Microsoft Azure vs Pivotal Cloud Foundry comparison

Microsoft and Broadcom are both solutions in the PaaS Clouds category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3, while Broadcom is ranked #13. Microsoft holds a 18.0% mindshare in PSP, compared to Broadcom’s 8.9% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure

Read 321 Microsoft Azure reviews

19,049 Views
11,239 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Pivotal Cloud Foundry

Read 15 Pivotal Cloud Foundry reviews

5,441 Views
5,387 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure

Pivotal Cloud Foundry

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Microsoft Azure and Pivotal Cloud Foundry compete in cloud computing, with Azure having the upper hand due to its extensive features and global reach.

Features: Microsoft Azure supports various programming languages and frameworks, offers global data centers for geographic spread, and provides seamless integration with Microsoft tools. Pivotal Cloud Foundry excels due to its open-source nature, ease of use, and strong CI/CD support. However, Azure's wide range of services and geographic reach give it an edge over PCF, which has fewer service offerings but includes automatic healing and ease of microservice deployment.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure needs improvements in pricing structure complexity, scalability, security, and support. The user interface and cost prediction also require enhancements. Pivotal Cloud Foundry could expand its service offerings, improve support for migration processes, and enhance documentation, especially in transitioning to public cloud environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Azure and Pivotal Cloud Foundry offer public and hybrid cloud solutions, with Azure being suited for large-scale deployments due to its extensive services. Azure's customer service can be delayed if not in the correct support queue, whereas PCF provides good customer service but lacks the scale and breadth of resources found in Azure.

Pricing and ROI: Azure offers diverse pricing models with pay-as-you-go and enterprise options, though predicting costs can be challenging. However, leveraging Azure's full services can result in substantial ROI. Pivotal Cloud Foundry’s pricing is generally higher but tailored to customer needs. Azure provides more flexible pricing options and has partnerships that may offer significant cost efficiencies over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure vs. Pivotal Cloud Foundry Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure vs. Pivotal Cloud Foundry

September 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

Microsoft Azure

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

321

Ranking in other categories

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) (1st)

Pivotal Cloud Foundry

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

13th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure is 18.0%, down from 19.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pivotal Cloud Foundry is 8.9%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

PaaS Clouds Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure	18.0%
Pivotal Cloud Foundry	8.9%
Other	73.1%

PaaS Clouds

Featured Reviews

Syed Abid

Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra

Versatile integrations and reliable customer satisfaction elevate cloud service experience

For Microsoft Azure improvement, they need to enhance their support system. The first level of support should be improved in terms of quality and response time. They need more technical support at the first level, as there are currently only one or two technical people among five to ten staff members at this level. They should ensure that the first level support is more technical because we normally provide services to technical users ourselves. When an issue arises, it usually escalates to the second or third level. When facing first level support, they may have limited knowledge and only collect screenshots to forward to their seniors. They should ensure that the first level support is aligned with L2 and L3 to better assist us, especially since we mention in the ticket that our issues are related to specific problems and require that sort of support.

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Vasundhara Joshi

Senior Software Engineer at Wells Fargo

Seamlessly scalable since applications written in Java and .NET do not create issues for its users

Regarding the setup phase, every step is a hurdle. With Pivotal Cloud Foundry, I won't get any proper resources for that. Even if I Google it, there is no proper solution for Pivotal Cloud Foundry. However, if we go for Azure or some other cloud, we can get a lot of information. I believe there is not much information for Pivotal Cloud Foundry since it may be some license issue. If you go for Azure, the migration process is straightforward. Since we have been given 10 GB of space in the public cloud, we are utilizing it in our company. So, we are trying to deploy our application on the cloud, and for us, it is like a trial process for now. From our total application rate, I can say that only two to three percent is on Pivotal Cloud Foundry. Currently, half of the code is in the shell script, which is causing issues. Also, most people in my organization have worked on Java-related code. For most of the applications, they are using the same, that is, shell script and AUTOsist, and so we haven't migrated yet. So that is the reason that we are planning to opt for a hybrid model so that we don't have to migrate completely to Pivotal Cloud Foundry.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We've found the solution to be extremely flexible."

"It was easy to deploy our applications on it."

