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Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Cloud Storage Nearline
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Block Storage
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is 6.6%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Google Cloud Storage Nearline6.6%
Microsoft Azure Block Storage1.9%
Other91.5%
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

Seamless integration with cloud services improves workflows but documentation needs enhancement
One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly. The lack of comprehensive walkthrough guides for specific use cases makes it difficult to follow. To enhance the experience, more detailed examples, guides, and tutorials from start to finish would be beneficial. Additionally, the cost compared to other providers like Amazon could be regarded as a downside.
Ajai Jayakumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported secure file sharing and data automation with minimal setup effort
The encryption feature in Microsoft Azure Block Storage is very good, and the security is excellent. It is easy to map the storage to the virtual servers and user desktops, which is also very beneficial. I can perform automations on the data, such as moving hot data and cold data, and I can select storage based on performance. The security provided by Microsoft around Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a very good function. The replication feature in Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a very good function. The analytic capabilities of Microsoft Azure Block Storage can help optimize resources. I usually work with a third-party tool; our data analytics team uses some custom-made tools for analytics data and dashboards, so we do not use the Microsoft dashboard; we are using a third-party dashboard. It is very easy to manage Microsoft Azure Block Storage. If you have good knowledge of it, it is very easy to manage. Microsoft Azure Block Storage service is a very good, 100% reliable service. It is highly scalable, and performance-wise and reliability-wise, it does not go down. It provides 99.9% uptime without downtime, so it is a very good feature. The backup and restoration efficiency of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is good.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It provides the necessary support and flexibility to manage data storage effectively, especially during times of variable data flow."
"The data structure and the types of data that are supported are very good."
"Nearline is highly stable."
"The best part of Nearline storage is the ability to take backups at optimal costs and its availability across multiple regions."
"The most valuable feature of Nearline is the access. It's helpful to move data that is generated once a month, such as salary information, to Nearline."
"The capacity and space on offer are excellent."
"It can isolate files and stop them from corrupting other files."
"Google is always introducing new features and tends to have a new release every month."
"I am quite happy with it. I would definitely recommend Azure Block Storage to other users."
"The tool is pretty easy to use."
"The most important reason we use Azure Block Storage is the ability to store large files. When we were building the solution, we knew we needed to store images and video files that are 100 MBs or more. The second thing is speed when dealing with such large file sizes."
"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is cost-effective and has multiple plans such as hot and cold storage with read and write options."
"The product’s security features are valuable."
"The absolute best feature is the Azure Storage Explorer tool."
"The ability to increase and scale out is really easy, allowing us to manage a large amount of data with reduced dependency on scalability issues."
"Azure Block Storage lets you customize code you can use on that endpoint. If you want to write a logic for something, Azure Function can be used to deploy that application."
 

Cons

"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."
"Nearline security could be better. The solution could integrate better with SEIM tools."
"The pricing is quite high."
"The suggestion for improvement primarily revolves around cost efficiency."
"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."
"They should provide more options or flexibility in terms of pricing."
"The interface for managing file storage in the buckets could be improved."
"From a storage standpoint, it would be beneficial if the retrieval cost could be optimized, as it is comparatively higher than storage costs in Nearline."
"We cannot properly check the daily cost in the Azure portal."
"Support is an area where improvements can be made, particularly in response time for enterprise support."
"I find the user interface of newer versions, particularly, the flows, not user-friendly. The UI of Azure’s initial version was very comfortable. I didn’t have to remember floor menus. I knew where I had to go to see the logs or grab configuration parameters."
"We encountered an issue where enabling SFTP on Microsoft Azure Block Storage didn’t allow us to get the IP address, as Azure doesn’t support it."
"There are capacity limitations that could be expanded."
"It is also costly and not cheap compared to Internet-based networks."
"One thing that needs improvement is authentication. They need to improve the integrated Azure Active Directory for the enterprise level. For single sign-on, we can try any authentication or portal for Block Azure Function AKS. For example, if you're an administrator or user contributor, you will generate a token, then your internal middleware connects to any Azure Cloud service. You need to generate different credentials for each service. We cannot use the same token."
"Azure Block Storage could use more capacity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Right now, for the number of servers and the storage that I have, I would say I'm charged between $125 and $150 per month."
"Google Cloud Storage Nearline is very inexpensive. It costs us less than $50 a month to store our files. We use approximately 10 terabytes. Overall, I would rate the product a five out of five for affordability."
"The price of scaling the solution is not expensive."
"I use Microsoft Azure Block Storage's free version."
"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is an expensive solution and I pay monthly."
"The price of Microsoft Azure Block Storage could be less expensive."
"The cost of procuring storage depends on the customer's license availability."
"I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"Azure Block Storage is higher priced than its competitors."
"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a pretty cheap and affordable product, so we have not seen any budget issues related to the solution in our company."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
University
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Performing Arts
11%
Non Tech Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
The storage and access cost of Nearline are considered optimal compared to other cloud storage solutions, although I lack a clear view of other cloud storage costs.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
From a storage standpoint, it would be beneficial if the retrieval cost could be optimized, as it is comparatively higher than storage costs in Nearline.
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
I mostly use Google Cloud Storage Nearline ( /products/google-cloud-storage-nearline-reviews ) for backing up data that is not needed for daily activities. It is ideal for files that need to be sto...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
We use the solution to develop SaaS platforms on Azure. We utilize various Microsoft components like block storage and databases for this purpose.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
Our experience with pricing has been positive. The budget for Microsoft Azure services has been within expectations for the last couple of months. The cost for Azure Data Factory ( /products/azure-...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
For improvement in Microsoft Azure Block Storage, they can provide tiered level storages, maybe low-cost storages for storing archive data, but it is already there. I do not think there is much to ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Azure Block Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Mazda, BlinkBox, Rakuten Showtime, Xbox One, Serko, ChronoDrive
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.