Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AWS Lambda VS Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Compare AWS Lambda VS Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) and see what are their differences

AWS Lambda logo AWS Lambda

Automatic, event-driven compute service

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) logo Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Store data in the cloud and learn the core concepts of buckets and objects with the Amazon S3 web service.
  • AWS Lambda Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-29
  • Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-05

AWS Lambda features and specs

  • Scalability
    AWS Lambda automatically scales your application by running your code in response to each trigger. This means no manual intervention is required to handle varying levels of traffic.
  • Cost-effectiveness
    You only pay for the compute time you consume. Billing is metered in increments of 100 milliseconds and you are not charged when your code is not running.
  • Reduced Operations Overhead
    AWS Lambda abstracts the infrastructure management layer, so there is no need to manage or provision servers. This allows you to focus more on writing code for your applications.
  • Flexibility
    Supports multiple programming languages such as Python, Node.js, Ruby, Java, Go, and .NET, which allows you to use the language you are most comfortable with.
  • Integration with Other AWS Services
    Seamlessly integrates with many other AWS services such as S3, DynamoDB, RDS, SNS, and more, making it versatile and highly functional.
  • Automatic Scaling and Load Balancing
    Handles thousands of concurrent requests without managing the scaling yourself, making it suitable for applications requiring high availability and reliability.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Lambda

  • Cold Start Latency
    The first request to a Lambda function after it has been idle for a certain period can take longer to execute. This is referred to as a 'cold start' and can impact performance.
  • Resource Limits
    Lambda has defined limits, such as a maximum execution timeout of 15 minutes, memory allocation ranging from 128 MB to 10,240 MB, and temporary storage up to 512 MB.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Using AWS Lambda ties you into the AWS ecosystem, making it difficult to migrate to another cloud provider or an on-premises solution without significant modifications to your application.
  • Complexity of Debugging
    Debugging and monitoring distributed, serverless applications can be more complex compared to traditional applications due to the lack of direct access to the underlying infrastructure.
  • Cold Start Issues with VPC
    When Lambda functions are configured to access resources within a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), the cold start latency can be exacerbated due to additional VPC networking overhead.
  • Limited Execution Control
    AWS Lambda is designed for stateless, short-running tasks and may not be suitable for long-running processes or tasks requiring complex orchestration.

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) features and specs

  • Scalability
    Amazon S3 automatically scales storage resources to accommodate growing amounts of data without requiring upfront provisioning or capacity planning from users.
  • Durability and Availability
    S3 is designed for 99.999999999% (11 9's) of durability and very high availability, ensuring that data is highly protected and readily accessible.
  • Security
    Offers comprehensive security and compliance capabilities including encryption, access controls, and logging features.
  • Integration
    Deep integration with other AWS services and features, making it a pivotal part of AWS's cloud ecosystem, suitable for a wide range of applications.
  • Cost-effectiveness
    Pay-as-you-go pricing model without upfront expenses, along with different storage classes for optimizing costs based on data access patterns.
  • Data Management Features
    Includes features for lifecycle management, versioning, and cross-region replication to organize, manage, and backup data effectively.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

  • Complexity
    The wide range of features and configurations may be complex for new users to fully understand and leverage properly.
  • Data Transfer Costs
    While inbound data transfers to S3 are generally free, outbound data transfers can become costly, particularly if data is frequently moved out of S3.
  • Latency
    Although S3 offers high availability, the latency can be an issue for applications requiring real-time data retrieval due to the nature of cloud storage.
  • Pricing Complexity
    The pricing structure, which varies by factors such as storage used, requests processed, and data transferred, can be challenging to predict and manage.
  • Limited Control
    As a managed service, users may have limited control over the underlying infrastructure compared to on-premise or more customizable cloud solutions.

Analysis of AWS Lambda

Overall verdict

  • AWS Lambda is a strong choice for developers looking for scalable, event-driven applications with minimal management overhead. It is particularly beneficial for applications that experience intermittent traffic or unpredictable workloads.

Why this product is good

  • AWS Lambda is a popular serverless computing service because it allows users to run code without provisioning or managing servers. It automatically scales applications by running code in response to triggers such as HTTP requests, changes in data, or system events. This can significantly reduce operational overhead and costs, as you only pay for the compute time you consume.

Recommended for

  • Developers building microservices or serverless applications.
  • Companies looking to reduce infrastructure management.
  • Startups wanting to quickly deploy applications with limited operational costs.
  • Organizations needing to integrate with other AWS services for a comprehensive solution.
  • Projects with unpredictable or variable workloads that require automatic scaling.

AWS Lambda videos

AWS Lambda Vs EC2 | Serverless Vs EC2 | EC2 Alternatives

More videos:

  • Tutorial - AWS Lambda Tutorial | AWS Tutorial for Beginners | Intro to AWS Lambda | AWS Training | Edureka
  • Tutorial - AWS Lambda | What is AWS Lambda | AWS Lambda Tutorial for Beginners | Intellipaat

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) videos

Introduction to Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) - Cloud Storage on AWS

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3): Overview and Tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS Lambda and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3))
Cloud Computing
94 94%
6% 6
Cloud Storage
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Hosting
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare AWS Lambda and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

AWS Lambda Reviews

Top 7 Firebase Alternatives for App Development in 2024
AWS Lambda is suitable for applications with varying workloads and those already using the AWS ecosystem.
Source: signoz.io

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) Reviews

We have no reviews of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS Lambda seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 277 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS Lambda mentions (277)

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Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) yet. Tracking of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS Lambda and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), you can also consider the following products

Amazon S3 - Amazon S3 is an object storage where users can store data from their business on a safe, cloud-based platform. Amazon S3 operates in 54 availability zones within 18 graphic regions and 1 local region.

Google Cloud Storage - Google Cloud Storage offers developers and IT organizations durable and highly available object storage.

Amazon API Gateway - Create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs at any scale

Azure Blob Storage - Use Azure Blob Storage to store all kinds of files. Azure hot, cool, and archive storage is reliable cloud object storage for unstructured data

Google App Engine - A powerful platform to build web and mobile apps that scale automatically.

Minio - Minio is an open-source minimal cloud storage server.