What's the Difference Between Amazon EC2 and Amazon Lightsail?
Compare Amazon EC2 and Amazon Lightsail side by side — features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right product.
Compare side-by-side
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Comparisons
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Amazon EC2
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Amazon Lightsail
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Category
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Compute, Virtual Machines |
Compute, VPS |
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Description
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Secure and resizable compute capacity for virtually any workload |
Easy-to-use virtual private server (VPS) instances, containers, storage, databases, and more at a cost-effective monthly price. |
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Best for
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Key features
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Pricing model
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On-Demand, Reserved, Spot, Savings Plans |
Fixed monthly plans starting at $3.50/mo |
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Free tier
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Yes |
Yes |
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Expert take
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“EC2 gives you full control over the compute environment with 750+ instance types. For workloads that need sustained CPU, GPU acceleration, or specific OS configurations, EC2 remains the most flexible option on AWS.” |
“Lightsail is ideal when you want predictable monthly pricing without needing to understand VPCs, subnets, or security groups. You can always export to EC2 later when your workload outgrows the fixed plans.” |
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Product page
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When to use Amazon EC2 or Amazon Lightsail
Use Amazon EC2 when:
- Web hosting
- Batch processing
- HPC
- Machine learning training
- Gaming servers
Use Amazon Lightsail when:
- Simple web apps
- Websites
- Dev/test environments
- Small business apps
Next steps with AWS for Compute
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