Cloud pricing is complicated and constantly changing. It can be difficult to compare cloud prices because providers offer different pricing models, unique discounting options, frequent price cuts, and promises to match prices. We sort through the noise and provide up-to-date information on which providers have the lowest-cost compute and storage options and in which circumstances.

1. CLOUD PRICE COMPARISON
FOR COMPUTE:
AWS VS AZURE VS GOOGLE VS IBM

2. • Kim Weins
• VP Marketing, RightScale
Speakers

3. • Understanding Discount Options
• Comparing On-Demand
• Comparing Discounts
• Linux vs. Windows
• Takeaways
Agenda

4. Two Ways to Manage Cloud
3

5. 30%
15%
% of Cloud Spend Wasted
Cloud Users Underestimate Wasted Spend
Source: RightScale 2017 State of the Cloud Report
Self-Estimated
Wasted Spend
Additional
Wasted Spend Measured
by RightScale

6. 3%
16%
19%
20%
23%
33%
30%
30%
31%
45%
4%
15%
20%
24%
25%
31%
33%
35%
38%
52%
Use Google Preemptible VMs
Use AWS Spot Instances
Move workloads to cheaper cloud/region
Select cloud or region based on cost
Track AWS RIs to make sure they are used
Purchasing AWS RIs
Look for storage volumes not in active use
Shut down workloads during certain hours
Automate shut down of temporary workloads
Monitor utilization and rightsize instances
How Companies are Optimizing Cloud Costs
2017 2016
Companies Increase Focus on Cloud Costs
Source: RightScale 2017 State of the Cloud Report

7. 24%
30%
38%
38%
40%
42%
52%
53%
Expanding private clouds we use
Enabling IT to broker multiple cloud services
Expanding use of containers
Implementing CI/CD in the cloud
Implementing a cloud first strategy
Expanding public clouds we use
Moving more workloads to cloud
Optimizing existing cloud use (cost savings)
Cloud Initiatives in 2017
Cost Optimization Is Top Initiative in 2017
Source: RightScale 2017 State of the Cloud Report

8. UNDERSTANDING CLOUD
DISCOUNT OPTIONS

9. AWS RIs Azure EA Google SUD/CUD
IBM Monthly
(or Negotiated)
Length of commitment 1 or 3 years 3 years (volume can
increase over time)
SUD: No commitment Monthly: Commit by
month
Range of discount
levels
1 yr 24-58%
3 yr 32-75%
15-45% SUD: Up to 30%
CUD: 37% (1Yr) or
55% (3Yr)
About 10%
% of time instance
must run to save
Breakeven 25%-76% Depends 25% for first level of
discount
Month
Other documented
programs
Volume RI discount
starting at $500K;
Can also consider
Spot instances;
Per-minute billing Sub-hour billing (10
minutes minimum)
Preemptible VMs
Comparing Discount Options by Cloud

10. • Specify
• Region
• AZ (not required with regional benefit)
• Instance family (can change with Convertible RIs)
• Instance size (flexible with regional benefit)
• OS
• Network
About AWS RIs

11. About AWS Reserved Instances (RI)
RI price points and discounts are
different for every region, instance type
and OS
!
Types of Reserved
Instances
No Upfront Partial Upfront All Upfront
Savings for 1-Year
Standard RIs
(Linux)
$0.095
29% discount
$0.083
38% discount
$0.081
39% discount
Savings for 3-Year
Convertible RIs
(Linux)
$0.086
35% discount
$0.075
44% discount
$0.073
45% discount
Savings for 3-Year
Standard RIs
(Linux)
N/A
$0.056
58% discount
$0.052
61% discount
Hours Billed 24 hrs a day 24 hrs a day 24 hrs a day
Based on m3.large with Linux in us-east
On-demand price is $0.133 per hour

12. • 3-year commitment
• Minimum 500 devices/users
• Discount varies (15-45%) with commitment tier
• Add Servers and Cloud Enrollment
• Commit to a tier of usage that drives the discount
• Ability to increase usage over time at same discount
• “True up” each year
About Azure Enterprise Agreements (EA)

13. About Google Sustained Use Discount (SUD)
• No commitment. The more you use an instance family during
the month, the higher the discount.
Usage Level
% of Billing Cycle
Incremental Rate
% of On-Demand Baseline
Sample Rate
n1-standard-1
Total Cost
0-25% 100% $0.050 $9.00
25-50% 80% $0.040 $7.20
50-75% 60% $0.030 $5.40
75-100% 40% $0.020 $3.60
Monthly Cost
at 100% usage
30% discount $25.20

