Azure Virtual Machines vs Google Compute Engine
Azure Virtual Machines is cheaper across every workload modelled here.
List prices checked
Rate cards side by side
Only the axes at least one of them bills on. A dash means that provider does not charge for it.
| Billing axis | Azure Virtual Machines | Google Compute Engine | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compute | $0.052/vCPU-hr | $0.048/vCPU-hr | 1.1× Google Compute Engine |
| Data transfer out | $0.087/GB | $0.120/GB | 1.4× Azure Virtual Machines |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | — |
Source: Microsoft pricing (May 2026) · Google pricing (May 2026). Published list prices only — committed-use discounts, regional variation, and per-request charges are not included. Not yet independently re-checked against the vendor’s page.
Monthly cost for three real workloads
The rate cards applied to identical usage. This is where the winner changes.
| Workload | Azure Virtual Machines | Google Compute Engine | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side projectA personal site or small app with modest traffic, a few gigabytes of assets, and one small always-on process. | $47 | $47 | Azure Virtual Machinessaves $0.02/mo |
| Growing SaaSA funded product serving a few thousand daily users, with an image-heavy frontend and two application servers. | $163 | $189 | Azure Virtual Machinessaves $26/mo (14%) |
| Media-heavy siteA publisher or video product where delivery dominates the bill and compute is almost an afterthought. | $908 | $1,235 | Azure Virtual Machinessaves $327/mo (26%) |
Workload definitions are identical on every comparison page, so figures here can be read against any other pair in the same category.
What each one is for
Azure Virtual Machines
by Microsoft
Microsoft's on-demand compute, where existing enterprise agreements and hybrid-benefit licensing usually move the final bill more than the published rate does.
Free tier: 750 hours per month of a B1s instance for 12 months
Google Compute Engine
by Google
Comparable to EC2 on list price, with sustained-use discounts applied automatically as an instance runs rather than requiring an upfront commitment.
Free tier: One e2-micro instance per month, always free
Common questions
- Is Azure Virtual Machines or Google Compute Engine cheaper in 2026?
- Azure Virtual Machines is cheaper in all 3 modelled workloads.
- What is the difference in egress cost between Azure Virtual Machines and Google Compute Engine?
- Azure Virtual Machines charges $0.087 per GB against Google Compute Engine's $0.120, roughly 1.4× cheaper. Egress usually dominates the bill once traffic is measured in terabytes.
- Which has the better free tier, Azure Virtual Machines or Google Compute Engine?
- Both publish one. Azure Virtual Machines: 750 hours per month of a B1s instance for 12 months. Google Compute Engine: One e2-micro instance per month, always free.
- What do these estimates not include?
- Committed-use and reserved discounts, regional price variation, per-request API charges, support plans, and minimum retention periods. All of those move real invoices, sometimes by a lot. These figures compare published list prices for the same workload, which is the comparison the rate cards alone cannot give you.