10 BEST Amazon Web Services (AWS) Alternatives in 2024

Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, the truth is that Amazon’s cloud is not the answer for everyone. Not only does Amazon Web Services (AWS) have a steep learning curve, but it’s also one of the most expensive cloud-based service providers.

If you’re moving to Amazon’s platform, the process will require a lot of training for your IT department, too – so much so that many companies pay outside consultants for this purpose. Combined with the higher baseline price, AWS can actually exceed the cost of on-premise infrastructures.

So, what other options do you have? Sure, AWS’ competitors have made sure to address its drawbacks and a few have even improved upon its strengths. But due to its sheer size and product offering, you can’t simply dive into the many Amazon Web Services (AWS) alternatives and pick one at random – not all are created equal.

During my research for the best alternatives to AWS, I was surprised to find out that many were equally costly, confusing, or difficult to work with. In the end, I found Kamatera to be the best alternative, thanks to its excellent server coverage and affordable cloud hosting plans. But you can also rely on any of the other hosts I’ve selected for my list to power your next cloud project.

What We Look For in the Best AWS Alternatives

Despite its drawbacks, AWS offers a lot of power and flexibility. To ensure each of these alternative hosts can replace Amazon’s cloud service, I’ve prioritized the following features:

• Cost-effectiveness. The smaller your company or service, the more you stand to gain from a cost-effective cloud solution. The hosts on my list are more affordable than AWS and none will compromise on quality just to offer a better price.
• Ease of use. AWS offers an enormous range of services, which can make implementation difficult and management quite complicated. The hosting providers I selected won’t require you to put your IT department through extensive training just to be able to set up a virtual environment.
• Infrastructure offer. From server clusters to high-performance hosting, high-availability database servers, and more, my range of AWS alternatives offers something for every need. No use-case scenario was left behind.
• Scaling. One of the many perks of moving into the cloud is the ability to constantly reshape your infrastructure to suit your needs. As is the case with Amazon, these providers let you scale your hosting plan easily whenever your business demands it.
• Cloud services. Few other companies can match Amazon’s impressive product list. That said, each and every one of the alternatives I’ve selected offer equivalents to Amazon’s most important services, like EC2, S3, and CloudFront.
• Support. Tech support is another area where your AWS costs can get out of hand, fast. The bigger your infrastructure, the greater your needs, and the more you’ll pay. This is why most web hosts on my list have much better support prices, and some even include managed services.

1. Kamatera: Powerful and Affordable AWS Alternative1

Although Kamatera has 21 data centers around the world, its presence in the Middle East is what really sets it apart. In fact, Kamatera currently has more servers in the region than AWS does, and that’s saying something. If this is where most of your clients or customers are, this host is an excellent choice.

For everyone else, Kamatera is one of the most affordable alternatives to AWS. You can spin up an Availability VPS using Kamatera Express for the price of a regular coffee. Then, add whatever upgrades you need when you need them, and scale or create new servers with just a couple of clicks.

One of the most convenient aspects of working with Kamatera is the straightforward licensing process. If you need Microsoft, cPanel, or Plesk licenses for your servers, you can purchase them straight from the host itself, usually at better prices than from the vendors. Be sure to contact the sales team to discuss your needs.

Features

• Diagonal scaling. Get the most out of vertical and horizontal scaling by doing both at the same time. With Kamatera, you can add components to a server until it fits your needs perfectly, then replicate it as many times as you want.
• Free trial. This is one of the very few cloud providers that offers a 30-day free trial. You don’t have to make a commitment, and you’re free to cancel any time you want. The only caveat is that you can’t go over your $100 credit during this time.
• Expert tech support. The host offers 24/7/365 customer support through phone and email. You get it by default, and there’s no extra charge. Whenever there’s a problem with your hosting environment, ring them up and have it fixed.
• Managed services. If you don’t have a sysadmin on your team, you can use Kamatera’s managed cloud, which incurs a flat fee per server. The team will design and launch your infrastructure, then monitor it 24/7.

Read our expert Kamatera review to learn more about pricing.

