What are my cheapest options for VMs on AWS, Azure and GCP?
AWS
t2.nano or t3.nano (1 vCPU, 0.5 MB RAM) – $27/year
Important Consideration
t2 and t3 unlimited – https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/burstable-performance-instances-unlimited-mode.html
Azure
B1s (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM) – $71/year – cheapest Reserved VM
B1s (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM) – $9.67/month
A0 Basic (1 vCPU, 0.75 GB RAM) – $13.39/month
A0 Standard (1 vCPU, 0.75 GB RAM) – $14.88/month
Important Considerations
Custom domains is supported on the D1 (shared) App Service plan but NOT for the F1 (free) App Service plans – https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/app-service/windows/
F1 (Shared) App Service plan
Allows for 60 CPU min/day
Custom domains – No
SSL – No
Cost – free
D1 (Shared) App Service plan
Allows for 240 CPU min/day
Custom domains – Yes
SSL – No
Cost – $9.67/month
B1 App Service Plan
100 Azure Credit Units (ACUs) + 1.75 GB RAM
Custom domains – Yes
SSL – Yes
Manual scale – up to 3 instances
Cost – $55.80/month
GCP
f1-micro (shared 0.2 vCPU, 0.6 GB RAM) – $3.88/month ($46.60/yr) – free for first 12 months
g1-small (shared 0.5 vCPU, 1.7 GB memory) – $13.80/month ($165.56/yr)
n1-standard-1 (1 vCPU, 3.75 GB RAM) – cheapest 1 yr Committed Use = $21.84 per month ($262.08/yr)
Important Consideration
f1-micro and g1-small machine types, as well as the sole-tenant premium charge, do not allow for Committed Use discounts, but they are eligible for Sustained Use discounts – https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/sustained-use-discounts
More Tips
If you are a startup, sign up for the Startup Programs:
AWS Activate for Startups – https://aws.amazon.com/activate/
Azure Startup Program – https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/startups/
GCP Startup Program – https://cloud.google.com/developers/startups/
AWS offers the most flexible purchasing options, for example: 100% upfront, partial upfront, or monthly payment plans.… Read more