Choosing the right cloud platform is one of the most important infrastructure decisions a company makes. Here is our definitive comparison of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud in 2026.

Market Share

ProviderMarket ShareYoY Growth
AWS32%+12%
Azure23%+18%
Google Cloud12%+28%

AWS: The Market Leader

AWS remains the most mature and feature-rich cloud platform. With 200+ services and the largest ecosystem of third-party tools and partners, it is the default choice for most companies.

Best for: Startups, enterprises, companies that need the widest service selection.

Key strengths:

  • Largest service catalogue
  • Best documentation and community support
  • Most mature security and compliance offerings
  • Strongest in compute (EC2) and storage (S3)

Weaknesses:

  • Complex pricing
  • Can be expensive without careful optimisation
  • Steeper learning curve

Azure: The Enterprise Choice

Azure's deep integration with Microsoft's enterprise software stack (Office 365, Active Directory, Teams) makes it the natural choice for Microsoft-heavy organisations.

Best for: Enterprises already using Microsoft products, hybrid cloud deployments.

Key strengths:

  • Best Microsoft integration
  • Strong hybrid cloud capabilities
  • Excellent compliance for regulated industries
  • Good AI/ML services through Azure OpenAI

Weaknesses:

  • Less intuitive than AWS
  • Some services lag behind AWS in maturity

Google Cloud: The AI-First Platform

Google Cloud has the most advanced AI and machine learning capabilities, powered by Google's own TPUs and the same infrastructure that runs Google Search and YouTube.

Best for: AI/ML workloads, data analytics, companies building AI-first products.

Key strengths:

  • Best AI/ML services (Vertex AI, BigQuery ML)
  • Fastest network (Google's private fibre)
  • Best data analytics (BigQuery)
  • Most competitive pricing

Weaknesses:

  • Smaller service catalogue than AWS
  • Fewer enterprise features

Our Recommendation

  • Default choice: AWS (most mature, largest ecosystem)
  • Microsoft-heavy enterprise: Azure
  • AI/ML workloads: Google Cloud
  • Cost-sensitive: Google Cloud (typically 20-30% cheaper than AWS)