What are the best alternatives to Azure Virtual Machines?

According to G2 data, the best alternatives to Azure Virtual Machines include Google Compute Engine (4.5/5 stars, 952 reviews), VMware vSphere (4.5/5 stars, 761 reviews), Amazon EC2 (4.6/5 stars, 1195 reviews), and DigitalOcean (4.6/5 stars, 749 reviews). These alternatives are highly rated and offer strong performance, scalability, and usability.

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Top 10 Azure Virtual Machines Alternatives & Competitors

(393)4.4 out of 5

While Azure Virtual Machines is a leading solution in Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Software, it's frequently compared with similar tools that offer different strengths. In most cases, users compare alternatives based on reliability and ease of use.
The best overall alternative to Azure Virtual Machines is Google Compute Engine, rated ~4.5 stars on G2 from 874+ reviewers. It is frequently praised for virtual machines and google cloud platform. Other well-known alternatives to Azure Virtual Machines are:

VMware vSphere – known for virtualization management and management (G2 star rating ~4.5)
Amazon EC2 – highly rated for flexibility and cloud storage (G2 star rating ~4.6)
DigitalOcean – offers affordable and cost-effective (G2 star rating ~4.6)
Akamai Cloud Computing – best suited for teams that need affordable and setup ease (G2 star rating ~4.6)

Browse top options below. Based on G2 review data, Azure Virtual Machines is most commonly used in industries like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Software, Server Virtualization Software, Auto Scaling Software. Compare user ratings by vertical to find the best fit.

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Best Paid & Free Alternatives to Azure Virtual Machines

Google Compute Engine
VMware vSphere
Amazon EC2
DigitalOcean
Akamai Cloud Computing
Vultr
Oracle VM
Proxmox VE

Top 10 Alternatives to Azure Virtual Machines Recently Reviewed By G2 Community

Browse options below. Based on reviewer data, you can see how Azure Virtual Machines stacks up to the competition, check reviews from current & previous users in industries like Information Technology and Services, Accounting, and Banking, and find the best product for your business.

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Akamai Cloud Computing

By Akamai Technologies

4.6/5

(406)

Product Description

Reviewers say compared to Azure Virtual Machines, Akamai Cloud Computing is:

Better at support

Easier to set up

More usable

Categories in common with Azure Virtual Machines:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Vultr

By Vultr Holdings LLC

4.3/5

(287)

Product Description

Reviewers say compared to Azure Virtual Machines, Vultr is:

Easier to set up

More usable

Easier to admin

Categories in common with Azure Virtual Machines:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Server Virtualization

Oracle VM

By Oracle

4.3/5

(73)

Product Description

Reviewers say compared to Azure Virtual Machines, Oracle VM is:

Better at support

More usable

Easier to set up

Categories in common with Azure Virtual Machines:

Server Virtualization

Proxmox VE

By Proxmox

4.6/5

(37)

Product Description

Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) is an open-source server virtualization platform that integrates Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and Linux Containers (LXC) technologies. It enables users to deploy and manage virtual machines and containers through a unified web-based interface, offering a comprehensive solution for enterprise virtualization needs. Key Features and Functionality: - Integrated Virtualization: Combines KVM for full virtualization and LXC for lightweight containerization, allowing flexible deployment of various workloads. - Web-Based Management Interface: Provides an intuitive web interface for managing virtual machines, containers, storage, and networking, simplifying administrative tasks. - High Availability Clustering: Supports clustering of multiple nodes with high availability configurations, ensuring minimal downtime and enhanced reliability. - Live Migration: Enables live migration of virtual machines between cluster nodes without service interruption, facilitating maintenance and load balancing. - Backup and Restore: Offers integrated backup and restore functionalities for virtual machines and containers, ensuring data protection and disaster recovery readiness. - Software-Defined Storage and Networking: Includes support for various storage backends and advanced networking configurations, providing flexibility in infrastructure design. Primary Value and User Solutions: Proxmox VE addresses the need for a robust, scalable, and cost-effective virtualization solution in enterprise environments. By integrating multiple virtualization technologies and management tools into a single platform, it simplifies the deployment and administration of virtualized infrastructures. Its open-source nature ensures transparency and adaptability, allowing organizations to tailor the system to their specific requirements. The platform's high availability and live migration features minimize downtime, enhancing business continuity. Additionally, the comprehensive backup and restore capabilities safeguard critical data, providing peace of mind for IT administrators. Overall, Proxmox VE empowers businesses to optimize their IT resources, improve operational efficiency, and reduce costs associated with virtualization management.

