Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage comparison

Google and Microsoft are both solutions in the Public Cloud Storage Services category. Google is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.5, while Microsoft is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.4. Google holds a 6.1% mindshare in PCSS, compared to Microsoft’s 2.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Read 10 Google Cloud Storage Nearline reviews

1,582 Views
1,566 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Read 67 Microsoft Azure Block Storage reviews

990 Views
644 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

Google Cloud Storage Nearline and Microsoft Azure Block Storage are two leading cloud storage solutions. Azure Block Storage offers superior features and customer deployment experience, while Nearline is more affordable based on pricing.

Features: Google Cloud Storage Nearline integrates seamlessly with Google’s ecosystem and offers excellent scalability. Microsoft Azure Block Storage provides advanced security features and robust disaster recovery solutions. Azure Block Storage outperforms in security and recovery, whereas Nearline excels in integration and scalability.

Room for Improvement: Google Cloud Storage Nearline needs faster data retrieval speeds and enhanced data management tools. Microsoft Azure Block Storage requires improvements in user guidance and cost transparency. Nearline could benefit from performance enhancements, and Azure from clearer cost and user guidance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Cloud Storage Nearline is easy to deploy but has mixed reviews on customer service responsiveness. Microsoft Azure Block Storage offers comprehensive deployment support and higher customer service ratings. Azure leads in deployment support and service quality compared to Nearline’s fewer deployment issues.

Pricing and ROI: Google Cloud Storage Nearline offers lower entry costs and good ROI for small to medium-sized enterprises. Microsoft Azure Block Storage, despite higher setup costs, is seen as providing better long-term ROI due to advanced features. Nearline is budget-friendly, while Azure presents better value in the long run.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage

December 2025

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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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

11th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is 6.1%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is 2.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Public Cloud Storage Services Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Google Cloud Storage Nearline	6.1%
Microsoft Azure Block Storage	2.2%
Other	91.7%

Public Cloud Storage Services

Featured Reviews

reviewer2662839

Works

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.

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Ajai Jayakumar

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Google is always introducing new features and tends to have a new release every month."

"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."

"It can isolate files and stop them from corrupting other files."

"The most valuable aspect of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is its integration with the wider Google Cloud ecosystem."

"I find the flexibility in storing documents or data and the ease of retrieval valuable with this solution."

"Nearline is highly stable."

"The capacity and space on offer are excellent."

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline pros

"It provides secure cloud storage."

"Microsoft Azure Block Storage is an easy-to-use tool as it has a lot of APIs and libraries, making it a very easy product to get started with for a user."

"The solution's most valuable feature revolves around the security-wise functionalities of the tool our company gets from using SAS keys."

"What I like best about Microsoft Azure Block Storage is the accessibility because it's very easy for me to access it. You'll find different resources and documentation about the tool if you need to learn how to start."

"It can be deployed independently and supports every kind of deployment."

"The ability to increase and scale out is really easy."

"I can store data, use the storage account as a queue, and the pricing is also quite economical."

"The stability seems to be very reliable."

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage pros

Cons

"Nearline security could be better. The solution could integrate better with SEIM tools."

"The interface for managing file storage in the buckets could be improved."

"They should provide more options or flexibility in terms of pricing."

"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."

"The solution needs to offer better System Information and Event Management (SEIM). I'd like to discover how we could implement something like that within Google's cloud."

"The pricing is quite high."

"The UI could be a little bit more effective."

More Google Cloud Storage Nearline cons

"Support is an area where improvements can be made, particularly in response time for enterprise support."

"It has been a couple of years since I contacted support. However, at that time, it was difficult to get someone on the call even though it was an issue of high severity."

"The tool could be cheaper."

"Data gathering features could be improved."

"The product is not as stable as we would like it to be."

"The initial setup of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is more complex than Google Drive, but it is still not too difficult."

"I have used Amazon's solutions which are better than Microsoft's. However, since I have predominately Microsoft solutions it is a better choice for me to use another Microsoft solution."

"Uploading of data could be improved. Currently, the only way you can upload your data is by using their storage explorer. You need to use a command line to do that. Then, maybe you can go online and you can use their explorer to check to see if it's there. If they had a third-party application to handle the upload, it would be better. Many people aren't familiar with command lines for uploading data. It makes it more difficult for many users."

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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."

"I rate the product price as seven on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price and ten means high price. The tool is expensive. There are no additional costs attached to the product, so it is available at a fixed price."

"For the first 50DB, they cost around $50. It's an open solution for everybody. Anybody can go to the Microsoft website and they can get the pricing for it. But the first 50GB of data is a default rate and then it increases for the next 500GB or something like that. It is a pay as you go solution. The more you use, the more you pay. That's normally how you pay for any cloud solutions."

"The solution is pay as you go, so it depends on the amount of data that is stored and the transactions."

"The price of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is expensive. They should provide a more efficient cost."

"The pricing for Microsoft Azure Block Storage is high because of MSA and SBA contracts, where Microsoft takes care of the security aspects, apart from the maintenance, and Microsoft has service level agreements with the customers."

"The solution is affordable, and we only pay for what we use."

"The storage part costs us $223. That's on a monthly basis for 20TB of data storage."

"We pay around $300 to $400 a month for some scenarios where consumption is limited. However, going forward, we're seeing the likelihood of the cost coming to around $2,000 as consumption rises."

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

University

Financial Services Firm

Marketing Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Performing Arts

Non Tech Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	24

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.

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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.

See all answers

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...

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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.

See all answers

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-...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 79% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Google Cloud Storage Nearline

Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 19% of the time

Rackspace Cloud Block Storage vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Compared 15% of the time

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Compared 12% of the time

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Compared 11% of the time

Wasabi vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Block Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

January 2026

Download Google Cloud Storage Nearline product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Block Storage

January 2026

Download Microsoft Azure Block Storage product report

Also Known As

No data available

MS Azure Block Storage

Overview

A low-cost, highly-durable and highly available storage service for infrequently accessed data, data archiving, online backup and disaster recovery. Data is available instantly, not within hours or days. With sub-second average response times and 1 cent per GB/month pricing, Cloud Storage Nearline gives you terrific performance at a low cost.

Google

Massively scalable cloud storage for your applications

Store and help protect your data. Get durable, highly available data storage across the globe and pay only for what you use.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Mazda, BlinkBox, Rakuten Showtime, Xbox One, Serko, ChronoDrive

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage

December 2025

Free Report: Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage

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