Oracle Cloud vs AWS: Key Differences

Oracle Cloud is Oracle’s suite of cloud computing services; Amazon Web Services (AWS) is Amazon’s cloud computing platform. In addition to being part of different companies, these two cloud computing platforms differ in market share size, pricing structure, number of services and more. Weighing Oracle Cloud vs AWS involves many different factors.

When it comes to market share and number of services, AWS beats Oracle. However, in terms of pricing, Oracle Cloud offers potentially lower costs and more predictability. The table below outlines an overview of the differences between Oracle Cloud vs AWS.

Factors: Oracle Cloud AWS
Age 8 years 18 years
Market Share 2% 31%
Pricing Consistent & relatively cheaper pricing Pricing typically varies across regions
Compute Services Cheaper More compute services
Storage Services Cheaper egress Established services with better scalability
Database Services Suited for high performance Easier to use
Specialized Services Focused on enterprise-level services Offers more specialized services
Data Center Network Fewer data centers More data centers
Uptime & Latency Latency generally not as low as on AWS Generally lower latency because of extensive global reach
Performance Performs well with Oracle workloads High scalability drives performance
Cloud Security Offers standard security tools Established security tools with multiple options
Ease of Migration Easier migration, particularly for Oracle workloads Requires more effort

What Is Oracle Cloud?

Oracle Cloud — also known as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) — is a cloud computing platform that Oracle launched in 2016. It is primarily used as a flexible, scalable platform for developing, deploying and managing applications in the cloud.

OCI
Oracle’s cloud infrastructure is primarily wired for enterprise
workloads, especially Oracle workloads.

What Does Oracle Cloud Offer?

OCI is primarily a platform for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS), but it also offers Software as a Service (SaaS) and Database as a Service (DBaaS), which is mostly an offshoot of PaaS.

Infrastructure as a Service

Oracle Cloud’s IaaS solutions include storage, compute and networking. OCI storage services are divided into object storage and file storage, and compute services include virtual machines and bare-metal servers. To set up networking using OCI, you can use services such as site-to-site VPN and virtual cloud networks.

Platform as a Service

Oracle PaaS tools include a Kubernetes service (OKE), serverless computing in the form of OCI functions, low-code application building with APEX, and SaaS optimization and integration with Oracle Integration.

Software as a Service

Oracle Cloud offers many SaaS solutions, with a focus on enterprise SaaS, including order management, ERP overview, payroll, recruiting, HCM analytics and ERP analytics.

Database as a Service

The Oracle Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) option differs from its regular PaaS databases because it has automatic backup and recovery, higher availability and better scalability. DBaaS is also potentially cost-saving, but for the most part it is a specialized form of PaaS.

What Is AWS?

AWS (Amazon Web Services) is Amazon’s cloud computing platform. It launched in 2006 and is the most used public cloud computing platform in the world today. AWS has one of the largest ranges of services among cloud computing providers, making it useful for software development, app deployment, app management, analytics, AI, machine learning and more.

AWS
AWS offers cloud services to a wide range of customers, including
small businesses, individuals and large enterprises.

What Does Amazon Web Services Offer?

AWS offers a broader selection of services than OCI, primarily offering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) — but not SaaS.

Infrastructure as a Service

Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3) are among the most popular IaaS tools not only in AWS but also on the wider cloud market. AWS also offers Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Elastic Block Store (EBS) and Elastic File System (EFS).

Platform as a Service

PaaS solutions in AWS include Elastic Beanstalk and App Runner. Other services, like Elastic Container Service and AWS Lambda, can also be categorized as PaaS, or as CaaS (Container as a Service) and FaaS (Function as a Service), respectively.

What Are the Main Differences Between Oracle Cloud and AWS?

The main differences between Oracle Cloud and AWS include their market share, pricing, services, SLA, data center, performance and networking. 

Market Share

AWS launched roughly a decade before Oracle Cloud, so it’s no surprise it has a larger market share. Current estimates place AWS’ market share at 31% — the same as in 2023, but 2% less than in 2022 and 2021. On the other hand, Oracle Cloud has a market share of 2%, which has remained roughly the same since 2021.