2. ScalaHosting: User-Friendly Managed and Unmanaged Cloud VPS Plans1

ScalaHosting is an excellent alternative to AWS thanks to its affordable, easy-to-use managed VPS options. It also offers competitively priced unmanaged cloud VPS plans for more experienced users, but starting at $20.00, they’re only about 30% less expensive than managed plans. While ScalaHosting has a lower ceiling on the maximum resources it offers, it still has an excellent range of VPS plans for small- to medium-sized businesses.

I liked the wide leeway ScalaHosting gives to customize the vCPUs, storage, and RAM in your plan. Plus, the host gives you several tools to help find a suitable mix of resources, with estimates based on your number of monthly visitors and optimizations for different types of sites. As your needs change, it’s easy to scale individual resources accordingly.

Once I had my test site running, it was remarkably easy to run. ScalaHosting’s proprietary control panel, SPanel, is more visually-oriented and easy to use than cPanel. Together with the host’s managed services, ScalaHosting offers some of the most novice-friendly VPS options on the market.

Features

• Inbound and outbound spam protection and blacklist monitoring. Outbound spam attacks can destroy your email deliverability by causing email servers to blacklist your site, while inbound spam can render your inbox useless. ScalaHosting offers many layers of protection against these dangers.
• NVMe SSD. Advanced storage technology delivers much greater speed compared to traditional SSDs and HDDs.
• OpenLiteSpeed, NGINX, and Cloudflare CDN. A year of free Cloudflare CDN and various software features amplify your site’s performance.
• WordPress optimizations. ScalaHosting’s proprietary SWordPress Manager includes one-click installation, site staging/cloning, and various unique security features.

To learn more about ScalaHosting, read our full review.

3. Liquid Web: The Best AWS Alternative for Managed Cloud1

Liquid Web stands out from the crowd with its range of cloud hosting services. You can select a cloud metal or cloud VPS setup, Linux (AlmaLinux 8/9, Rocky 8, RockyLinux 9) or Windows (2022 and 2019) OS, and multiple data centers. You can also choose from one of three management levels.

If you opt for a fully managed server, Liquid Web will help you migrate your app or site, proactively monitor your infrastructure, and keep all software updated. You can also opt for self-managed or core-managed services (which include basic server maintenance) to save money. Overall, you have complete control of how your server is set up and how much you’re willing to pay. Overall, you have complete control of how your server is set up and how much you’re willing to pay.

Furthermore, the host’s support is a great perk on its own. Whether you want to reduce latency, focus on scalability and performance, or set up a highly secure environment, Liquid Web will help you build a custom enterprise hosting solution for your specific needs.

Features

• Fully managed reseller hosting. Liquid Web’s Cloud Sites plan is a great way to resell managed hosting or easily deploy many websites or apps. For one set fee, you can create as many sites as you want (within your 50 GB storage and 1 TB bandwidth limits), and Liquid Web will manage the technicalities for you. Additional resources are also available by the GB.
• 100% uptime SLA. Liquid Web is one of the few companies to guarantee 100% uptime. While this is theoretically impossible (the infrastructure does undergo maintenance, for example), our tests showed an impressive 99.998% availability.
• Compliance assistance. Whether you just want to process payments through a site or application, or you’re looking to achieve HIPAA standards, Liquid Web will help you meet your compliance requirements.
• Site Protection and Remediation service. One of the best free add-ons you can get with the host’s VPS bundles, this feature includes a vulnerability assessment, enhanced web application (and server) protection, as well as post-attack “clean-up” services.

For more features, see our expert Liquid Web review.

4. Cloudways: Multi-Cloud Alternative to AWS 1

For cross-region high-performance sites or apps, Cloudways is your best bet. Instead of provisioning one large server, you can spin several smaller ones closer to your audience. For example, you can use AWS for its Brazil data center, Google Cloud for Taiwan, and Vultr for France. You lower hosting costs and increase the quality of your service all in one go.

Like Liquid Web, Cloudways is also a fully-managed service, which means you don’t have to worry about the security of your hosting environment. Aside from OS-level firewalls and regular security updates, you also get tools like two-factor authentication, bot protection, and IP whitelists.

If you regularly work with collaborators, Cloudways has several tools to help manage those workloads. You can create limited-access accounts for your team members, but also group people into teams and/or projects. When you’re done, you can one-click-ship entire servers to your clients.

