Cloud instance comparison · Prices checked July 2026

AWS m5.xlarge vs Azure Standard_D4s_v5

AWS m5.xlarge and Azure Standard_D4s_v5 are priced identically at $140.16/month on-demand, for matching specs of 4 vCPU and 16 GiB of memory. This comparison uses AWS's us-east-1 and Azure's eastus baseline on-demand Linux pricing — with no list-price gap, the decision comes down to ecosystem fit rather than cost.

Specs & pricing side by side

SpecAWS m5.xlargeAzure Standard_D4s_v5
vCPU44
Memory16 GiB16 GiB
Region (baseline)us-east-1eastus
Hourly (on-demand)$0.1920$0.1920
Monthly (730 hrs)$140.16$140.16
Price differencePriced identically — no on-demand list-price difference

Which one should you pick?

Since AWS m5.xlarge and Azure Standard_D4s_v5 are priced identically at this spec tier, price should not be the deciding factor. Pick AWS m5.xlarge if you're already building on AWS — existing networking, IAM, and tooling outweigh a tie on list price.

Pick Azure Standard_D4s_v5 if Azure is your existing ecosystem instead, or if you value a specific managed service, region footprint, or support plan that AWS doesn't offer.

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.xlarge cheaper than Azure Standard_D4s_v5?

No — they're priced identically. Both cost $140.16/mo on-demand for 4 vCPU and 16 GiB of memory. The choice comes down to ecosystem fit, not price.

What are the specs of AWS m5.xlarge?

AWS m5.xlarge provides 4 vCPU and 16 GiB of memory, priced at $0.1920/hour on-demand ($140.16/month at 730 hours) in the us-east-1 baseline region.

How much does AWS m5.xlarge cost per month compared to Azure Standard_D4s_v5?

At 730 hours/month, both AWS m5.xlarge and Azure Standard_D4s_v5 cost $140.16. There is no on-demand list-price difference between them at this spec tier.

Prices checked July 2026. Baseline regions: AWS pricing uses us-east-1, Azure uses eastus. 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

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Related comparisons

For a deeper dive on AWS vs Azure pricing beyond a single instance, read our full pricing comparison guide.