14. Google SUD uses “Inferred Instances”
Source: Google

15. • Commit to # of vCPUs and GBs of RAM
• 1 yr or 3 yr
• Can be used for any instance type or size in a region
• SUD still applies for non-committed use
About Google Committed Use Discount

16. COMPUTE PRICING

17. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large 8 32 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 375
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large 8 0 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 0
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 375
2 cores,
16 GB
16 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 0
2
cores,1
6 GB
16 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large 3.75 32 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 375
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c4.large 3.75 0 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 0
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM Compute
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017

18. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large 8 32 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 375
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large 8 0 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 0
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 375
2 cores,
16 GB
16 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 0
2
cores,1
6 GB
16 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large 3.75 32 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 375
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c4.large 3.75 0 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 0
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM Compute
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017
AWS has families with
and without SSD

19. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large 8 32 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 375
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large 8 0 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 0
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 375
2 cores,
16 GB
16 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 0
2
cores,1
6 GB
16 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large 3.75 32 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 375
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c4.large 3.75 0 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 0
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM Compute
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017
Azure always includes
local SSD

20. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large 8 32 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 375
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large 8 0 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 0
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 375
2 cores,
16 GB
16 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 0
2
cores,1
6 GB
16 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large 3.75 32 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 375
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c4.large 3.75 0 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 0
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM Compute
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017
Google lets you add on local
SSD but min is 375 GB

21. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
Mem
AWS
Disk
Azure
Azure
Mem
Azure
Disk
Google
Google
Mem
Google
Disk
IBM
IBM
Mem
IBM
Disk
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large 8 32 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 375
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large 8 0 D2 v2 7 100
n1-
standard-2
7.5 0
2 cores,
8 GB
8 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 375
2 cores,
16 GB
16 25
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r3.large 15 32 D11 v2 14 100
n1-
highmem-2
13 0
2
cores,1
6 GB
16 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large 3.75 32 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 375
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c4.large 3.75 0 F2 4 32
n1-
highcpu-2
1.8 0
2 cores,
4 GB
4 25
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM Compute
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017
IBM provides 25 GB by
default

22. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
OD
Hourly
AWS
/GB
RAM
Azure
Azure
OD
Hourly
Azure
/GB
RAM
Google
Google
SUD
Hourly
Google
/GB
RAM
IBM
IBM
OD
Hourly
IBM
/GB
RAM
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large $0.133 $0.017 D2 v2 $0.108 $0.015
n1-standard-
2
$0.1785 $0.0238
2 cores,
8 GB
$0.160 $0.020
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large $0.108 $0.014 D2 v2 $0.108 $0.015
n1-standard-
2
$0.0665 $0.0089
2 cores,
8 GB
$0.160 $0.020
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large $0.166 $0.011 D11 v2 $0.133 $0.010
n1-highmem-
2
$0.1949 $0.0150
2 cores,
16 GB
$0.256 $0.016
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r3.large $0.133 $0.009 D11 v2 $0.133 $0.010
n1-highmem-
2
$0.0829 $0.0064
2
cores,1
6 GB
$0.256 $0.016
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large $0.105 $0.028 F2 $0.099 $0.025 n1-highcpu-2 $0.1616 $0.0898
2 cores,
4 GB
$0.105 $0.026
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c4.large $0.100 $0.027 F2 $0.099 $0.025 n1-highcpu-2 $0.0496 $0.0276
2 cores,
4 GB
$0.105 $0.026
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM
On-Demand Prices
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017

23. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
OD
Hourly
Azure
Azure
OD
Hourly
Google
Google
SUD
Hourly
IBM
IBM
OD Hourly
Standard
2 vCPU
w local SSD
m3.large $0.133 D2 v2 $0.108 n1-standard-2 $0.1785
2 cores, 8
GB
$0.160
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large $0.108 D2 v2 $0.108 n1-standard-2 $0.0665
2 cores, 8
GB
$0.160
Standard
2 vCPU
w attached
200GB SSD
m4.large $0.135 D2 v2 $0.133 n1-standard-2 $0.1131
2 cores, 8
GB
$0.192
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM
On-Demand Prices
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017

24. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
1Y RI No
Upfront
Annual
AWS
/GB
RAM
Azure
Azure
EA 30%
Discount
Annual
Azure
/GB
RAM
Google
Google
1Y CUD
Annual
Google
/GB
RAM
IBM
IBM
Monthly -
30%
Annual
IBM
/GB
RAM
Standard
2 vCPU
w SSD
m3.large $832.20 $104.03 D2 v2 $662.26 $94.61
n1-
standard-2
$1505.26 $200.70
2 cores,
8 GB
$890.40 $111.30
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large $648.24 $81.03 D2 v2 $662.26 $94.61
n1-
standard-2
$524.26 $69.90
2 cores,
8 GB
$890.40 $111.30
Highmem
2 vCPU
w SSD
r3.large $919.80 $61.32 D11 v2 $815.56 $58.25
n1-
highmem-2
$1633.86 $125.68
2 cores,
16 GB
$1428.00 $89.25
Highmem
2 vCPU
no SSD
r3.large $814.68 $53.42 D11 v2 $815.56 $58.25
n1-
highmem-2
$652.86 $50.22
2
cores,16
GB
$1428.00 $89.25
Highcpu
2 vCPU
w SSD
c3.large $639.84 $170.53 F2 $607.07 $151.77
n1-highcpu-
2
$1372.00 $762.22
2 cores,
4 GB
$588.00 $147.00
Highcpu
2 vCPU
no SSD
c4.large $613.20 $163.52 F2 $607.07 $151.77
n1-highcpu-
2
$391.00 $217.22
2 cores,
4 GB
$588.00 $147.00
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM
Discounted Prices (Annual)
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017

25. VM Type
(US, Linux)
AWS
AWS
1Y RI No
Upfront
Annual
Azure
Azure
EA 30%
Discount
Annual
Google
Google
1Y CUD
Annual
IBM
IBM
Monthly -
30%
Annual
Standard
2 vCPU
w local SSD
m3.large $832.20 D2 v2 $662.26 n1-standard-2 $1505.26
2 cores, 8
GB
$890.40
Standard
2 vCPU
no SSD
m4.large $648.24 D2 v2 $662.26 n1-standard-2 $524.26
2 cores, 8
GB
$890.40
Standard
2 vCPU
w attached
200GB SSD
m4.large $888.24 D2 v2 $877.30 n1-standard-2 $932.26
2 cores, 8
GB
$1063.27
AWS vs. Azure vs. Google vs. IBM
Discounted Prices (Annual)
Source: RightScaleAs of April 7, 2017

26. Costs by Region (no SSD)

27. Costs by Region (local SSD)

28. Costs by Region (attached SSD)

29. Similar Regions With Different Costs
Cloud
Provider
Region Location Instance Size Cheaper Region
Cheaper
Location
% savings
AWS us-west-1 NorCal m3.large us-west-2 Oregon 14%
AWS eu-central-1 Frankfurt m3.large eu-west-1 Ireland 8%
AWS ap-southeast-1 Singapore m3.large ap-southeast-2 Sydney 5%
AWS ap-northeast-1 Tokyo m4.large ap-northeast-2 Seoul 5%
Azure East US Virginia D1v2 East US 2 Virginia 12%
Azure N Central US Illinois D1v2 S or W Central US Texas 12%
Azure Central US Iowa D1v2 S or W Central US Texas 12%
Azure West US California D1v2 West US 2 12%
Azure Canada Central Toronto D1v2 Canada East Quebec City 9%
Azure West Europe Netherlands D1v2 North Europe Ireland 14%
Azure East Asia Hong Kong D1v2 Southeast Asia Singapore 15%
Azure Japan East Tokyo D1v2 Japan West Osaka 13%
Azure Australia East NSW D1v2 Australia Southeast Victoria 7%
Source: RightScaleAs of Oct 25, 2016

30. Linux vs. Windows

31. • Lowest cost depends on
• Your use case
• Your need for local storage
• Amount and Type of RIs you are buying on AWS or CUDs on Google
• Your level of discount on Azure and IBM
• Make sure you…
• Pick the right regions
• Don’t overprovision
• Make the right level of “commitments” to get discounts
Takeaways

32. • AWS often provides more flexible options
• Instances with or without local storage, storage with or without PIOPs
• Partial/All Upfront 1yr RIs or 3 yr RIs or can save more
• Azure IS matching or beating AWS On-Demand prices
• Your level of EA discount makes a big difference in your discounted costs
• Google SUDs reduce On-Demand costs, CUDs save more
• Is often the lowest cost (unless you require local storage)
• Don’t use local storage unless you absolutely need it – Persistent Disk is
cheaper
• IBM is very custom
• RAM is expensive
• Good prices on Windows
Takeaways

33. • Need help optimizing cloud costs?
• sales@rightscale.com
Q&A