Azure Websites vs Jelastic: What are the differences?

1. Pricing Model: Azure Websites offers a flexible pricing model based on the selected hardware configuration and number of instances, providing options for both free and paid plans. On the other hand, Jelastic follows a usage-based pricing model, charging users for the actual resources utilized, enabling cost optimization by scaling up or down as needed.

2. Platform Support: Azure Websites is specifically designed for hosting websites and supports a wide range of programming languages, frameworks, and content management systems (CMS), including .NET, Java, PHP, and WordPress. Jelastic, on the other hand, is a multi-cloud platform that can host various applications, including websites, but also supports Java, PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, and Docker containers.

3. Scaling Options: Azure Websites provides horizontal and vertical scaling options, allowing users to scale up their website resources (such as CPU, RAM) or scale out by adding multiple instances. Jelastic, on the other hand, offers automatic vertical scaling, allowing the platform to adjust the allocated resources based on the application's needs without manual configuration.

4. Deployment Flexibility: With Azure Websites, users have the flexibility to deploy code via various methods, including FTP, Git, TFS, or even Continuous Deployment using tools like Azure DevOps. Jelastic also supports various deployment methods, including Git and FTP, but additionally offers integration with popular IDEs such as Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA.

5. High Availability and Load Balancing: Azure Websites ensures high availability and load balancing through its seamless integration with Azure Traffic Manager, allowing users to distribute traffic across multiple instances or regions. Jelastic also provides high availability and load balancing capabilities through built-in clustering and replication features, ensuring optimal performance and uptime.

6. Storage and Database Options: Azure Websites offers seamless integration with Azure Storage services, allowing users to store and retrieve data easily. It also supports various database options, including Azure SQL Database, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. Jelastic, on the other hand, provides integration with external storage providers like Amazon S3, as well as support for distributed file systems, and offers a wide range of databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, and Cassandra.

In Summary, Azure Websites offers flexible pricing, comprehensive platform support, various scaling options, flexible deployment methods, high availability and load balancing through Traffic Manager, and seamless integration with Azure Storage and databases; while Jelastic follows a usage-based pricing model, supports multi-cloud deployment with various programming languages and containers, offers automatic vertical scaling, integration with IDEs, built-in clustering, support for external storage providers, and a wide range of databases.