# Amazon EC2 Reviews **Vendor:** Amazon Web Services (AWS) **Category:** [Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Providers](https://www.g2.com/categories/infrastructure-as-a-service-iaas) **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,184 ## About Amazon EC2 AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (AWS - EC2) is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web-scale computing easier for developers. AWS EC2۪s simple web service interface allows you to obtain and configure capacity with minimal friction. It provides you with complete control of your computing resources and lets you run on Amazon۪s proven computing environment. AWS EC2 reduces the time required to obtain and boot new server instances to minutes, allowing you to quickly scale capacity, both up and down, as your computing requirements change. AWS EC2 changes the economics of computing by allowing you to pay only for capacity that you actually use. AWS EC2 provides developers the tools to build failure resilient applications and isolate themselves from common failure scenarios. ## Amazon EC2 Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users value the **user-friendly interface** of Amazon EC2, simplifying server management and deployment tasks effortlessly. (55 reviews) - Users value the **scalability** of Amazon EC2, appreciating its ability to handle traffic spikes effortlessly and flexibly. (37 reviews) - Users value the **flexibility** of Amazon EC2, enabling easy customization and efficient management of services. (30 reviews) - Users appreciate the **easy management of storage services** with AWS, enhancing reliability and independence in cloud solutions. (25 reviews) - Users praise the **wide variety of customizable services** offered by Amazon EC2, enhancing flexibility and usability. (25 reviews) - Reliability (23 reviews) - Users appreciate the **deployment ease** of Amazon EC2, enabling quick and scalable server implementations with confidence. (20 reviews) - Users value the **seamless integrations** of Amazon EC2, enhancing efficiency by managing various services from one platform. (19 reviews) - Customer Support (16 reviews) - Security (16 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find the **complexity** of Amazon EC2 overwhelming, particularly for new users navigating instance types and pricing options. (25 reviews) - Users find the **pricing of Amazon EC2 a bit expensive** , often complicating budget management and understanding billing details. (25 reviews) - Users express concern over **cost issues** , highlighting billing complexity and potential extra charges for unnecessary resources. (18 reviews) - Users find **pricing confusing** on Amazon EC2, as costs can become unexpected and complex to manage over time. (17 reviews) - Users find the **learning difficulty** with AWS services frustrating, particularly for those without prior knowledge. (14 reviews) - Users find EC2's interface **not user-friendly** , often feeling overwhelmed by its complexity and steep learning curve. (14 reviews) - Overwhelming Choices (12 reviews) - Complex Coding (11 reviews) - Users struggle with the **steep learning curve** of Amazon EC2, making installation and management challenging for beginners. (9 reviews) - Users report **unexpected costs** with Amazon EC2 due to scaling and configuration challenges, complicating budget management. (9 reviews) ## Amazon EC2 Reviews ### 1. Beginner-Friendly Cloud Hosting with Flexible Billing **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Akash G. | Joint secretary, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 03, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** I used Amazon EC2 to host my Docker container for a personal project and found it very helpful as a beginner in cloud services. It's very easy to start and stop my instance, which gives me full control. I also really like the pay-as-you-go pricing since it means I don't have to spend money on days when the instance is down. The initial setup was very easy and the detailed tour of the application helped me understand it much faster. I also reached out to customer support in between for an issue while accessing my instance through the web instead of powershell and they were really helpful. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** Understanding the billing part took me some time as it doesn't reflect immediately and takes a while. Hence, I wasn't able to check how many credits of mine were being consumed and how fast. After a few days, I started to see the difference, but earlier I couldn't because the billing page hadn't fully been created for my instance. Amazon takes a while to update it. **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon EC2 helped me understand cloud services by easily creating and running instances. It simplifies starting and stopping instances, ensures control with pay-as-you-go pricing, and was pivotal in landing an internship. I use it within my place of work i.e CSES Society, here i use it to provide job opportunities to my college students at the earliest so that they can apply earlier. Applying earliest to jobs once they are posted will help them stay at the top of the HR's list and priority would be given to them. ### 2. AWS Cloud is the best **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ajay D. | Technical Lead, Information Technology and Services, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 12, 2022 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** Recent Amazon EC2 advancements focus on superior performance and security through the Nitro System, offering over 1,000 instance types including ARM-based Graviton chips for better price-performance. Key,,popular features include up to 400 Gbps networking, specialized AI/ML training instances, and enhanced security with confidential computing. Top New & Noteworthy EC2 Features • AWS Nitro System: The foundation of modern EC2, offloading virtualization functions to dedicated hardware, resulting in faster, more consistent performance. • Graviton Processors (ARM-based): Offers significantly better price-performance compared to traditional x86 chips for diverse workloads. • 400 Gbps Networking: Provides ultra-high-speed networking capabilities for high-performance computing (HPC) and demanding applications. • Confidential Computing: Enhances security by allowing data to be processed in isolated environments, ensuring data protection even during processing. • EC2 Mac Instances: Offers the ability to run macOS workloads directly on AWS infrastructure. • Faster Launch for Windows: Enables rapid deployment of Windows instances, reducing configuration times. These updates reinforce EC2's position as a flexible, secure, and high-performance computing platform. