# Microsoft Azure alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 161 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where Microsoft Azure holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/microsoft-azure/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- DigitalOcean Droplets: 28
- Amazon Web Services: 20
- Hostinger: 10
- Azure: 7
- Akamai Connected Cloud: 6
- Cloudways: 4

## Cloud hosting

**Small business**: 64 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Azure (Microsoft Azure is #7 of 14 at 5%).

- DigitalOcean Droplets: first choice in 23 of those 64
- Akamai Connected Cloud: first choice in 6 of those 64
- Hostinger: first choice in 5 of those 64
- Cloudways: first choice in 4 of those 64
- Amazon Web Services: first choice in 3 of those 64
- Vultr: first choice in 3 of those 64
- AWS Lightsail: first choice in 2 of those 64
- Atlantic.Net: first choice in 2 of those 64

**Mid-market**: 54 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Azure (Microsoft Azure is #2 of 12 at 20%).

- Amazon Web Services: first choice in 7 of those 54
- DigitalOcean Droplets: first choice in 5 of those 54
- Hostinger: first choice in 5 of those 54
- Azure: first choice in 2 of those 54
- Hetzner: first choice in 2 of those 54
- Atlantic.Net: first choice in 1 of those 54
- DreamHost: first choice in 1 of those 54
- Hyve Managed Hosting: first choice in 1 of those 54

**Enterprise**: 43 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Azure (Microsoft Azure is #2 of 8 at 38%).

- Amazon Web Services: first choice in 10 of those 43
- Azure: first choice in 5 of those 43
- Google Cloud: first choice in 2 of those 43
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: first choice in 2 of those 43
- Cloudflare: first choice in 1 of those 43
- Microsoft Azure with an Enterprise Agreement: first choice in 1 of those 43
- Microsoft Windows 365: first choice in 1 of those 43
- Rackspace Technology: first choice in 1 of those 43

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.