Oracle Cloud Platform saw a revenue growth of 5% between 2021 and 2022, 18% between 2022 and 2023, and 6% between 2023 and 2024. On the other hand, AWS recorded its highest revenue growth in Q4 of 2021 (40%), and as of Q4 of 2023, revenue growth had decreased to 13%.

Top AWS customers include Disney, Samsung and The Washington Post. Top OCI customers include Toyota, Uber, Zoom and FedEx.

Pricing

Both Oracle Cloud and AWS primarily use a pay-as-you-go model. However, Oracle Cloud’s pricing is generally more consistent, as it uses the same unit price for its compute instances across all regions. AWS’ unit pricing differs across regions.

Oracle Cloud is generally cheaper than AWS, particularly when it comes to data egress costs. That said, you might see some cost savings when you use AWS reserved instances or savings plans.

Services
AWS SaaS
AWS offers various IaaS and PaaS tools for creating SaaS, but has no SaaS.

Cloud services fall under three main delivery models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). Both AWS and Oracle Cloud offer IaaS and PaaS tools, but AWS does not offer SaaS, whereas Oracle Cloud does. That said, there are more AWS services than Oracle Cloud services.

Compute Services
OCI Compute
Like most of its compute offerings, OCI bare metal servers
are relatively cheaper than AWS bare metal servers.

Compute services offer computing power over the internet, and they include offerings such as virtual machines and containers. Oracle Cloud compute is generally cheaper than AWS compute, particularly because the pricing is consistent. However, AWS offers a wider range of compute services and has superior scalability.

Storage Services
AWS Storage
S3 Standard is relatively cheaper than OCI Object Storage Standard,
with its unit cost reducing with increased monthly storage volume.

Storage services facilitate long-term data retention, and they include block storage, object storage and file storage. Oracle Cloud boasts cheaper egress costs for storage services, but AWS has more storage features. AWS’ storage services have been around longer, so it’s easier to get support for them in developer communities since more people are familiar with them.

Database Services
OCI DB
Oracle Cloud’s Autonomous Database stands out from
regular databases because it is highly automated.

Database services include relational and non-relational databases deployed in the cloud. Oracle Cloud databases are generally high-performance, particularly when running Oracle databases. However, AWS excels when it comes to database options, ease of use and scalability.

Specialized Services
AWS Analytics
AWS has one of the highest ranges of specialized
services among all cloud providers.

Specialized services are cloud services that serve specific needs, including tools like Fusion ERP Analytics and Amazon Athena. AWS has more specialized service options with richer features, while Oracle Cloud focuses more on enterprise-level services.

Service-Level Agreement
OCI SLA
Oracle Cloud offers SLA across its delivery models: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.

A service-level agreement (SLA) defines the baseline for service uptime, support and performance as agreed upon by the cloud provider and the user. Oracle offers up to 99.995% availability for its Oracle NoSQL Database Cloud Service, while AWS offers up to 99.999% for DynamoDB. That said, it is easier to read through AWS’s SLA than Oracle Cloud’s SLA.

Data Centers
AWS Global
Since each AWS availability zone has at least one data center, the total
number of AWS data centers can be any number above 105.

Data centers are physical locations housing the hardware used to run the cloud. AWS has more data centers than Oracle Cloud. However, Oracle Cloud’s OCI Dedicated Region offers more pricing flexibility for a public-in-private cloud experience than AWS’s equivalent service, AWS Outposts.

Performance

Performance refers to the efficiency of the cloud service delivery, and though AWS may generally be better due to its unmatched scalability, Oracle Cloud performs better than AWS for Oracle workloads.

Uptime & Latency
OCI Status
The OCI Live Status Page offers a one-stop dashboard
for monitoring service availability.

Uptime is the percentage of time services are online and usable. Latency is the time it takes data to travel between two points in a network. You can assess both providers’ reliability via their uptime records. AWS’ latency is better due to its many global data centers. It has only had 16 critical downtimes since 2011, while OCI has had more, despite not launching until 2016.