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** Recent Amazon EC2 advancements focus on superior performance and security through the Nitro System, offering over 1,000 instance types including ARM-based Graviton chips for better price-performance. Key,,popular features include up to 400 Gbps networking, specialized AI/ML training instances, and enhanced security with confidential computing. Top New & Noteworthy EC2 Features • AWS Nitro System: The foundation of modern EC2, offloading virtualization functions to dedicated hardware, resulting in faster, more consistent performance. • Graviton Processors (ARM-based): Offers significantly better price-performance compared to traditional x86 chips for diverse workloads. • 400 Gbps Networking: Provides ultra-high-speed networking capabilities for high-performance computing (HPC) and demanding applications. • Confidential Computing: Enhances security by allowing data to be processed in isolated environments, ensuring data protection even during processing. • EC2 Mac Instances: Offers the ability to run macOS workloads directly on AWS infrastructure. • Faster Launch for Windows: Enables rapid deployment of Windows instances, reducing configuration times. These updates reinforce EC2's position as a flexible, secure, and high-performance computing platform. **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** It has huge cloud resources due to which my storage capabilities has increased. ### 3. Reliable Server Deployments, Needs Improved Alerts **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gaurav C. | Founder, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 21, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** I am using Amazon EC2 for my website deployment. I like it because it's very handy, giving me a remote server to redirect my traffic with 99 percent uptime without any technical issues. It offers many OS options like Linux, Windows, and Ubuntu, allowing for flexibility according to my needs. The feature I like most is the CLI control, which gives me the ability to manage EC2 configurations through CLI commands, providing more control compared to manual RDP options. The initial setup was easy, thanks to the tutorials and steps on the UI interface. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** Sometimes, Amazon EC2 doesn't give you proper updates about the memory fulfillment, and if the memory goes above a certain threshold, the application can go down. Also, the deployment process is not simple enough and can be hard for developers who are not very experienced. **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon EC2 gives me a remote server to redirect traffic, ensures 99% uptime, and offers various OS options like Linux, Windows, and Ubuntu. It also provides CLI control, which simplifies managing configurations. In addition, it gives me an external RDP client that provides UI control for my PC requirements. ### 4. Amazon EC2: Easy to Deploy at Scale with Flexible Instance Options **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Srikant V. | Staff Software Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 14, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** What I like best about Amazon EC2 is how easy it is to use and implement, even at scale. Spinning up instances is quick, and the setup process is straightforward with good documentation and tooling. We use EC2 very frequently for day-to-day workloads, and the large number of instance types and features gives us flexibility for almost any use case. It integrates seamlessly with other AWS services, which simplifies networking, storage, and security, and AWS customer support is reliable when help is needed. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** One thing I dislike about Amazon EC2 is the complexity that comes with its flexibility. With so many instance types, pricing models, and configuration options, it can be overwhelming and easy to misconfigure or overspend. Cost visibility and optimization also require extra effort and tooling. Additionally, managing EC2 at scale often means relying on multiple supporting services, which increases operational overhead. **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon EC2 solves the problem of on-demand, scalable compute without the need to manage physical servers. It allows us to quickly provision capacity, scale up or down based on traffic, and run workloads reliably across different environments. This flexibility helps me reduce upfront infrastructure costs, improves deployment speed, and ensures high availability, letting our team focus more on applications rather than hardware management. ### 5. On-Demand Scalability and Instance Choice Without Upfront Investment **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Abdulraheman A. | Cloud Architect, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** On-demand scalability You can spin up or shut down servers in minutes. Whether you need 1 VM or 1,000, EC2 handles it without upfront investment. Wide instance variety Flexible pricing models **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** Pricing complexity EC2 pricing can be difficult to understand with multiple models (On-Demand, Reserved, Spot). It’s