Who should choose Netlify?

Teams that want build and deploy modern web apps

Who should choose AWS?

Teams that want amazon web services cloud platform

Software comparison - Hosting Platforms

Netlify vs AWS: 2026 Comparison

Netlify and AWS serve different deployment philosophies. Netlify abstracts away infrastructure—Git push, auto-build, CDN deploy, instant HTTPS. AWS gives you full control: EC2, Lambda, S3, databases and networking. Choose Netlify for friction-free static and JAMstack apps; choose AWS for complex, stateful, multi-service architectures. [Compare solutions](/compare).

Comparison dimensions

Dimension	Netlify	AWS	Winner
DX & Deploys	8/10Netlify Git-based workflows mean each push auto-builds, tests and deploys. Atomic deploys and instant rollback are standard. Friction near zero.	8/10AWS requires explicit CI/CD setup (CodePipeline, CodeBuild) or third-party tools. More control; more configuration upfront. Manual deployments possible but risky.	Tie
Performance	9/10Netlify serves static assets worldwide from a global CDN with optimized image delivery. Fast by default. Performance monitoring built in.	8/10AWS performance depends on your architecture. CloudFront CDN is powerful but requires hands-on configuration. More knobs; more tuning needed.	Netlify
Pricing	7/10Netlify's free tier covers most side projects. Pro ($19/month) and business tiers scale predictably. Generous bandwidth allowances.	8/10AWS free tier is broad but time-limited. Costs scale with usage—compute, storage, data transfer all billed separately. Easy to overspend unwittingly.	AWS
Scaling	7/10Netlify handles auto-scaling transparently. No server management, no capacity planning. Traffic spikes are invisible to you.	8/10AWS auto-scaling is powerful but manual. Define target groups, scaling policies, health checks. Operational overhead for most teams.	AWS
Integrations	9/10Netlify integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Slack and Auth0. Forms, analytics and edge functions extend capability without leaving the dashboard.	8/10AWS integrates with everything through SDKs, APIs and a sprawling marketplace. Depth is unmatched; breadth means integration overhead.	Netlify
Support	7/10Netlify support is responsive and helpful. Docs are clear, with frameworks like Next.js and Gatsby getting first-class treatment.	8/10AWS support tiers exist (Business, Enterprise) but can be impersonal. Documentation is encyclopedic but sometimes overwhelming.	AWS

DX & Deploys

Netlify: Netlify Git-based workflows mean each push auto-builds, tests and deploys. Atomic deploys and instant rollback are standard. Friction near zero.

AWS: AWS requires explicit CI/CD setup (CodePipeline, CodeBuild) or third-party tools. More control; more configuration upfront. Manual deployments possible but risky.

Performance

Netlify: Netlify serves static assets worldwide from a global CDN with optimized image delivery. Fast by default. Performance monitoring built in.

AWS: AWS performance depends on your architecture. CloudFront CDN is powerful but requires hands-on configuration. More knobs; more tuning needed.

Pricing

Netlify: Netlify's free tier covers most side projects. Pro ($19/month) and business tiers scale predictably. Generous bandwidth allowances.

AWS: AWS free tier is broad but time-limited. Costs scale with usage—compute, storage, data transfer all billed separately. Easy to overspend unwittingly.

Scaling

Netlify: Netlify handles auto-scaling transparently. No server management, no capacity planning. Traffic spikes are invisible to you.

AWS: AWS auto-scaling is powerful but manual. Define target groups, scaling policies, health checks. Operational overhead for most teams.

Integrations

Netlify: Netlify integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Slack and Auth0. Forms, analytics and edge functions extend capability without leaving the dashboard.

AWS: AWS integrates with everything through SDKs, APIs and a sprawling marketplace. Depth is unmatched; breadth means integration overhead.

Support

Netlify: Netlify support is responsive and helpful. Docs are clear, with frameworks like Next.js and Gatsby getting first-class treatment.

AWS: AWS support tiers exist (Business, Enterprise) but can be impersonal. Documentation is encyclopedic but sometimes overwhelming.

Best for Netlify

Teams that want build and deploy modern web apps
Users prioritizing integrations
Growth-stage teams

Best for AWS

Teams that want amazon web services cloud platform
Users prioritizing dx & deploys
Growth-stage teams

Decision notes

Pick Netlify for modern web apps, blogs, e-commerce frontends and anything static-first. Pick AWS if you need databases, message queues, custom APIs or multi-region failover. Start on Netlify; graduate to AWS if you outgrow it.

Export/import support between Netlify and AWS
Team onboarding and learning curve
Pricing at your seat count
Integration coverage for your stack

Frequently asked questions

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