Networking
OCI networking
OCI’s network is relatively cheaper than AWS, thanks to low egress costs. 

Networking in the cloud involves a virtual cloud network that connects various cloud resources. AWS has more networking options than OCI, but data egress in OCI networks are markedly cheaper.

Cloud Security
AWS Security
AWS Security suite offers at least 32 different security tools.

Cloud security includes the tools used and measures taken to prevent intrusion into a cloud environment. AWS has more security tools, and those tools are well established. However, both providers excel when it comes to standard cloud security.

Ease of Migration
OCI Migration
OCI’s migration services are generally easier to use than AWS migration tools.

Ease of migration refers to the speed and simplicity of transferring existing apps and data to the cloud. Oracle Cloud offers easier migration, particularly for Oracle workloads, whereas AWS requires more effort. Of course, AWS offers more service options, so it’s a tradeoff between simplicity and functionality.

Integration with Third-Party Tools & Services

Integration with third-party tools and services is an indication of how easy it is to use tools from other vendors on these cloud platforms. Since it has been around longer, AWS supports more third-party apps than Oracle Cloud.

Open-Source Support
AWS Opensource
AWS’ Cloud Development Kit is one of its foremost open-source projects.

Open-source support describes the providers’ open-source compatibility and involvement. AWS has more open-source support and involvement than Oracle Cloud, which is more focused on its stack of SaaS tools.

Customer Support
AWS Support
Unlike AWS, OCI does not offer phone support right now.

Comparing the quality and availability of technical support between both providers, AWS has more support personnel and channels than OCI. OCI offers web and chat support, whereas AWS adds phone support on top of its web and chat support.

Use Cases
OC Use
Oracle Cloud’s primary use cases are for enterprise purposes.

Use cases describe the ideal applications and workloads for each provider. Oracle Cloud is enterprise-focused and integrates well with existing Oracle products, so it’s best used for high-performance computing and integration with existing Oracle workloads.

On the other hand, AWS can serve various purposes, from general computing needs to high-performance computing. That said, it may not integrate with some Oracle Cloud software, such as Oracle RAC.

What Are the Advantages of Choosing Oracle Cloud Over AWS?

The advantages of choosing Oracle Cloud over AWS include simpler pricing, its high-performance database, simpler migration and OCI Dedicated Region. 

Simpler Pricing

Pricing is more straightforward with Oracle Cloud — you can predict the cost you’d incur with better accuracy than with AWS. This is primarily because the unit pricing on Oracle Cloud is often the same globally. On the other hand, prices are different across regions with AWS. Oracle Cloud also offers markedly cheaper egress costs than AWS.

High-Performance Database

Oracle’s database services are high-performance, especially its Exadata Database Service. Exadata is highly scalable, high-performance, portable and flexible — most AWS database services might not match its performance.

Besides performance, the OCI databases are relatively cost-effective since they offer similar performance at relatively lower costs.

Simpler Migration

Cloud migration is generally complex regardless of the cloud service provider. However, when compared with each other, Oracle Cloud migrations are often less complicated than AWS migrations partly due to Oracle Cloud’s high-performance databases.

OCI Dedicated Region

OCI Dedicated Region (Cloud@Customer) and AWS Outposts offer the corresponding service’s public cloud in your private data center. However, OCI Dedicated Region is cheaper than AWS Outposts and uses the same pay-as-you-go model as its public cloud. With AWS Outposts, you pay per rack or per server.

What Are the Advantages of Choosing AWS Over Oracle?

The advantages of using Amazon Web Services over Oracle Cloud include its larger service collection, scalability, broader global reach and established services. 

Larger Service Collection

AWS outcompetes Oracle Cloud and most other cloud service providers when it comes to the number of services offered. OCI offers more than 100 services, whereas AWS offers more than 200. If you choose AWS over Oracle, there’s a greater chance you’ll get all the services you need on one platform.