Features

• ThunderStack. Cloudways has one of the best software stacks for PHP-based websites. NGINX is set up as a reverse proxy in combination with Apache, Varnish takes up the accelerator role, while PHP-FPM and Memcached ensure everything is nice and speedy.
• Auto-healing enabled. Auto-healing technology allows the server to restart automatically if your website goes down. This will resolve most server-related website crashes without additional intervention.
• Free proprietary WordPress plugin. All Cloudways customers benefit from the host’s premium WordPress caching plugin, Breeze. You get gzip compression, file minification, database optimization, and easier CDN integration. It’s an all-you-can-eat performance buffet.
• Premium DNS Made Easy service. The managed DNS add-on may be paid – for, but it offers an added boost to performance and security. Aside from domain configuration, the tool comes with no less than four layers of redundancy. If your site ever goes down, visitors can be redirected to a different IP address.

Our in-depth Cloudways review has more on performance.

5. Vultr: AWS Alternative for Dedicated Private Connections1

Vultr is one of the best AWS replacements for dedicated private connections. Even if you’re not a Vultr client, you can use its global network of servers for private connections. However, purchasing a 10 Gbps (minimum) instance with Vultr is more advantageous, because you’ll also be able to establish a high-performance physical connection between your private network and Vultr’s cloud.

The host’s up-to-date infrastructure delivers excellent performance thanks to its optimized Intel Skylake processors and 100% NVMe storage. If you want a single-tenant environment with absolutely no virtualization layer, you can always rely on Vultr’s affordable bare metal options.

Although Vultr’s prices are much lower than Amazon’s and you get similar levels of performance, there are some drawbacks. Customer support is not as readily available, and it offers a narrower range of cloud services.

Features

• Announce your IP space. Expanding your current infrastructure is made easy by the Vultr team. Provide the host with your ASN, submit your IP prefix, and then establish a border gateway protocol.
• Powerful control panel. Easily manage your teams, environment, and API access with Vultr’s proprietary control panel. Browse through activity graphs, server settings, and talk with support through the same interface.
• Burstable 10GbE connection. Vultr’s dedicated servers can handle anything you throw at them, unless you’re engaged in cryptocurrency mining, which is not permitted. However, it’s worth noting that the bandwidth is limited to 0.5 – 60 TB, depending on your plan.
• High-performance NVMe storage. No regular SSD drives here (aside from Vultr’s Regular Performance plans). Everything else is connected through PCIe, which means you can get read and write speeds of up to 2 GB per second.

Check out our Vultr review for more information.

6. DigitalOcean: Highly-Scalable Self-Managed Cloud Hosting for SMBs and Developers1

While AWS offers a broad range of services, DigitalOcean focuses on simplicity and affordability. With low pricing, a developer-friendly environment, and tools and UI presented in an uncomplicated way, it’s ideal for developers and SMBs. You’ll also appreciate how quickly and easily you can scale your server resources.

DigitalOcean offers managed services, including database management for MongoDB, Redis, PostgreSQL, and MySQL, as well as Kubernetes – enhancing its appeal if you’ve previously avoided its services due to the technical aspects of setup. DigitalOcean’s managed cloud hosting service is through Cloudways, which also includes free site migration, DNS management, and a 1-click server cloning.

However, it’s worth noting that DigitalOcean has only 11 data centers in 9 regions, offering less coverage than AWS. The support from DigitalOcean has also been a point of concern, as during our testing we were unable to reach customer support. Despite these issues, its intuitive platform and cost-effective services still make it a strong contender for SMBs looking for a more manageable alternative to AWS.

Features

• Ultra-scalable Droplets. DigitalOcean’s scalable Droplets are virtual machines that you can set up, deploy, and scale in seconds – no need to upgrade to a more expensive plan or wait for resource management to take effect.
• Premium memory- and storage-optimized plans. DigitalOcean offers a variety of plans, including memory- and storage-optimized Droplets. You can choose from 16–256 GB RAM and 300–4,690 GB of storage space to get the best performance for your project.
• 99.99% uptime SLA. DigitalOcean offers an uptime guarantee for its services, ensuring your site is available consistently. In the event of downtime, it will refund any time lost at the hourly rate to your account.
• Team management. DigitalOcean’s services include team management tools that allow you to collaborate safely and easily on the platform. You can invite an unlimited number of users, activate two-factor authentication (2FA), and enjoy single-account billing.