Reviewers say compared to Azure Virtual Machines, Proxmox VE is:

More usable

Easier to admin

Categories in common with Azure Virtual Machines:

Server Virtualization

VirtualBox

By Oracle

4.5/5

(294)

Product Description

Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free, open-source, cross-platform virtualization software that enables users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single device. Designed for IT professionals and developers, VirtualBox supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and Oracle Solaris as host operating systems, making it ideal for testing, development, demonstration, and deployment across diverse platforms. Key Features and Functionality: - Cross-Platform Compatibility: VirtualBox runs on various host operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Oracle Solaris, and supports a wide range of guest operating systems. - High Performance: The software leverages the latest in chip-level support for virtualization, including support for AMD, Intel, and Apple silicon processors, to provide faster execution times for guest operating systems. - 3D Graphics Support: VirtualBox includes VBoxSVGA and VMSVGA interfaces to improve 3D graphics performance. - USB Device Support: It implements a virtual USB controller, allowing users to connect arbitrary USB devices to virtual machines without installing device-specific drivers on the host. - Disk Image Encryption: VirtualBox supports 128 or 256-bit data encryption keys, enabling transparent encryption of data stored in hard disk images using the AES algorithm. - Remote Machine Display: The VirtualBox Remote Desktop Extension (VRDE) enables high-performance remote access to running virtual machines, supporting the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) with additional features like full client USB support. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: VirtualBox addresses several key challenges for its users: - Cost Reduction: By allowing multiple operating systems to run on a single device, VirtualBox reduces the need for multiple physical machines, thereby lowering hardware and operational costs. - Development Efficiency: Developers can test applications across different operating systems and versions using the same desktop environment, accelerating the development and testing process. - Simplified Software Distribution: Solution providers can distribute applications within a VirtualBox virtual machine, ensuring compatibility across various operating systems and versions without additional configuration. - Legacy Application Support: IT teams can extend the lifespan of legacy applications by running them on modern hardware through VirtualBox, avoiding the need for costly application rewrites or hardware replacements. - Secure Remote Access: VirtualBox facilitates secure access to restricted applications for remote workers by providing encrypted and isolated environments, ensuring data security and compliance without extensive rearchitecting of applications. In summary, Oracle VM VirtualBox offers a versatile and efficient solution for running multiple operating systems on a single device, enhancing development workflows, reducing costs, and providing secure, cross-platform compatibility for various IT needs.

Reviewers say compared to Azure Virtual Machines, VirtualBox is:

Easier to set up

More usable

Better at meeting requirements

Categories in common with Azure Virtual Machines:

Server Virtualization

Hostwinds

By Hostwinds

4.9/5

(438)

Product Description

Reviewers say compared to Azure Virtual Machines, Hostwinds is:

Slower to reach roi

Better at support

Easier to admin

Categories in common with Azure Virtual Machines:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Azure Virtual Machines Alternatives FAQs

Generated using AI

Reviewers recommend Google Compute Engine for its ease of use, scalability, and flexible custom machine types, which allow precise resource tailoring and cost optimization. VMware vSphere is favored for its stability, centralized management, and enterprise-grade features like live migration and high availability. Amazon EC2 is praised for its flexibility, wide variety of instance types, and seamless integration with the AWS ecosystem, enabling scalable and reliable infrastructure. DigitalOcean is highlighted for its simplicity, transparent pricing, and developer-friendly interface, making it ideal for startups and small teams. These Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) tools are recommended over Azure Virtual Machines for their combination of usability, cost-effectiveness, and robust feature sets.

According to G2 data, Azure Virtual Machines and Google Compute Engine both hold strong average ratings, with Google Compute Engine slightly ahead at 4.5/5 across 952 reviews compared to Azure's 4.4/5 from 393 reviews. Both platforms score equally on meeting requirements (9.0), ease of setup (8.6), and ease of administration (8.6). Google Compute Engine leads marginally in usability (8.7 vs 8.6) and Azure holds a slight advantage in ease of doing business (8.9 vs 8.8). Both have identical support scores (8.4). Users praise Azure Virtual Machines for its ease of use (45 mentions), scalability (29), cloud storage integration (29), flexibility (19), and security (19). Google Compute Engine users highlight ease of use (65 mentions), scalability (60), performance (40), and flexibility (45) as key strengths. Both platforms offer robust scalability and integration capabilities, but Google Compute Engine is favored for its slightly better usability, performance, and cost-effectiveness due to features like per-second billing and sustained-use discounts. Azure Virtual Machines excel in integration within the Microsoft ecosystem and provide a wide range of VM configurations. Pricing complexity and cost management challenges are common concerns for both, with Google Compute Engine users emphasizing the need for careful cost monitoring to avoid unexpected expenses.

Users choose Google Compute Engine over Azure Virtual Machines primarily for its superior ease of use, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. With 65 mentions of ease of use and 60 mentions of scalability, Google Compute Engine offers a user-friendly interface and flexible resource scaling that appeals to both beginners and experienced users. Its per-second billing model and automatic sustained-use discounts contribute to cost savings, making it attractive for organizations seeking efficient cost management. Additionally, Google Compute Engine provides strong performance and reliable uptime, with 40 mentions of performance and 36 of reliability, supporting demanding workloads effectively. The platform's deep integration with other Google Cloud services like BigQuery, Cloud Storage, and Kubernetes Engine streamlines workflows and enhances productivity. Users appreciate Google Compute Engine's flexibility in customizing VM configurations and its live migration feature, which minimizes downtime during maintenance. These factors, combined with a slightly higher usability score (8.7 vs 8.6) and competitive pricing, drive users to prefer Google Compute Engine for scalable, cost-efficient cloud infrastructure solutions according to G2 data.