EBS vs Azure Managed Disks vs Persistent Disk — Block Storage Compared
Compare AWS EBS, Azure Managed Disks, and GCP Persistent Disk for block storage. Performance tiers, pricing, and optimization.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Amazon EBS | Azure Managed Disks | GCP Persistent Disk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decoupled IOPS | Yes (gp3) | Yes (Premium SSD v2) | Yes (Hyperdisk) |
| Multi-zone replication | Via snapshots | Zone-redundant option | Regional PD built-in |
| Live resize | Yes (Elastic Volumes) | Yes (with limitations) | Yes |
| Cheapest option | st1 ($0.045/GB) | Standard HDD ($0.0048/GB) | pd-standard ($0.040/GB) |
Service Details
Amazon EBS
AWS's block storage with multiple volume types optimized for different workloads. gp3 volumes offer the best price-performance.
- gp3 decouples IOPS from capacity
- io2 Block Express for extreme performance
- Elastic Volumes for live resizing
- Multi-attach for shared volumes
- Single-AZ by default (need snapshots for DR)
- gp2 IOPS tied to volume size
- Snapshot costs add up
Azure Managed Disks
Azure's managed block storage with Premium SSD v2 for granular performance tuning and shared disk support.
- Premium SSD v2 granular performance tuning
- Shared disks across VMs
- Zone-redundant storage option
- Disk encryption by default
- Standard SSD performance scales with disk size
- Ultra Disk availability limited by region
- More complex tier selection
GCP Persistent Disk
GCP's block storage with regional replication built-in and Hyperdisk for high-performance workloads.
- Regional disks for HA (multi-zone replication)
- Hyperdisk for extreme throughput
- Automatic encryption
- Live resize without detaching
- Performance tiers less granular than EBS gp3
- Higher per-GB cost for SSD tiers
- Fewer volume type options
When to Use Which
Choose EBS gp3 for the best price-performance with decoupled IOPS. Choose Azure Managed Disks for granular Premium SSD v2 tuning and Windows workloads. Choose Persistent Disk for built-in regional replication.
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