Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, Amazon Lightsail wins more of the head-to-head checks (5 vs 4) and ranks higher overall (#73 of 160). Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start ($5.00 vs $6.11 a month) and Google Cloud Compute Engine has more locations (41 vs 19).
Verdict
Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start: Linux 512 MB costs $5.00 per month against $6.11 at Google Cloud Compute Engine, but Google Cloud Compute Engine gives more RAM for the money ($6.12 vs $7.00 per GB, median).
Google Cloud Compute Engine has the wider footprint with 41 locations in 27 countries, against 19 in 17 at Amazon Lightsail; both offer Ashburn, Columbus, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London and 9 more.
On features, only Amazon Lightsail bills hourly and only Amazon Lightsail offers DDoS protection.
Overall Google Cloud Compute Engine ranks #87 and Amazon Lightsail #73 of 160 providers we track. Choose Google Cloud Compute Engine if you need a wider choice of locations; choose Amazon Lightsail if price matters most or you want hourly billing.
Google Cloud and Lightsail side by side
| Google Cloud Compute Engine | Amazon Lightsail | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | e2-micro: $6.11/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 | e2-micro: $6.11/mo | Windows 512 MB: $9.50/mo |
| Median price per GB RAM | $6.12 | $7.00 |
| Data-center locations | 41 in 27 countries | 19 in 17 countries |
| Regions | Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America | Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America |
| Virtualisation | KVM-based hypervisor | KVM (AWS Nitro) |
| Hourly billing | No | Yes |
| NVMe storage | Yes | 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 (43 reviews) | 1.3 (429 reviews) |
| Founded / HQ | 2008, Mountain View 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 | Google Cloud | $/month | Lightsail | $/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | e2-micro (2 vCPU, ? GB) | $6.11 | Linux 1 GB (2 vCPU, 40 GB) | $7.00 |
| 2 GB | e2-small (2 vCPU, ? GB) | $12.23 | Linux 2 GB (2 vCPU, 60 GB) | $12.00 |
| 4 GB | e2-medium (2 vCPU, ? GB) | $24.46 | Linux 4 GB (2 vCPU, 80 GB) | $24.00 |
| 8 GB | e2-standard-2 (2 vCPU, ? GB) | $48.92 | Linux 8 GB (2 vCPU, 160 GB) | $44.00 |
| 16 GB | e2-standard-4 (4 vCPU, ? GB) | $97.84 | Linux 16 GB (4 vCPU, 320 GB) | $84.00 |
| 32 GB | e2-standard-8 (8 vCPU, ? GB) | $195.67 | no plan | — |
Locations
Google Cloud Compute Engine operates 41 locations (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America); Amazon Lightsail operates 19 (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America).
Cities both offer: Ashburn, Columbus, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Montreal, Mumbai, Paris, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Singapore and 3 more.
Only Google Cloud: Berlin, Changhua County, Council Bluffs, Dallas, Dammam, Delhi, Doha, Eemshaven, Hamina, Johannesburg and 16 more.
Only Lightsail: Dublin, Kuala Lumpur, Portland and Zaragoza.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Cloud Compute Engine or Amazon Lightsail better?
As of October 23, 2026, Amazon Lightsail wins more of the head-to-head checks (5 vs 4) and ranks higher overall (#73 of 160). Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start ($5.00 vs $6.11 a month) and Google Cloud Compute Engine has more locations (41 vs 19).
Is Google Cloud Compute Engine cheaper than Amazon Lightsail?
Amazon Lightsail has the lower entry price: $5.00 against $6.11 per month. The plans-at-equal-RAM table compares them size by size.
Which has more data centers, Google Cloud Compute Engine or Amazon Lightsail?
Google Cloud Compute Engine, with 41 locations in 27 countries versus 19 at Amazon Lightsail. Both operate in Ashburn, Columbus, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta and 10 more.
Do Google Cloud Compute Engine 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.