Choosing Between AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions? Here’s What You Need to Know.

Function as a Service (FaaS) has redefined how we build and deploy applications, offering a serverless way to run code in the cloud without managing infrastructure. AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions are the leading serverless platforms, each with unique strengths.

Pricing: AWS and Azure both offer 1M free requests per month, while GCP provides 2M free. GCP’s model rounds execution time to the nearest 100ms, potentially adding to costs at scale, while AWS and Azure round to the nearest millisecond.

Language Support: All three support popular languages like Python, Node.js, and Java. AWS and Azure stand out with PowerShell support, whereas GCP uniquely offers Visual Basic.

Cold Starts: AWS Lambda typically handles cold starts the best (<1 second), followed by GCP (0.5–2 seconds). Azure tends to have longer cold starts (>5 seconds). AWS even offers "Provisioned Concurrency" to minimize cold starts.

Execution Limits: AWS allows up to 10GB of memory, Azure goes up to 14GB under premium plans, and GCP supports up to 4GB. AWS also has the longest execution timeout at 15 minutes, surpassing both Azure (5-30 minutes depending on plan) and GCP (9 minutes).

In short, AWS Lambda is the more mature choice for most use cases, especially when advanced concurrency control is required. Azure Functions offers great flexibility for enterprise scenarios, while GCP Functions provides competitive pricing and simplicity for web apps. Each platform has its strengths—selecting the best serverless solution depends on your specific needs.