Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, Amazon Lightsail wins more of the head-to-head checks (6 vs 4) and ranks higher overall (#73 of 160). Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start ($5.00 vs $6.86 a month) and Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) has more locations (48 vs 19).
Verdict
Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start: Linux 512 MB costs $5.00 per month against $6.86 at Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series), and it stays cheaper per gigabyte of RAM ($7.00 vs $7.59 median).
Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) has the wider footprint with 48 locations in 32 countries, against 19 in 17 at Amazon Lightsail; both offer Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London and 7 more.
On features, only Amazon Lightsail bills hourly and only Amazon Lightsail offers DDoS protection.
Customers rate Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) higher on Trustpilot: 1.4 from 57 reviews versus 1.3 from 429.
Overall Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) ranks #111 and Amazon Lightsail #73 of 160 providers we track. Choose Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) if you need a wider choice of locations; choose Amazon Lightsail if price matters most or you want hourly billing.
Azure and Lightsail side by side
| Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) | Amazon Lightsail | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Standard_B2ats_v2: $6.86/mo | Linux 512 MB: $5.00/mo |
| Entry plan specs | 2 vCPU, 1 GB RAM | 2 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic |
| Cheapest Windows plan | Standard_B2ats_v2: $6.86/mo | Windows 512 MB: $9.50/mo |
| Median price per GB RAM | $7.59 | $7.00 |
| Data-center locations | 48 in 32 countries | 19 in 17 countries |
| Regions | Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America | Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America |
| Virtualisation | Hyper-V | KVM (AWS Nitro) |
| Hourly billing | No | Yes |
| NVMe storage | — | No |
| DDoS protection | — | Yes |
| Backups | Paid | Paid |
| Managed option | — | No |
| Payment methods | card | card, sepa, other |
| Money-back | Not published | Not published |
| Uptime SLA | Not published | 99.99% region-level (multi-AZ deployment); 99.5% per single instance |
| Trustpilot | 1.4 (57 reviews) | 1.3 (429 reviews) |
| Founded / HQ | 2010, Redmond US | 2006, Seattle US |
Highlighted cells mark the better value where the comparison is objective (lower price, more locations, higher rating).
Plans at the same size
The closest matching plans by RAM from each provider.
| RAM | Azure | $/month | Lightsail | $/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Standard_B2ats_v2 (2 vCPU, ? GB) | $6.86 | Linux 1 GB (2 vCPU, 40 GB) | $7.00 |
| 2 GB | Standard_B1ms (1 vCPU, ? GB) | $15.11 | Linux 2 GB (2 vCPU, 60 GB) | $12.00 |
| 4 GB | Standard_B2ls_v2 (2 vCPU, ? GB) | $30.37 | Linux 4 GB (2 vCPU, 80 GB) | $24.00 |
| 8 GB | Standard_B2s_v2 (2 vCPU, ? GB) | $60.74 | Linux 8 GB (2 vCPU, 160 GB) | $44.00 |
| 16 GB | Standard_B4s_v2 (4 vCPU, ? GB) | $121.18 | Linux 16 GB (4 vCPU, 320 GB) | $84.00 |
Locations
Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) operates 48 locations (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America); Amazon Lightsail operates 19 (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America).
Cities both offer: Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mumbai, Paris, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and 1 more.
Only Azure: Amsterdam, Auckland, Brussels, Busan, California, Canberra, Cardiff, Chennai, Cheyenne, Chicago and 25 more.
Only Lightsail: Ashburn, Columbus, Montreal, Portland, Stockholm and Zaragoza.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) or Amazon Lightsail better?
As of October 23, 2026, Amazon Lightsail wins more of the head-to-head checks (6 vs 4) and ranks higher overall (#73 of 160). Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start ($5.00 vs $6.86 a month) and Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) has more locations (48 vs 19).
Is Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) cheaper than Amazon Lightsail?
Amazon Lightsail has the lower entry price: $5.00 against $6.86 per month. The plans-at-equal-RAM table compares them size by size.
Which has more data centers, Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) or Amazon Lightsail?
Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series), with 48 locations in 32 countries versus 19 at Amazon Lightsail. Both operate in Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and 8 more.
Do Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (B-series) and Amazon Lightsail offer Windows VPS?
Both offer Windows Server.
Sources
Prices, plans and locations were read from these pages; last checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm on the provider's site before you buy.