AWS Lambda vs Azure Functions vs Google Cloud Functions: Serverless Computing Comparison
Serverless Computing has revolutionized the way developers approach cloud computing. With serverless, developers can worry less about infrastructure and focus more on their application's core functionality. And, three of the biggest players in the serverless computing space are AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions. In this post, we will compare the three serverless computing services in terms of their features, ease of use, and pricing.
Features
AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda was the first to introduce serverless computing to the world in 2014. It is currently the most widely used serverless computing service with over 200 AWS services that can be integrated with Lambda. Some of the important features of AWS Lambda are:
- Supports multiple programming languages such as Node.js, Python, Java, C#, Go, and PowerShell
- Allows the containerization of custom runtimes.
- Provides VPC access for Lambda functions.
- Offers integration with Amazon S3, DynamoDB, and other AWS services.
- Provides support for Event-driven architectures.
Azure Functions
Azure Functions was launched in 2016 and offers a similar set of features as AWS Lambda. It's essential features include:
- Supports multiple programming languages such as Node.js, Python, C#, Java etc.
- Provides Seamless access to Azure ecosystem services.
- Provides VPC connectivity.
- Support for Azure SQL, Blob Storage, and other Azure Services.
- Full support for Event-driven architectures.
Google Cloud Functions
Google Cloud Functions is the latest entrant in the serverless computing space, having launched in 2017. It has rapidly evolved and offers the features listed below:
- Supports multiple programming languages such as Node.js, Python, Go, and other languages on request.
- Supports connection to google cloud services.
- Provides VPC connectivity.
- Direct integration with Google Cloud Storage and Google Cloud Pub/Sub.
- Deployment of containers directly from Cloud Run.
Ease of Use
AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda gives a mix feeling while operating some complex tasks, it has an intuitive UI and an easy-to-use console but internal navigation can be complex, especially when dealing with IAM policies. For advanced users, the CLI is the go-to solution which is very powerful.
Azure Functions
Azure Functions provide a great portal experience, and their documentation and UI are highly intuitive. Although, in Azure, you have to be watchful regarding scale-out requires dedicated resources.
Google Cloud Functions
Google Cloud Functions has a well-designed, easy-to-use console, which makes it easy to manage Functions. However, the documentation layout could be improved.
Pricing
AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda uses a pay-as-you-go model, and the price is calculated based on the number of requests and execution time. The cost per 1 million invocations starts at $0.20, and the duration cost is $0.00001667 for every GB-second. These costs vary based on region and memory allocated to the Lambda function.
Azure Functions
Azure Functions also uses a consumption-based pricing model, and the cost depends on the usage and resources required for each function. The cost is based on the number of executions, on the memory used, and the execution time. The cost for 1 million executions starts at $0.20, and the duration cost is $0.000016 for every GB-second. These costs vary based on region and memory allocated to each function.
Google Cloud Functions
Google Cloud Functions has a similar pricing model as its competitors, based on the number of executions, memory used, and execution time. The cost for 1 million requests starts at $0.40, and the duration cost is $0.0000025 for every GB-second. These costs differ by region and memory allocated to each function.
Conclusion
To sum up, all three serverless computing services provide a broad set of features making it a perfect choice for developers. AWS Lambda has the most features and the largest user base, Azure Functions is incredibly intuitive, and Google Cloud Functions has improved rapidly and provides easy deployment directly from Cloud Run. There is no clear winner when it comes to serverless computing; however, you should choose the service that best fits your organization's requirements and expertise.