Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AWS Lambda VS Azure Web Apps

Compare AWS Lambda VS Azure Web Apps and see what are their differences

AWS Lambda logo AWS Lambda

Automatic, event-driven compute service

Azure Web Apps logo Azure Web Apps

Create and deploy mission critical Web apps that scale with your business
  • AWS Lambda Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-29
  • Azure Web Apps Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-05

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.

Azure Web Apps features and specs

  • Scalability
    Azure Web Apps support automatic scaling based on demand, ensuring that your application can handle increased load without manual intervention.
  • Managed Platform
    Microsoft handles the underlying infrastructure, management, and maintenance, allowing developers to focus on building and deploying applications.
  • Integration
    Seamlessly integrates with other Azure services such as Azure SQL Database, Azure Storage, and Azure Functions, providing a comprehensive ecosystem for your application.
  • Security
    Advanced security features including SSL certificates, authentication with Azure Active Directory, and compliance with various industry standards.
  • Continuous Deployment
    Supports continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines from popular sources including GitHub, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps.
  • Global Reach
    Azure's global network of data centers allows you to deploy your web apps closer to your users, reducing latency and improving performance.

Possible disadvantages of Azure Web Apps

  • Cost
    Can be expensive compared to other hosting options, especially for larger applications with significant traffic and resource requirements.
  • Complexity
    The wide range of features and services can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a learning curve to fully utilize the platform.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Relying heavily on Azure-specific services can make it challenging to migrate to other platforms or cloud providers in the future.
  • Performance
    Shared infrastructure can occasionally lead to inconsistent performance, particularly during peak times or maintenance windows.
  • Customization Limitations
    Lacks some of the customization options available with traditional virtual machines or other hosting solutions, which can be a limitation for specialized requirements.
  • Service Outages
    Like any cloud service, Azure Web Apps can experience occasional outages, which can impact accessibility and availability of your application.

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.

Analysis of Azure Web Apps

Overall verdict

  • Azure Web Apps is a highly reliable and versatile platform for deploying web applications. It offers a rich set of features, scalability, and integration capabilities, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Why this product is good

  • Azure Web Apps offers seamless integration with other Azure services, providing a comprehensive cloud ecosystem.
  • It supports multiple programming languages and frameworks, including .NET, Java, Node.js, Python, PHP, and Ruby.
  • Azure Web Apps automatically handles scaling, load balancing, and security updates, which simplifies application management.
  • Built-in DevOps features, such as continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), streamline development workflows.
  • Global reach with data centers worldwide ensures low latency and high availability for applications.

Recommended for

  • Organizations looking to leverage a robust cloud platform with strong integration into the broader Azure ecosystem.
  • Developers who need to deploy applications using a variety of programming languages and frameworks.
  • Teams requiring scalable, secure, and globally accessible web applications with minimal infrastructure management.

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

Azure Web Apps videos

Comparing Azure Web Apps, VMs and Cloud Services

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS Lambda and Azure Web Apps)
Cloud Computing
88 88%
12% 12
Cloud Hosting
83 83%
17% 17
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Backend As A Service
60 60%
40% 40

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 Azure Web Apps

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

Azure Web Apps Reviews

We have no reviews of Azure Web Apps yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS Lambda seems to be a lot more popular than Azure Web Apps. While we know about 287 links to AWS Lambda, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Azure Web Apps. 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 (287)

  • Agentic AI Observability with Amazon CloudWatch: Transforming Enterprise AI Monitoring
    CloudWatch Generative AI Observability works with agents across multiple platforms, including https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock/, https://aws.amazon.com/eks/, https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/, on-premises systems, and other cloud providers. - Source: dev.to / 9 days ago
  • Best Way to Run Puppeteer Online: Solutions Compared
    Currently, only a few platforms support running Puppeteer in a serverless manner: Leapcell, AWS Lambda, and Cloudflare Browser Rendering. - Source: dev.to / 21 days ago
  • DuckDB on AWS Lambda: The Easy Way with Layers
    Now combine that with AWS Lambda : instead of Athena queries, RDS instances, or complex ETL pipelines, DuckDB allows you to run analytical workloads on-demand in a Lambda function, paying only for what you actually use. Existing AWS services like Athena or RDS can address similar needs, but they come with different scaling models and pricing strategies. Athena, for example, charges per scanned byte and introduces... - Source: dev.to / 22 days ago
  • Videos REST API with API Gateway, Lambda, Aurora Serverless - FakeTube #5
    So far our high level architecture diagram wasn't very impressive - we only used AWS Amplify service to host our web application. Of course there are many services under the hood like Route 53, CloudFront, Certificate Manager, Lambda and S3, but Amplify provides level of abstraction, so that we don't have to think about it. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • What is the Most Effective AI Tool for App Development Today?
    Rajesh Pandey outlines key components: "For serverless, AWS Lambda and API Gateway allow you to build low-latency AI APIs without managing servers." Tools like Modal handle GPU deployments. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
View more

Azure Web Apps mentions (5)

  • How is TLS/HTTPS working and when do you need it
    Do we even need to set up TLS if our back and front end are hosted on services like https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/app-service/web/ or other web hosting platforms? Source: almost 4 years ago
  • The 2021 Software Developer Shortage Is Coming
    Https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/app-service/web/ Https://cloud.google.com/appengine. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Azure DevOps Dashboard
    The solution runs on as a single Azure Web App, it uses a background WebJob to collect all the data needed to present in the web dashboard. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
  • Generate PDF files with asp.net core on Azure
    There are many libraries and services to generate PDF files for asp.net core web applications. There are excellent commercial solutions out there, but if you need a free solution, it gets harder. Some libraries are hard to use, or others are limited in functionality. I need a free, easy to use, and quick solution to generate PDF files on an Azure Web App. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
  • Multitenant server
    You can host multiple Web Apps on the same App Service Plan. That's the easiest way to do it. With Azure SQL you can just create multiple databases to have isolation. Source: over 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS Lambda and Azure Web Apps, you can also consider the following products

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

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.

Salesforce Platform - Salesforce Platform is a comprehensive PaaS solution that paves the way for the developers to test, build, and mitigate the issues in the cloud application before the final deployment.

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

Dokku - Docker powered mini-Heroku in around 100 lines of Bash

Google Cloud Functions - A serverless platform for building event-based microservices.