Skip to main content

What's the Difference Between Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP and Amazon FSx for Windows?

Compare Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP and Amazon FSx for Windows side by side — features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right product.

Compare side-by-side

Comparisons
Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP
Amazon FSx for Windows
Category

Storage, Enterprise File Storage

Storage, Windows File Storage
Description

Fully managed NetApp ONTAP file systems with enterprise features

Fully managed Windows shared file systems with full SMB support
Best for
  • Enterprise applications
  • VMware workloads
  • Database storage
  • DevOps environments
  • Windows file shares
  • Home directories
  • CRM applications
  • ERP workloads
  • .NET applications
Key features
  • Multi-protocol (NFS/SMB/iSCSI)
  • Data tiering
  • Snapshots
  • Cloning
  • Data compression
  • SMB protocol
  • Active Directory integration
  • DFS namespaces
  • Data deduplication
  • Multi-AZ
Pricing model

Pay per GB provisioned + throughput + IOPS

Pay per GB provisioned + throughput capacity
Free tier

No

No
Expert take

“Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides multi-protocol access (NFS, SMB, iSCSI) with data tiering, cloning, and SnapMirror replication; ideal for migrating NetApp workloads to AWS.”
— Gary McLean, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]

“FSx for Windows provides fully managed Windows file shares with Active Directory, DFS, and shadow copies. It replaces on-premises Windows file servers with zero application changes.”
— Gary McLean, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]
Product page

Learn more about Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP »

Learn more about Amazon FSx for Windows »

When to use Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP or Amazon FSx for Windows

Use Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP when:

  • Enterprise applications
  • VMware workloads
  • Database storage
  • DevOps environments

Learn more about Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP »

Use Amazon FSx for Windows when:

  • Windows file shares
  • Home directories
  • CRM applications
  • ERP workloads
  • .NET applications

Learn more about Amazon FSx for Windows »

AWS product comparisons

Read about AWS products side-by-side

Displaying 1-8 (21)
2026-07-30

What's the difference between Amazon Aurora and Amazon Neptune?

Both are purpose-built, fully managed AWS databases, but they solve fundamentally different problems. Aurora handles structured relational data with SQL; Neptune handles highly connected data where relationships between entities are the primary query pattern.
Learn more
2026-07-30

What's the difference between Amazon RDS and Amazon Redshift?

Both run SQL queries, but they're optimized for fundamentally different workloads. RDS handles transactional operations (inserts, updates, lookups) for your application. Redshift handles analytical queries (aggregations, scans, joins across billions of rows) for your data team.
Learn more
2026-07-30

What's the difference between Amazon Aurora and Amazon DynamoDB?

Both are fully managed AWS database services, but they serve fundamentally different data models and access patterns. Aurora is a relational database for structured data with relationships; DynamoDB is a NoSQL key-value store built for single-digit millisecond performance at any scale.
Learn more
2026-07-30

What's the difference between Amazon DocumentDB and Amazon Neptune?

Both handle semi-structured data, but they're optimized for different query patterns. DocumentDB stores and queries JSON documents; Neptune stores and traverses relationships between entities.
Learn more
2026-07-30

What are the differences between Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon DocumentDB?

Both are fully managed NoSQL databases on AWS, but they serve different data models. DynamoDB is a key-value store optimized for known access patterns at massive scale; DocumentDB is a document database for flexible JSON schemas with MongoDB compatibility.
Learn more
2026-07-30

What's the difference between Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Keyspaces?

Both are fully managed, serverless-capable NoSQL databases on AWS. DynamoDB is AWS-native with its own API and data model; Keyspaces is Apache Cassandra-compatible, letting you use existing Cassandra drivers, tools, and expertise.
Learn more
2026-07-30

What's the difference between Amazon ElastiCache and Amazon MemoryDB?

Both are Redis-compatible, fully managed in-memory services on AWS. ElastiCache is designed as a caching layer in front of another database; MemoryDB is designed as a primary database that combines in-memory speed with Multi-AZ durability.
Learn more
2026-07-30

What's the difference between Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS?

Both are fully managed relational database services on AWS, but Aurora is a cloud-native engine built for higher performance and availability, while RDS gives you familiar open-source and commercial engines with less operational overhead than self-managed.
Learn more

Did you find what you were looking for today?

Let us know so we can improve the quality of the content on our pages