easy to misconfigure and end up with higher costs than expected. Cost management challenges Without proper monitoring and governance, costs can quickly escalate—especially with: Idle instances Over-provisioning Data transfer charges **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon EC2 solves the challenge of provisioning and managing on-premise infrastructure by providing scalable, on-demand compute resources in the cloud. It eliminates the need for upfront hardware investment and significantly reduces provisioning time from weeks to minutes. ### 6. Effortless Scalability and Cost Optimization with Amazon EC2 **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Bhupender S. | Senior Technology Specialist, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** I really like the variety of instance classes available with Amazon EC2, as it helps us choose the right server for the right environment. The free tier is also a big plus, allowing us to perform POC or dev testing without any cost and get the experience of EC2. Setting up Amazon EC2 was very, very easy—the steps were self-explanatory, especially after watching the video. It's convenient to spin up compute servers quickly and scale up based on our needs, leading to more cost optimization and allowing us to go live in less time. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** I think all the classes are not available in all the regions. Some of the regions have different costs than others, so it was difficult to make the customer understand why the charges are different. The upfront commitment plan could be reduced to a 3-month or 6-month duration for small organizations to reduce the risk. **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Amazon EC2 to quickly spin up and scale servers for cost optimization and faster deployment. The variety of instance classes and a free tier for testing enhance our experience. ### 7. Powerful Control Yet Complex Billing **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kunal D. | Software Engineer, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 20, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** I value the control Amazon EC2 gives me over the virtual environment. Unlike PaaS providers, EC2 provides full root access, allowing me to optimize my Node.js environments and manage my own Nginx configuration. I can fine-tune PM2 processes and utilize features like AMI. Once I've perfectly configured the MERN stack, I can take a snapshot and use it later, which is incredibly valuable. The Amazon Machine Image (AMI) acts as a golden blueprint for my MERN stack environment, allowing me to launch pre-configured servers with NodeJS and Nginx ready in minutes. These features eliminate the repetitive headache of manual setup, ensuring 100% consistency between my staging and production instances. In case of system failure, I can quickly restore a stable state from a saved image, providing a reliable safety net. Overall, AMIs transform complex infrastructure management into a simple, scalable, and one-click process. Additionally, EC2 solves the massive problem of upfront hardware costs and maintenance by allowing me to provision a virtual machine in minutes, removing the need for on-site infrastructure management. The setup is straightforward for those familiar with SSH and Linux, enabling an instance to run in minutes using the guided launch instance. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** I find the complexity of the billing structure a major pain point. It's hard to predict monthly costs due to the numerous variables like data transfer and EBS snapshots. Also, the steep learning curve for VPC and IAM configurations can be overwhelming for smaller projects. While the setup is straightforward, it requires technical knowledge, and the security groups, IAM roles, and VPC settings can be complex and intimidating. **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon EC2 removes the need for upfront hardware costs and maintenance, allowing me to focus on coding. It provides full root access for server management and ensures a consistent setup with AMI blueprints, streamlining environment management and recovery. ### 8. Review of Amazone EC2’s Flexible Instance **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ajay P. | Data Team Lead, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 11, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** You can launch or stop servers in minutes and scale resources up or down based on demand. This makes it ideal for applications with variable traffic. EC2 offers many instance families optimized for different workloads—general computing, memory-intensive tasks, GPU workloads, machine learning, etc. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** One drawback of Amazon EC2 is that it can be complex for beginners. There are many configuration options—instance types, networking, security groups, storage, and scaling—which can feel overwhelming when you’re just getting started. Another challenge is cost management **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** It solves the problem of needing reliable, scalable computing infrastructure without buying and maintaining physical servers. How this benefits me: I can quickly deploy and test applications without worrying about hardware setup. It allows flexible scaling, so applications remain responsive even with changing traffic. I can focus more on development and problem-solving instead of managing infrastructure. It provides reliable cloud infrastructure that supports experimentation and rapid iteration. ### 9. Smooth, Scalable, and Reliable Cloud Experience **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mariam A. | Senior Software Development Engineer, E-III, Information Technology and Services, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 08, 2022 **What do you like best about AWS Cloud?