Scalability & Flexibility

Compared to OCI, AWS has more resources, which makes for better scalability. AWS also has more services, making it more flexible to set up.

Broader Global Reach

Though OCI also has a significant global reach, it doesn’t compare to AWS, which has an extensive global cloud infrastructure backed by multiple availability zones and hundreds of data centers.

Established Services

Having launched at least 10 years before OCI, AWS has more established services than Oracle Cloud. People have more experience using AWS services such as EC2 and are very familiar with them. Therefore, it’s easier to get support for AWS services from developer communities. In addition, older AWS services tend to have more features than corresponding OCI services.

What Are Some Cloud Provider Alternatives to Oracle Cloud and AWS?

The top cloud provider alternatives to Oracle Cloud and AWS are Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM Cloud and DigitalOcean.

GCP

GCP
Google Cloud Platform is often touted as one of the
most innovative cloud service providers.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is Google’s cloud computing platform. It has the third highest market share in the world and offers IaaS, PaaS and SaaS solutions. Its top services include Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, App Engine, GKE and Big Query.

Microsoft Azure

Azure
Microsoft Azure readily integrates with existing Microsoft infrastructure.

Microsoft owns Microsoft Azure Cloud — the second largest cloud provider by market share. Azure is renowned for its hybrid cloud services and ease of integration with other Microsoft products. It offers services across the three main cloud delivery models, including Virtual Machine, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Functions and AKS.

IBM Cloud

IBM
Like Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud focuses more on enterprise solutions.

IBM Cloud is IBM’s cloud computing platform and is among the top 10 cloud providers by market share. IBM offers virtual machines, object storage, serverless service, container services, SaaS and more.

DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean
In addition to its simple interface, DigitalOcean’s pricing is one of its best features.

DigitalOcean Holdings founded DigitalOcean, which is popular for its ease of use, cost-effectiveness and general simplicity. It is a favorite among developers, small enterprises and startups, and it has a decent suite of IaaS and PaaS solutions.

Factors to Consider While Choosing a Cloud Provider

Factors to consider when choosing a cloud provider include security, scalability, services offered, budget, customer support, vendor lock-in, ease of integration and reputation. 

  • Security: Look out for security certifications, compliance standards and security features when choosing a cloud provider. Ensure the proactive and combative tools offered suit your needs.
  • Scalability and Flexibility: Opt for a provider that can scale up or down as needed and is flexible enough for easy migration.
  • Services Offered: Confirm that the provider offers all the services you need. There are often discounts when you use multiple services on a single cloud platform.
  • Budget: Compare cloud providers’ pricing models and affordability. Many providers use a pay-as-you-go model, and some even offer discounted upfront payment models.
  • Customer Support: Check the customer support availability and the number of support channels. Accessibility to useful documentation is also crucial.
  • Vendor Lock-In: Though using multiple services with the same provider can be rewarding, check to confirm that you can readily move to a different provider and won’t be locked in.
  • Ease of Integration: Generally, cloud providers make integration across their services seamless. Confirm the ease of integration with the third-party tools you’ll use.
  • Reputation: Examine the cloud provider’s track record — check its uptime history, security incidents and more. This will give you an idea of the provider’s reliability.

Final Thoughts

AWS has a larger market share than Oracle Cloud. It also offers more services and has a broader global reach. However, when it comes to database performance, consistent compute pricing and SaaS, OCI thrives. That said, your choice between these cloud providers could come down to factors like budget, security, services and ease of integration.

Have you used either AWS or Oracle Cloud? What was your experience like? Which do you believe has better IaaS offerings? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for reading.

FAQ: AWS vs Oracle Cloud Comparison 

  • For global reach, scalability and more service options, AWS is better than Oracle. However, when it comes to pricing and database performance, Oracle wins.

  • Oracle Cloud does not run on AWS; it exists as a cloud provider just like AWS.

  • Oracle Cloud has a future; its growth in AI, its focus on enterprise customers’ needs and its cost-effectiveness are potential leverage to grow its market share.

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