of services and a very large ecosystem of partners and tooling.
- Existing AWS estates: if the rest of your company runs on AWS, sharing networking, security and operations is simpler.
- Container and serverless options such as Fargate and Lambda work well with modern .NET on Linux.
- Amazon Bedrock for access to several foundation model providers in one place.
AWS maintains official .NET SDKs and guidance at .NET on AWS.
Cost considerations
Pricing depends on services, sizes, regions and commitments, and changes over time — so estimate your specific architecture with each provider's calculator. For .NET workloads, three choices usually matter more than the provider:
- Run modern .NET on Linux containers or plans where possible.
- Right-size and autoscale instead of provisioning for peak all the time.
- Choose managed services that reduce operational effort, and review costs monthly.
Portability
ASP.NET Core applications packaged as containers, with configuration in environment variables and infrastructure as code (Bicep, Terraform, CDK), stay portable between clouds. Avoid unnecessary dependence on provider-specific features in your core domain code, while still using managed services for what they do best.
How to choose
- Where does the rest of your organization already run?
- Which identity system do your users and staff use?
- Which managed services do you need — especially databases and AI?
- Where does your team have operational experience?
- What do your customers or regulators require regarding regions and compliance?
Key takeaways: both clouds run .NET well. Azure is the natural fit for Microsoft-centric organizations and SQL Server workloads; AWS suits companies already invested in AWS. Containers and infrastructure as code keep your options open.
We build and deploy .NET applications on both platforms. See our cloud development services or read why to upgrade to .NET 10.
