Cloud instance comparison · Prices checked July 2026
AWS m5.large vs GCP n2-standard-2
GCP n2-standard-2 is cheaper than AWS m5.large by $13.36/month (19.1% less), at matching specs of 2 vCPU and 8 GiB of memory. GCP n2-standard-2 runs $56.72/mo on-demand versus $70.08/mo for AWS m5.large, based on GCP's us-central1 and AWS's us-east-1 baseline on-demand Linux pricing.
Specs & pricing side by side
| Spec | AWS m5.large | GCP n2-standard-2 |
|---|---|---|
| vCPU | 2 | 2 |
| Memory | 8 GiB | 8 GiB |
| Region (baseline) | us-east-1 | us-central1 |
| Hourly (on-demand) | $0.0960 | $0.0777 |
| Monthly (730 hrs) | $70.08 | $56.72 |
| Price difference | GCP n2-standard-2 is $13.36/mo cheaper than AWS m5.large (19.1% less) | |
Which one should you pick?
Pick GCP n2-standard-2 if price is your primary constraint — it's $13.36/mo cheaper for the same 2 vCPU / 8 GiB profile, which adds up to $160.36/year at steady utilization.
Pick AWS m5.large if you're already committed to the AWS ecosystem — existing VPC/network setup, IAM policies, reserved capacity, or team expertise on AWS usually outweighs a 19% list-price gap on a single instance. Cross-provider migration cost rarely pays for itself on compute pricing alone.
Either way, this is a single-instance, on-demand comparison. Reserved/committed-use discounts (up to ~72% on both platforms) and your actual utilization pattern will move the real numbers — model your full workload with the calculator before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
Is AWS m5.large cheaper than GCP n2-standard-2?
GCP n2-standard-2 is cheaper. It costs $56.72/mo on-demand versus $70.08/mo for AWS m5.large — a difference of $13.36/mo (19.1%). Both instances offer 2 vCPU and roughly 8 GiB of memory, so the comparison is apples-to-apples on specs.
What are the specs of AWS m5.large?
AWS m5.large provides 2 vCPU and 8 GiB of memory, priced at $0.0960/hour on-demand ($70.08/month at 730 hours) in the us-east-1 baseline region.
How much does AWS m5.large cost per month compared to GCP n2-standard-2?
At 730 hours/month, AWS m5.large costs $70.08 and GCP n2-standard-2 costs $56.72. That is a monthly difference of $13.36, or $160.36/year.
Prices checked July 2026. Baseline regions: AWS pricing uses us-east-1, GCP uses us-central1. All prices are on-demand Linux, list rate, before reserved/committed-use discounts. See our methodology for pricing sources, update cadence, and mapping rules.
Model your full stack, not just one instance
A single instance is one line item. Use the free SpendArk calculator to compare AWS, Azure, GCP, and DigitalOcean across your whole architecture — compute, database, storage, and networking together.
Open the cloud cost calculator →Related comparisons
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For a deeper dive on AWS vs GCP pricing beyond a single instance, read our full pricing comparison guide.