"The robust encryption services increase the confidence of tech users."

"One of the most valuable features of Azure is that it's a very integrated solution. You have to learn how to use it properly, but it's not that hard, and you can define your whole scrum process and deploy it from one place. It was a really nice surprise to see how easily integrated this tool is."

"The solution offers very good upgrades and updates regularly."

"The solution is very stable for Windows setups."

"Azure offers broad compatibility with both structured and unstructured data. For example, we use PostgreSQL for storing Azure's official data and manage various types of data, including tabular and image data, accommodating the storage of all data types we handle. So, in many ways, Azure simplified the data storage and management needs."

"It's easy to use, and it's scalable. If we want to grow our product more, we can do it."

More Microsoft Azure pros

"The solution is stable and resilient. In our company, we do not even see any challenges with the solution."

"Stability is not a concern with this product."

"It is a scalable product...We are not facing any particular issues since most of the applications in our company are written in Java and .NET."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its ability to scale. The services that connect to the database are also very good."

"Pivotal Cloud Foundry is very easy to use compared to other cloud technologies. It has a very good performance."

"The most valuable features of Pivotal Cloud Foundry are its ease of use and the command line interface has the ability to push instances to the cloud easily."

"It provides a set of developer-friendly tools that simplify application deployment."

"PCF is open, so the applications run really smoothly and with little downtime."

More Pivotal Cloud Foundry pros

Cons

"The integration pipeline could be a bit more broad in terms of applications."

"The interface is not easy to use. I'd like to see them develop a better interface, more graphical information about the resource and the consumer."

"We have reported some bugs we encountered, and it would be good if those bugs were resolved more quickly."

"It could be more flexible. If you look at all Mircosoft products, they are not up to the mark. For example, Azure Ready doesn't provide the same kind of access a domain administrator has and the kind of flexibility that they have when using Active Directory. Microsoft support could be better. Their service could also be better. For example, specific policies for templates suddenly become unavailable. When I checked, they said that certain things might be withdrawn based on customer feedback. This happened once or twice, and it wasn't available at all for five days, it just went down."

"The security feature in the solution is an area that needs to be improved."

"For deploying multiple resources in a big number, such as in hundreds, we need a streamlined process and more user-friendly scrips. The scripts have to be more user-friendly, and they should also supply some standard templates to deploy multiple resources at a time. Currently, it is very easy to deploy a couple of resources, but if you want to deploy multiple resources, it becomes complex. The material that they provide for integration with an existing on-prem data center is complex. They have to make them user-friendly. The scripts related to resource management need to be simplified."

"Something that could be added to the solution is the use of deep learning, which is going to grow in the near future."

"The installation process is complex."

More Microsoft Azure cons

"It is not straightforward to setup."

"Pivotal Cloud Foundry doesn't have certain advanced features."

"Pivotal Cloud Foundry could improve on the technology it is a bit complex."

"I'd like to see a larger service offering."

"In the next release, I would like to see easy integration with external tools."

"In the next release, they should offer additional applications for the databases, and improve the deployment experience."

"The Pivotal Cloud Foundry's initial setup has a learning curve for my team, but it was easy to use."

"There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of Pivotal Cloud Foundry."

More Pivotal Cloud Foundry cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Most of the pricing from Microsoft is reasonable."

"The pricing is fine."

"We have an annual license subscription to use the solution."

"Microsoft Azure comes with a long-term license and trial licenses as well."

"Microsoft Azure is not expensive. You pay for what you use. If you are using it everything could be expensive."

"There are no licensing fees."

"The pricing model can be improved because we find that Azure pricing is a bit high."

"The cost is a little high and can be more competitive."

More Microsoft Azure pricing and cost advice

"Licensing is on a monthly basis and right now we pay $24/month. There are no other costs over and above that."

"The price of Pivotal Cloud Foundry could improve. However, in this category of solutions, they are all expensive."

"We do pay for the licensing cost because we have opted for a private cloud setup. So, it is a cloud setup, and we have to make payments based on the cloud size. I do not consider it very costly when comparing it to the market."

"The price of Pivotal Cloud Foundry is based on the customer's requirements. However, the price is comparable to other similar solutions."

"The pricing is on the higher side and there are cheaper options available."

