Cloud instance comparison · Prices checked July 2026
AWS r5.large vs GCP n2-highmem-2
GCP n2-highmem-2 is cheaper than AWS r5.large by $15.47/month (16.8% less), at matching specs of 2 vCPU and 16 GiB of memory. GCP n2-highmem-2 runs $76.51/mo on-demand versus $91.98/mo for AWS r5.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 r5.large | GCP n2-highmem-2 |
|---|---|---|
| vCPU | 2 | 2 |
| Memory | 16 GiB | 16 GiB |
| Region (baseline) | us-east-1 | us-central1 |
| Hourly (on-demand) | $0.1260 | $0.1048 |
| Monthly (730 hrs) | $91.98 | $76.51 |
| Price difference | GCP n2-highmem-2 is $15.47/mo cheaper than AWS r5.large (16.8% less) | |
Which one should you pick?
Pick GCP n2-highmem-2 if price is your primary constraint — it's $15.47/mo cheaper for the same 2 vCPU / 16 GiB profile, which adds up to $185.61/year at steady utilization.
Pick AWS r5.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 17% 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 r5.large cheaper than GCP n2-highmem-2?
GCP n2-highmem-2 is cheaper. It costs $76.51/mo on-demand versus $91.98/mo for AWS r5.large — a difference of $15.47/mo (16.8%). Both instances offer 2 vCPU and roughly 16 GiB of memory, so the comparison is apples-to-apples on specs.
What are the specs of AWS r5.large?
AWS r5.large provides 2 vCPU and 16 GiB of memory, priced at $0.1260/hour on-demand ($91.98/month at 730 hours) in the us-east-1 baseline region.
How much does AWS r5.large cost per month compared to GCP n2-highmem-2?
At 730 hours/month, AWS r5.large costs $91.98 and GCP n2-highmem-2 costs $76.51. That is a monthly difference of $15.47, or $185.61/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
- AWS r5.large vs Azure Standard_E2s_v5
- Azure Standard_E2s_v5 vs GCP n2-highmem-2
- AWS r5.xlarge vs Azure Standard_E4s_v5
- AWS r5.xlarge vs GCP n2-highmem-4
For a deeper dive on AWS vs GCP pricing beyond a single instance, read our full pricing comparison guide.