Problem Summary
You’re trying to compare cloud costs between AWS and Google Cloud Platform, but the pricing calculators are showing wildly different numbers or you can’t get an accurate side-by-side comparison. This matters because choosing the wrong cloud provider could cost your company thousands of dollars monthly in 2025.
Step-by-Step Fixes
Step 1: Clear Your Browser Cache and Try Different Browsers
Start fresh by clearing your browser cache completely. Both AWS and Google Cloud pricing tools store temporary data that can mess with calculations. Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows or Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac. Select “All time” and clear everything.
Try opening AWS Calculator in Chrome and Google Cloud Pricing Calculator in Firefox side by side. This prevents cookie conflicts and gives you cleaner comparisons.
Step 2: Match Your Instance Types Correctly
The biggest mistake people make is comparing apples to oranges. Open both calculators and make sure you’re matching equivalent services:
- AWS EC2 instances should match Google Compute Engine specs
- AWS S3 should compare to Google Cloud Storage
- AWS RDS should line up with Google Cloud SQL
Look for the vCPU count, RAM, and storage type. An AWS t3.medium (2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM) should compare to a Google e2-medium (2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM), not an n2-standard-2.
Step 3: Align Your Regions and Availability Zones
Pricing varies dramatically by region. Make sure both calculators are set to the same geographical area:
- US East (Northern Virginia) on AWS = us-east4 on Google Cloud
- EU (Frankfurt) on AWS = europe-west3 on Google Cloud
- Asia Pacific (Singapore) on AWS = asia-southeast1 on Google Cloud
Check the region dropdown at the top of each calculator. Even a slight mismatch can show price differences of 20-30%.
Step 4: Standardize Your Commitment Terms
Both platforms offer different pricing for on-demand, 1-year, and 3-year commitments. Set both calculators to the same term:
- AWS: Look for “On-Demand,” “Reserved Instances,” or “Savings Plans”
- Google Cloud: Find “On-demand,” “1-year commitment,” or “3-year commitment”
The discount structures are different, but comparing on-demand to on-demand gives you the clearest baseline.
Step 5: Include All Hidden Costs
Switch to the advanced view in both calculators and add these often-forgotten expenses:
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Data Transfer Costs:
- Egress charges (data leaving the cloud)
- Inter-region transfer fees
- Load balancer costs
Storage Costs:
- Snapshot backups
- Archive storage
- API request charges
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Step 6: Export and Compare in a Spreadsheet
Both calculators offer export options. Click the export button (usually looks like a download icon) and save as CSV or Excel. Create a simple comparison spreadsheet with columns for:
- Service type
- AWS monthly cost
- Google Cloud monthly cost
- Difference
- Annual projection
Likely Causes
Cause #1: Different Service Tiers Selected
You might have AWS set to general-purpose SSD while Google Cloud is calculating with standard persistent disk. These aren’t equivalent services despite similar names.
Check the storage type dropdown in both calculators. AWS gp3 volumes should compare to Google’s SSD persistent disk, while AWS gp2 is closer to Google’s balanced persistent disk. The performance characteristics affect pricing significantly.
To fix this, click on the storage configuration section and manually select matching performance tiers. Look for IOPS (input/output operations per second) ratings to ensure you’re comparing similar performance levels.
Cause #2: Sustained Use Discounts Not Applied
Google Cloud automatically applies sustained use discounts when you run instances for significant portions of the month. AWS doesn’t have this feature, making Google look cheaper for always-on workloads.
In the Google Cloud calculator, you’ll see a line item for “Sustained use discount” that kicks in after 25% monthly usage. AWS requires you to purchase Reserved Instances or Savings Plans for similar discounts.
Toggle the “Include sustained use discounts” option in Google’s calculator to see the real comparison, or add Reserved Instance pricing to your AWS calculation.
Cause #3: Support Plans Creating Price Gaps
Enterprise support adds 10% to your AWS bill but uses a different pricing structure on Google Cloud. One calculator might include support while the other doesn’t.
Scroll to the support section in both calculators. AWS offers Developer, Business, and Enterprise support. Google Cloud has Basic, Production, and Premium support tiers. Either include both or exclude both for accurate comparison.
For true comparison, calculate support costs separately based on your expected monthly spend.
When to Call a Technician
Contact a cloud solutions architect when you’re dealing with complex multi-region deployments, need help with enterprise agreements, or if your monthly cloud spend exceeds $10,000. They can negotiate custom pricing that beats any public calculator.
Professional help makes sense when you need to factor in hybrid cloud setups, specialized compliance requirements, or complex networking scenarios that the basic calculators can’t handle.
Copy-Paste Prompt for AI Help
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I need help comparing AWS and Google Cloud pricing for my infrastructure. Here are my requirements:
Current setup:
- [Number] of compute instances with [vCPUs] and [RAM]
- [Amount] of storage in [type]
- [Amount] of monthly data transfer
- Primary region: [location]
- Expected uptime: [percentage]
Please create a detailed cost comparison table between AWS and Google Cloud Platform, including equivalent services, monthly costs, and any hidden fees I should consider. Include recommendations for cost optimization on both platforms.