A 2025 update to our HIPAA Insider Show discussion — comparing AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud on infrastructure, pricing, services, and security for HIPAA compliance.
Editor’s Note (Updated for 2025):
This article is a refreshed version of our 2024 comparison of the Big Three cloud providers — AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud — for HIPAA compliance. We’ve updated the data, pricing snapshots, and recommendations for 2025, while weaving in highlights from our HIPAA Insider Show podcast discussion between Adam Zeineddine and Gil Vidals.
👉 Download the HIPAA Cloud Compliance Checklist to follow along and benchmark your own setup.
Why Your Cloud Choice Matters for HIPAA in 2025
Cloud hosting for healthcare workloads is never just about speed or price — it’s also about compliance risk. Under HIPAA’s shared responsibility model:
- The cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP) secures physical infrastructure and core services.
- You (the covered entity or business associate) are responsible for application-level safeguards, IAM, logging, and encryption.
“HIPAA compliance in the cloud isn’t just about picking AWS, Google, or Microsoft. All three have the certifications — the real risk is misconfiguration.”
— Adam Zeineddine, Host of HIPAA Insider Show
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirms that misconfigurations are one of the top causes of HIPAA breaches, not inherent flaws in cloud platforms (HHS.gov).
👉 To reduce risk, ensure you:
- Sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your provider.
- Implement encryption at rest and in transit.
- Configure IAM policies with least privilege.
- Enable audit logging and monitoring.
🔗 Learn more: HIPAA Compliance.
The Big Three Clouds (and the Fourth You Can’t Use for HIPAA)
The conversation opened with a trivia question.
“We always talk about the Big Three — AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. But who’s the fourth?”
— Gil Vidals, CEO of HIPAA Vault
Adam guessed Alibaba Cloud, and he was right. Alibaba is a major international player — but not suitable for HIPAA workloads due to data residency in China.
Gil also pointed to Oracle and IBM Cloud as niche contenders in the U.S., but agreed the HIPAA conversation stays focused on AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Infrastructure & Global Reach: AWS vs Azure vs GCP (2025 Update)
| Provider | Regions | Availability Zones |
| AWS | 38 | 120+ |
| Azure | 60+ | Varies by region |
| Google Cloud | 42 | 127 |
“Microsoft Azure is leading in terms of the footprint with 60 regions, but fewer zones than Google.”
— Adam Zeineddine, Host of HIPAA Insider Show
“If we take it by zones, Google Cloud has the biggest footprint.”
— Gil Vidals, CEO of HIPAA Vault
2025 Snapshot:
- Azure → Most regions, ideal for multinationals.
- GCP → Most zones, best for intra-region failover and latency.
- AWS → Mature, steadily expanding, still the default for enterprises.
Services & Developer Ecosystems: What Changed by 2025
The Big 3 now provide hundreds of managed services beyond basic compute.
- AWS: ~200+ services (EC2, EKS, Lambda, RDS).
- Azure: ~600+ services (Office 365, AD, hybrid integration).
- GCP: ~100+ services (Compute Engine, GKE, BigQuery).
“Microsoft blows both of them out of the water with over 600 services.”
— Adam Zeineddine, Host of HIPAA Insider Show
“Years ago, when I saw Google was the inventor of Kubernetes, innovating faster, and pricing lower, that’s why we focused mainly on Google Cloud.”
— Gil Vidals, CEO of HIPAA Vault
Key takeaway:
- AWS = breadth of enterprise services.
- Azure = best for Microsoft-centric orgs.
- GCP = innovation-driven, developer-friendly.
Pricing & Cost Comparisons (2025 Snapshot)
Pricing is complex — but Adam ran the numbers using official calculators:
“I checked the calculators for a Linux VM: 2 CPU, 8GB RAM, 30GB disk. AWS came out most expensive at $78.95, Azure at $73.95, and Google at $51.92.”
— Adam Zeineddine, Host of HIPAA Insider Show
Gil noted that while enterprise customers get discounts, the relative differences remain the same.
2025 reality:
- GCP is still the most affordable entry point.
- AWS & Azure can be cost-competitive with enterprise agreements.
👉 Compare HIPAA Vault Pricing — compliant hosting options starting under $100/month.
Security & HIPAA Compliance Readiness in 2025
| Cloud | Encryption at Rest | Encryption in Transit | Default? |
| AWS | ✅ | ✅ | Manual setup required |
| Azure | ✅ | ✅ | Manual setup required |
| Google Cloud | ✅ | ✅ | On by default |
“Google offers encryption at rest and in transit by default. With AWS and Azure, you’ve got to enable that feature.”
— Adam Zeineddine, Host of HIPAA Insider Show
“In fact, with Google, I don’t think you could undo it even if you wanted to. There’s no disadvantage — it doesn’t slow anything down.”
— Gil Vidals, CEO of HIPAA Vault
Security toolkits:
- AWS → GuardDuty, Inspector, Shield.
- Azure → Microsoft Defender, Sentinel.
- GCP → Security Command Center, VPC Service Controls.
Strategic Takeaways for Healthcare Teams in 2025
Based on the show and updated 2025 data:
- Choose AWS → if you’re enterprise-scale, already embedded, or need widest catalog.
- Choose Azure → if you’re Microsoft-centric and hybrid.
- Choose Google Cloud → if you value default security, lower cost, and innovation.
“Even though AWS was the leader, Google’s combination of innovation and lower pricing made it the right choice for us to specialize in.”
— Gil Vidals, CEO of HIPAA Vault
👉 Get in touch — see how HIPAA Vault secures healthcare apps across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
FAQs: HIPAA Cloud Compliance (2025 Edition)
Next Steps
There’s no one-size-fits-all winner in AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud for HIPAA compliance. The right choice depends on your budget, ecosystem, and compliance maturity.
“If you’re a $100 million company, you still can’t outspend or out-innovate AWS, Azure, or Google. You’re better off trusting their infrastructure and focusing your resources on your healthcare app.”
— Gil Vidals, CEO of HIPAA Vault
