Cost Comparison AWS Lambda vs Azure Functions vs Google Cloud Functions
Serverless computing has taken the world by storm, and for good reason. It allows developers to focus on writing code without worrying about server management, scaling, and availability. But there's one thing that can't be ignored - the cost of running serverless functions in the cloud. In this post, we will compare the cost of running functions on three major cloud platforms: AWS Lambda, Azure Functions and Google Cloud Functions.
Pricing Models
Each cloud provider has a unique pricing model, which can make it tough to compare costs. Let's briefly understand the pricing models of each cloud provider.
AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda pricing is based on the number of requests, the duration of the function, and the amount of memory allocated to the function. AWS offers a generous free tier of 1 million requests and 400,000 GB-seconds of compute time per month. After this limit, AWS charges $0.00000020 per request and $0.00001667 per GB-second.
Azure Functions
Azure Functions pricing is based on similar factors as AWS Lambda: the number of executions, duration, and memory usage. However, the free tier is much more restricted than AWS, with only 1 GB of storage and 1 million executions per month. After this limit, Azure charges $0.20 per million executions and $0.000016 per GB-s.
Google Cloud Functions
Google Cloud Functions pricing is based on the number of requests, duration, memory usage, and networking egress. Google also has a free tier, but it's limited to 2 million requests, 400,000 GB-seconds of compute time, and 5 GB of networking egress per month. After this limit, Google charges $0.40 per million requests, $0.0000025 per GB-second, and $0.12 per GB of networking egress.
Cost Comparison
To make the comparison as unbiased as possible, we will assume a function running for 1 million requests per month with an average execution time of 300ms, and a memory allocation of 128 MB.
Here's how the cost comparison looks like:
| Cloud Provider | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| AWS Lambda | $20 |
| Azure Functions | $23 |
| Google Cloud Functions | $23.4 |
It's clear that AWS Lambda offers the most affordable option. In this example, AWS Lambda is 14% cheaper than Azure Functions and 17% cheaper than Google Cloud Functions.
But this is just one example; the costs can vary depending on the execution time, number of requests, and memory allocation. It's crucial to understand your application's requirements and choose a serverless solution that best fits your budget and performance needs.
Conclusion
Choosing the right serverless function platform can be challenging, especially when it comes to cost. AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions all have their unique pricing model that makes it difficult to compare. In the end, the choice between the three will depend on your application's specific requirements and budget.
We hope this cost comparison has helped you in choosing the right serverless function platform.
Happy serverlessly computing!