"You're paying for the number of virtual machines you want to install in the installation."

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Comparison Review

it_user8586

Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

Aug 14, 2013

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

37%

Manufacturing Company

17%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	140
Midsize Enterprise	53
Large Enterprise	148

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

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I would recommend Google Firebase instead of Microsoft Azure, simply for the array of features that it has to offer. In particular, the Firebase library grants you access to a shared data structure...

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Which would you recommend - Pivotal Cloud Foundry or OpenShift?

Pivotal Cloud Foundry is a cloud-native application platform to simplify app delivery. It is efficient and effective. The best feature is how easy it is to handle external services such as database...

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Comparisons

Alibaba Cloud vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 13% of the time

Amazon AWS vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 8% of the time

SAP Cloud Platform vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Competitors

Red Hat OpenShift vs Pivotal Cloud Foundry

Compared 33% of the time

Amazon AWS vs Pivotal Cloud Foundry

Compared 11% of the time

Google Cloud vs Pivotal Cloud Foundry

Compared 7% of the time

Heroku vs Pivotal Cloud Foundry

Compared 5% of the time

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Pivotal Cloud Foundry

Compared 4% of the time

More Pivotal Cloud Foundry Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure

September 2025

Download Microsoft Azure product report

Buyer's Guide

Pivotal Cloud Foundry

September 2025

Download Pivotal Cloud Foundry product report

Also Known As

Windows Azure, Azure, MS Azure

PCF, Pivotal Application Service (PAS), Pivotal Container Service (PKS), Pivotal Function Service (PFS)

Overview

Microsoft Azure integrates services and offers flexibility, ensuring compatibility with diverse environments. Its scalability, security, and cost-efficient features enhance deployment and management, making it ideal for infrastructure services and application hosting.

Azure provides a comprehensive suite of tools for application deployment, virtual machine management, and data analytics. It allows seamless integration with Power BI and offers a user-friendly interface supported by detailed documentation and technical support. Though users appreciate its capabilities, they sometimes face challenges with costs, setup, and interface complexity, alongside integration and performance issues. Frequent updates and a learning curve are also noted, though Azure's cloud-based security and scalability remain critical for disaster recovery and business continuity.

What are Azure's key features?

Integrated Services: Ensures compatibility with Microsoft and non-Microsoft environments.
Scalability: Supports growing business demands with flexible computing power.
Security: Offers robust cloud-based security features for data protection.
Cost Efficiency: Provides options that optimize costs for diverse requirements.
Application Deployment: Facilitates quick rollout of apps and services.

What benefits should users expect from Azure?

Operational Optimization: Allows companies to streamline processes effectively.
Innovative Efficiency: Empowers businesses to innovate with powerful tools.
Reliable Support: Backed by strong technical support and comprehensive documentation.
Flexible Cloud Solutions: Offers a range of options for cloud migrations and infrastructure management.

Microsoft Azure is widely implemented in industries like financial services, healthcare, and logistics for hosting enterprise applications and vital services. Companies utilize its capabilities for IoT applications, DevOps, and Kubernetes clusters, benefiting from its cloud migrations, data analytics, and active directory support.

Microsoft

Pivotal Cloud Foundry (PCF) is the leading enterprise PaaS, powered by Cloud Foundry. PCF provides a cloud-native application platform that allows you to continuously deliver any app to every major private and public cloud with a single platform. PCF is proven to accelerate feature delivery with higher developer productivity and a 200:1 developer to operator ratio. PCF's built-in security and self-healing capabilities reduce risk in your app portfolio while maintaining high-availability at scale to keep customer facing systems online even in the most challenging circumstances. pivotal.io

Broadcom

Sample Customers

BMW, Toyota, easyJet, NBC Sports, HarperCollins, Aviva, TalkTalk Business, Avanade, and Telenor.

Humana, Citibank, Mercedes Benz, Liberty Mutual, The Home Depot, GE, West Corp, Merrill Corporation, CoreLogic, Orange, Dish Network, Comcast, Bloomberg, Internal Revenue Service, Ford Motor Company, Garmin, Volkswagen, Solera, Allstate, US Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, ScotiaBank

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure vs. Pivotal Cloud Foundry

September 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Azure vs. Pivotal Cloud Foundry

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