** The best thing about AWS Cloud is the reliability and flexibility it gives. Services scale automatically without much manual effort, and the ecosystem is huge—you get everything from compute to messaging to databases under one roof. Plus, the documentation and integrations with other tools make development and deployment super smooth. **What do you dislike about AWS Cloud?** The downside of AWS Cloud is that the pricing can get confusing and unpredictable, especially when multiple services are involved. Some services also have a steep learning curve, and navigating the console can feel overwhelming for beginners. **What problems is AWS Cloud solving and how is that benefiting you?** AWS Cloud helps us handle scalability, high availability, and distributed workloads without worrying about managing physical servers. Services like EC2, Lambda, SQS, and DynamoDB simplify deployments, improve application performance, and reduce operational overhead. It lets our team focus more on building features instead of maintaining infrastructure, which speeds up development and improves reliability. ### 10. Reliable Cloud Power with Flexible Control **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mahi P. | Data Scientist, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 17, 2026 **What do you like best about Amazon EC2?** I like that Amazon EC2 have a full control over virtual computers or The scalability is really smooth and I can add or take away resources at any time without much trouble. **What do you dislike about Amazon EC2?** One thing I don't like is that prices might be hard to understand especially for people whose are new to it. Costs can go up quickly if they aren't controlled well. Setting things up for the first time can also seem a little complicated for someone who is new to cloud platforms. **What problems is Amazon EC2 solving and how is that benefiting you?** Amazon EC2 lets me host programs without having to buy any hardware It saves me time and money and I can finish projects faster. It is very useful for testing developing and making sure that live apps work properly. ## Amazon EC2 Discussions - [What are the benefits of using Amazon EC2 ?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-are-the-benefits-of-using-amazon-ec2) - 5 comments, 1 upvote - [What is the easy way to creat a GUI instance just like creating normal instance](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-easy-way-to-creat-a-gui-instance-just-like-creating-normal-instance) - 3 comments, 1 upvote - [As an end user perspective I want to get brief notes in a simple layman's language to understand](https://www.g2.com/discussions/as-an-end-user-perspective-i-want-to-get-brief-notes-in-a-simple-layman-s-language-to-understand) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [What is Amazon EC2 used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-amazon-ec2-used-for) - 5 comments ## Amazon EC2 Integrations - [Amazon CloudWatch](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-cloudwatch/reviews) - [Amazon RDS on Outposts](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-rds-on-outposts/reviews) - [Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews) - [Amazon S3 Glacier](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-s3-glacier/reviews) - [AWS Amplify](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-amplify/reviews) - [AWS Auto Scaling](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-auto-scaling/reviews) - [AWS Batch](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-batch/reviews) - [AWS Cloud9](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-cloud9/reviews) - [AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK)](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-cloud-development-kit-aws-cdk/reviews) - [AWS CloudFormation](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-aws-cloudformation/reviews) - [AWS Config](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-config/reviews) - [AWS Elastic Beanstalk](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-elastic-beanstalk/reviews) - [AWS Elastic Load Balancing](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-elastic-load-balancing/reviews) - [AWS Fargate](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-fargate/reviews) - [AWS Glue](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-glue/reviews) - [AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-identity-and-access-management-iam/reviews) - [AWS Lambda](https://www.g2.com/products/aws-lambda/reviews) - [Datadog](https://www.g2.com/products/datadog/reviews) - [Docker](https://www.g2.com/products/docker-inc-docker/reviews) - [Elasticsearch](https://www.g2.com/products/elastic-elasticsearch/reviews) - [Firebase](https://www.g2.com/products/firebase/reviews) - [MongoDB Atlas](https://www.g2.com/products/mongodb-atlas/reviews) - [Python](https://www.g2.com/products/python/reviews) - [Shopify](https://www.g2.com/products/shopify/reviews) - [SSM 2.0](https://www.g2.com/products/ssm-2-0/reviews) - [Wazuh - The Open Source Security Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/wazuh-the-open-source-security-platform/reviews) - [WordPress.com](https://www.g2.com/products/wordpress-com/reviews) ## Amazon EC2 Features **Infrastructure Provision** - Public Cloud - Private Cloud - Hybrid Cloud - Bare Metal - High-Performance Computing (HPC) - Virtual Machines (VMs) - Edge Computing - Virtual Networks **Agentic AI - AWS Marketplace** - Autonomous Task Execution - Multi-step Planning - Cross-system Integration **Management** - Pay by Usage - Usage Tracking - Performance Tracking **Functionality** - Resource Auto-Scaling ## Top Amazon EC2 Alternatives - [Google Compute Engine](https://www.g2.com/products/google-compute-engine/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (878 reviews) - [DigitalOcean](https://www.g2.com/products/digitalocean/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (729 reviews) - [Akamai Cloud Computing](https://www.g2.com/products/akamai-cloud-computing/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (388 reviews)