GCP vs AWS in 2024: A Comprehensive Cloud Platform Comparison
GCP

GCP vs AWS in 2024: A Comprehensive Cloud Platform Comparison

An in-depth comparison of Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services, covering services, pricing, features, and best practices for cloud adoption in 2024

March 15, 2024
DevHub Team
5 min read

GCP vs AWS in 2024: A Comprehensive Cloud Platform Comparison

As cloud computing continues to evolve, choosing between Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) becomes increasingly complex. This guide provides a detailed comparison to help you make an informed decision in 2024.

Platform Overview

graph TB subgraph "Core Infrastructure" A1["Compute"] B1["Storage"] C1["Networking"] end subgraph "Platform Services" A2["Containers"] B2["Serverless"] C2["Databases"] end subgraph "Advanced Services" A3["AI/ML"] B3["Analytics"] C3["Security"] end A1 --> A2 B1 --> B2 C1 --> C2 A2 --> A3 B2 --> B3 C2 --> C3 classDef aws fill:#FF9900,stroke:#fff,color:#fff classDef gcp fill:#1a73e8,stroke:#fff,color:#fff class A1,B1,C1 aws class A2,B2,C2,A3,B3,C3 gcp

Service Comparison

CategoryAWSGCP
ComputeEC2Compute Engine
ContainersEKS/ECSGKE
ServerlessLambdaCloud Functions
StorageS3Cloud Storage

Compute Services

Virtual Machines

# AWS EC2 Configuration Resources: EC2Instance: Type: 'AWS::EC2::Instance' Properties: InstanceType: t3.medium ImageId: ami-12345678 SecurityGroups: - !Ref SecurityGroup UserData: Fn::Base64: !Sub | #!/bin/bash yum update -y yum install -y httpd systemctl start httpd systemctl enable httpd # GCP Compute Engine Configuration resources: - name: vm-instance type: compute.v1.instance properties: machineType: n1-standard-2 zone: us-central1-a disks: - deviceName: boot type: PERSISTENT boot: true autoDelete: true initializeParams: sourceImage: projects/debian-cloud/global/images/debian-10 networkInterfaces: - network: global/networks/default accessConfigs: - name: External NAT type: ONE_TO_ONE_NAT

Container Orchestration

FeatureAWS EKSGCP GKE
Auto-scalingCluster AutoscalerAutopilot
Node ManagementManualAutomated
IntegrationAWS ServicesGCP Services

Storage Solutions

Object Storage Comparison

// AWS S3 Implementation import { S3Client, PutObjectCommand } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3"; const s3Client = new S3Client({ region: "us-west-2" }); async function uploadToS3(bucket: string, key: string, body: Buffer) { const command = new PutObjectCommand({ Bucket: bucket, Key: key, Body: body, }); return await s3Client.send(command); } // GCP Cloud Storage Implementation import { Storage } from "@google-cloud/storage"; const storage = new Storage(); async function uploadToGCS(bucket: string, filename: string, contents: Buffer) { const bucketObj = storage.bucket(bucket); const file = bucketObj.file(filename); await file.save(contents, { contentType: "application/octet-stream", }); }

Storage Features

FeatureAWS S3GCP Cloud Storage
Storage Classes6 tiers4 tiers
Lifecycle ManagementAdvancedBasic
VersioningBuilt-inBuilt-in

Database Services

Managed Databases

# AWS RDS Configuration Resources: MyDB: Type: 'AWS::RDS::DBInstance' Properties: DBName: mydb Engine: mysql MasterUsername: admin MasterUserPassword: !Ref 'DBPassword' DBInstanceClass: db.t3.medium AllocatedStorage: '20' BackupRetentionPeriod: 7 # GCP Cloud SQL Configuration resources: - name: mysql-instance type: sqladmin.v1beta4.instance properties: settings: tier: db-n1-standard-2 backupConfiguration: enabled: true startTime: '23:00' databaseFlags: - name: character_set_server value: utf8mb4

Database Features

FeatureAWSGCP
SQLRDSCloud SQL
NoSQLDynamoDBFirestore
In-MemoryElastiCacheMemorystore

Machine Learning and AI

Service Comparison

CategoryAWSGCP
ML PlatformSageMakerVertex AI
Vision APIRekognitionVision AI
SpeechTranscribeSpeech-to-Text

Pricing Comparison

Compute Pricing

interface ComputePricing { provider: string; instanceType: string; vCPUs: number; memory: number; pricePerHour: number; } const computePricing: ComputePricing[] = [ { provider: "AWS", instanceType: "t3.medium", vCPUs: 2, memory: 4, pricePerHour: 0.0416 }, { provider: "GCP", instanceType: "n1-standard-2", vCPUs: 2, memory: 4, pricePerHour: 0.0475 } ];

Storage Pricing

Storage TypeAWS (per GB/month)GCP (per GB/month)
Standard$0.023$0.020
Infrequent Access$0.0125$0.010
Archive$0.004$0.004

Security Features

Identity and Access Management

// AWS IAM Policy const awsPolicy = { Version: "2012-10-17", Statement: [ { Effect: "Allow", Action: [ "s3:GetObject", "s3:PutObject" ], Resource: "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*" } ] }; // GCP IAM Policy const gcpPolicy = { bindings: [ { role: "roles/storage.objectViewer", members: [ "user:jane@example.com" ] } ] };

Security Features Comparison

FeatureAWSGCP
IdentityIAMCloud IAM
Network SecuritySecurity GroupsFirewall Rules
Key ManagementKMSCloud KMS

Migration Considerations

Migration Strategies

  1. Lift and Shift

    # AWS CloudFormation Resources: MigrationInstance: Type: 'AWS::EC2::Instance' Properties: InstanceType: m5.large ImageId: ami-migration-tools # GCP Deployment Manager resources: - name: migration-instance type: compute.v1.instance properties: machineType: n1-standard-2 metadata: items: - key: startup-script value: | #!/bin/bash # Install migration tools apt-get update apt-get install -y cloud-migrate
  2. Re-platforming

    # AWS Elastic Beanstalk Resources: Application: Type: 'AWS::ElasticBeanstalk::Application' Properties: Description: Migration application # GCP App Engine runtime: python39 env: standard instance_class: F2 automatic_scaling: target_cpu_utilization: 0.65 min_instances: 1 max_instances: 10

Best Practices

Architecture Patterns

PatternAWS ImplementationGCP Implementation
MicroservicesECS/EKS + API GatewayGKE + Cloud Run
ServerlessLambda + DynamoDBCloud Functions + Firestore
Data LakeS3 + AthenaCloud Storage + BigQuery

Decision Matrix

Use Case Recommendations

Use CaseRecommended PlatformReason
EnterpriseAWSMature ecosystem
ML/AIGCPAdvanced AI capabilities
Hybrid CloudGCPAnthos platform

References

  1. AWS Documentation
  2. GCP Documentation
  3. AWS Pricing Calculator
  4. GCP Pricing Calculator
  5. Cloud Migration Guide
  6. AWS vs GCP Services

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