Read our DigitalOcean review to find out more about its services.

Other Notable Alternatives to AWS

7. Kinsta1

Kinsta runs on Google’s Premium Tier network powered by the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). It focuses on managed premium cloud WordPress hosting but also offers database hosting and a few other services. Its managed WordPress plans are perfect if you want a simple yet powerful hosting solution without the hassle of managing a server.

However, if you’re a freelance web developer or business that needs more control, Kinsta may not be for you. Besides its limit to WordPress-specific hosting solutions, the costs are also high. If you need an all-in-one dashboard and faster performance than Amazon Lightsail, Kinsta might still be worth considering, though.

8. Google Cloud1

Google Cloud ranks as the third-largest hosting provider globally, offering a comprehensive range of products to match. Featuring comprehensive developer tools, a 3-month free trial with $300 credit, and 20+ tools free for life, it’s definitely a cost-effective alternative to AWS. Its product range extends to managed Kubernetes, virtual machines, and solutions for AI and machine learning.

Navigating its user interface can be challenging, though, and tech support actually costs extra – it’s not included in your paid plan. Despite this, Google Cloud’s commitment to open-source development and its vast array of services provide robust solutions for diverse hosting needs. If you’re a developer, it’s a powerhouse with over 100 products available.

9. HostWinds1

While its cloud hosting plans have limited bandwidth and managed services are only available for VPS plans, HostWinds delivers solid performance and support. HostWinds is certainly one of the more customer-centric services, offering a free website transfer and a “Friendliness Guarantee” for its customer support.

It provides pre-configured and pay-per-use cloud server deployment options suitable for beginners and advanced developers. Its shared hosting plan is a cost-effective way to start on a high-performance platform and a reliable choice if you prioritize customer service and user-friendliness.

10. MS Azure1

Although it takes the last spot on my list, in terms of cloud services Microsoft’s Azure Stack is the closest competitor to AWS. Azure quickly caught up to its competitors with its complete end-to-end solutions, including serverless computing, various container services, hybrid cloud environments, and edge data processing.

Edge computing with Azure is particularly easy to establish, whether you use it for supply chain management, surveillance, automation, or security solutions. The best part about it is that you don’t need a dedicated team to set up the hardware – you can rent rack-mountable or mobile computing appliances via a paid monthly subscription.

Which AWS Alternative Is Best for You?

While Amazon maintains a significant lead in the cloud market, this doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for every project.

If you want quick access to an affordable, high-performance cloud VPS, Kamatera is your best bet1. Unlike other hosts, its 30-day free trial has no credit card requirement, and can be cancelled at any time.

If you’re looking for a hands-off approach, ScalaHosting is perfect for managed services1. Its managed hosting plans are cheaper than many competitor’s unmanaged offerings (and barely costlier than its own). You can also custom-build your server according to your needs.

For custom hosting solutions and security compliance, Liquid Web is a great AWS alternative1. All of its infrastructure is fully managed by actual professionals, even the low-cost CMS plans.

FAQ

Which is the best AWS alternative?

All things considered, Kamatera is the best AWS alternative. Deploying instances is straightforward – not to mention affordable compared to the maze of expensive services on Amazon’s platform.

Are there free alternatives to AWS?

No, not really – but you can take advantage of free trials before committing. Google Cloud and MS Azure offer trials that range from 3 to 12 months. Kamatera’s 30-day free trial promotion (with no strings attached) is a great way to test its services. In addition, most hosting companies offer first-term discounts on a regular basis.

Which is the cheapest and most reliable AWS alternative?

If you’re looking to host a simple website or app, Liquid Web offers a great solution for a more reasonable price than AWS. You can choose between three levels of management depending on the type of service you need. If you want peace of mind with a responsive support team, you’ll also find it with Liquid Web.

How do I cancel AWS?

Cancelling your AWS account is easier said than done. First, you have to make sure you’re logged into AWS as the root user, otherwise, you won’t be able to close the account. And if you created member accounts, these will have to be deleted beforehand. You should also terminate any resources you’re using before closing your account. If you’re looking to replace your AWS hosting, take a look at our best cloud hosting services in 2024.