For over a decade, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has dominated the cloud computing market. But in recent years, cracks have started to show. While AWS remains the market leader in terms of revenue, its growth rate has slowed, pricing remains confusing and opaque, and innovation seems more incremental than transformative.
In this blog, we’ll break down where AWS is falling short, where Google Cloud is gaining ground, and how companies can benefit from rethinking their cloud strategy.
AWS: Once the Innovator, Now the Incumbent
Amazon Web Services was once synonymous with innovation in the cloud. But over time, it has shifted from trailblazer to default incumbent. While AWS still offers a vast portfolio of services, the complexity and cost of managing them has only increased. Many organizations now find themselves tangled in a web of overly complex pricing structures and fragmented tools.
AWS Pricing Is a Maze
AWS’s pricing model offers flexibility, but often at the cost of clarity. Without dedicated FinOps teams, most businesses struggle to estimate or optimize their cloud spend. Reserved Instances, Spot Pricing, EBS snapshots, and data egress tiers all come with their own rules and their own traps.
For example, pricing for AWS Lambda depends on execution time, request count, and memory usage. While powerful, this model is hard to predict. In contrast, Google Cloud Functions offer simpler billing and a more generous free tier, making them more accessible for small teams and startups.
“Reserved instances, spot pricing, data tiers. AWS provides options, but rarely clarity.”
Slow Innovation and Fragmented Services
AWS’s roadmap now feels like a series of incremental updates. Many services appear bolted-on rather than thoughtfully integrated. Take EventBridge, AWS’s attempt to modernize CloudWatch Events. Despite its promise, it still lacks features developers expect from a modern event bus. Especially compared to tools like Google Cloud Eventarc, which offers native support for Cloud Run and Cloud Functions.
Google Cloud: Leaner, Simpler, and Developer-First
Google Cloud has taken a different approach. Rather than try to be everything to everyone, GCP focuses on simplicity, developer experience, and scalable infrastructure. all while embracing open standards.
Transparent Pricing and Smarter Defaults
From virtual machines to BigQuery and Cloud Run, Google Cloud provides a clearer, cleaner billing experience. Services are priced transparently, and users benefit from smart defaults that don’t require deep cost-tuning from day one.
A great example is Committed Use Discounts. They apply automatically across services and are far easier to manage than AWS’s Reserved Instances, which often require manual planning and specific resource commitments.
Kubernetes-Native and Container-Ready by Design
Google Cloud’s architecture is built around Kubernetes. Products like GKE Autopilot, Cloud Run, and Cloud Functions are designed to work seamlessly with containerized workloads, offering scalable, serverless deployment options that integrate directly with observability tools like Cloud Logging and OpenTelemetry.
For example, Cloud Run allows you to deploy any container, in any language, and autoscale from zero to thousands of requests per second. You only pay when it runs, making it ideal for bursty workloads and microservices.
“GCP’s developer-first model eliminates friction and accelerates delivery.”
Built on Open Source and Community Collaboration
Google has long supported open-source communities, and it shows in their products. GCP builds upon and contributes to major projects like:
Envoy
These tools offer transparency, portability, and a level of vendor independence that AWS struggles to match.
GCP vs AWS: A Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Kubernetes
AWS: EKS is stable but expensive and lacks deep integration.
GCP: GKE is battle-tested, faster to deploy, and supports Autopilot for managed scaling.
Serverless
AWS: Lambda supports limited runtimes and requires custom packaging.
GCP: Cloud Run accepts any container and supports any language natively.
IAM & Access Management
AWS: IAM offers deep control but has a steep learning curve.
GCP: IAM is easier to manage with a structure aligned to organizations and projects.
Logging & Monitoring
AWS: CloudWatch is powerful but expensive and unintuitive.
GCP: Cloud Logging is structured, searchable, and integrates cleanly across services.
Billing
AWS: High complexity with hidden or unexpected charges.
GCP: Simple and transparent pricing that’s easier to predict and manage.
Developer Experience
AWS: Console feels dated, with a steeper learning curve.
GCP: Clean UI, integrated Cloud Shell, and a modern workflow from CLI to console.
Market Momentum: The Numbers Speak for Themselves
Google Cloud is rapidly gaining market share. In Q1 2025, Google Cloud grew 28% year-over-year, outpacing AWS’s 17%. While AWS remains the market leader, enterprises are increasingly adopting multi-cloud strategies, with GCP often serving as the preferred secondary and sometimes primary platform.
Google’s commitment to AI and ML, open source, and sustainable infrastructure puts it in a strong position to lead the next era of cloud computing. For companies building modern, cloud-native platforms, GCP is increasingly the smarter choice.“The future of cloud isn’t just about scale. It’s about simplicity, flexibility, and open innovation.”
Conclusion: AWS Is No Longer the Default
If you’re starting a new platform, rethinking your infrastructure, or scaling up an AI/ML workload, it may be time to rethink your cloud provider. AWS still serves many use cases well, but for teams that prioritize developer experience, cost transparency, and open architecture, Google Cloud offers a compelling alternative.
“Don’t stick with AWS just because it was your first cloud. Stick with the cloud that matches where your business is going.”
Call to Action
Considering a move to Google Cloud?
At Conro, we help companies modernize their cloud environments with fewer moving parts, better performance, and more predictable costs.
Whether you’re migrating from AWS, starting fresh, or building a hybrid setup, we can guide you through the process securely and efficiently.
✅ Simplify your infrastructure
✅ Cut costs without cutting corners
✅ Ship faster with developer-friendly tools
Let’s talk. Your cloud strategy deserves a second opinion.
