Best cloud
for vibe-coded apps
Updated 2026-09-18. AWS is the pick for most projects. Here is how the options compare, and how to run whichever you choose through a single Squiid key.
Short answer
- Our pick: AWS. If you genuinely need a hyperscaler, AWS has the most services, the most documentation and the most agent-usable examples. It is the default for a reason.
- Runner-up: Google Cloud. Better when the workload is data and machine learning shaped, thanks to BigQuery and Vertex AI, or when your organisation already lives in Google Workspace.
- Pick something else when: Azure when your company is a Microsoft shop or a compliance requirement names it. And most of the time, nothing at all: managed hosting plus a managed database plus an object store covers what a vibe-coded app needs, at a fraction of the operational cost.
The honest answer for most vibe-coded apps is that you do not need a hyperscaler. A managed host, a managed Postgres and an object store will take you a long way, and none of them require you to learn identity and access management. Reach for AWS, Google Cloud or Azure when a specific service or a compliance requirement forces it.
How to choose a cloud for an AI-coded app
Do you have a reason, or a habit?
Write down the specific service you need from the cloud. If the answer is a virtual machine, a database and a bucket, managed platforms do all three with less configuration and no identity policy language. If the answer is a named service with no managed equivalent, then a cloud account is justified.
Identity and access management is the real cost
Hyperscaler permissions are their own skill. This is where agent-written infrastructure code goes wrong, and an overly permissive policy is the most common serious mistake. If you go this route, budget time for it and never accept a wildcard permission an agent generated.
Egress and data transfer
Data leaving a hyperscaler is billed, including between regions and sometimes between zones. Architectures that look cheap on compute can be expensive on transfer. Map the data flows before committing, especially if you serve media to users.
Cost visibility
A cloud bill arrives after the money is spent, itemised across dozens of line items. There is no prepaid balance that simply stops. Set budgets and alerts on day one, and treat any resource an agent created as something you must tag and track.
Access model on Squiid
The hyperscalers are partner access on Squiid rather than instant provisioning, because account structure, organisations and compliance settings are not things to create blindly. Squiid helps set up the account and brings the spend onto one invoice.
Compare the options
Every cloud option Squiid carries in the Clouds category, with what each one is best at and how it bills.
| Service | Best for | Pricing | On Squiid |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | The full Amazon Web Services catalog through Squiid's partner program | partner | Roadmap |
| Azure | Microsoft Azure services and Azure OpenAI through the partner program | partner | Roadmap |
| Google Cloud | Google Cloud services including Vertex AI through the partner program | partner | Roadmap |
Why run your cloud through Squiid
One login instead of one per vendor. Squiid carries 3 cloud options here and every other layer of the stack beside it. You create one account, click the service you want, and Squiid provisions it upstream. No separate signup, no separate password, no second dashboard.
One bill, at the provider's price. Usage is paid from prepaid Squiid credits at par: $1 of credit is $1 at the provider, with no markup on what the provider charges. The free plan is $0/month with a 15% fee on credit top-ups and a $50 minimum top-up. Solo is $19.97/month and its top-up fee starts at 8%, falling to 6.5%, 5% and 3.5% as trailing 30-day API spend passes $100, $500 and $2,000. Team is $29.97 per seat per month for seats 1-5, $24.97 for seats 6-20 and $19.97 above that, with the same ladder one point lower. Custom pricing is 3% or less against a commitment. Services that are sold as a monthly subscription, such as AWS's paid plan, pass through on your Squiid invoice at the provider's own price with no fee on top.
Squiid holds the upstream key. The provider credential lives in Squiid, not in your repo, not in a chat window and not in a screenshot. Your project gets one variable, SQUIID_API_KEY, and that is the only secret an agent ever needs to see. Rotating it is one click and does not touch the provider.
It works with every coding agent. Point the SDK base URL at https://api.squiid.io/v1/<service>/ and send Authorization: Bearer $SQUIID_API_KEY. Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Windsurf, Cline, Devin, Replit, v0 and Lovable all read environment variables the normal way. See the gateway convention.
Running out pauses, it never deletes. Squiid warns you at 75%, 90% and 100% of your balance. At zero, calls pause instead of overdrawing, and your data stays where it is. Auto top-up is optional and takes a hard monthly cap. See spend controls.
Set it up in 3 steps
Add AWS in the dashboard
Create a Squiid account, open the catalogue, and click add on AWS. Squiid creates the upstream account or project for you and holds the credential.
Put one variable in .env
Copy your Squiid key and add SQUIID_API_KEY=sq_live_… to your project's .env. Delete any provider keys you were carrying. Nothing else changes.
Point your agent at the gateway
Tell your agent that calls go to https://api.squiid.io/v1/aws/ with Authorization: Bearer $SQUIID_API_KEY. Most SDKs take a base URL option, so it is a one-line change.
In practice that is one line in your project:
SQUIID_API_KEY=sq_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxThen every call your app or your agent makes goes to the gateway with that one key:
curl https://api.squiid.io/v1/aws/... \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SQUIID_API_KEY"Questions people ask
Do I need AWS for an app I built with an AI coding agent?
Usually not. Managed hosting, a managed Postgres and object storage cover what most vibe-coded apps do, with far less configuration and no identity policy language to learn. Reach for a hyperscaler when a named service or a compliance rule requires it.
AWS, Google Cloud or Azure?
AWS by default because it has the widest service catalogue and the most examples, which also means agents write correct code for it more often. Google Cloud for data and machine learning heavy work. Azure when your organisation is already Microsoft centred.
Why is cloud access partner-based on Squiid rather than instant?
Because a cloud account involves organisation structure, billing entities and compliance settings that should not be created automatically. Squiid treats the hyperscalers as partner access: we help set the account up correctly and then bring the spend onto your single invoice.
How do I stop an agent creating expensive cloud resources?
Never give a coding agent unrestricted cloud credentials. Use scoped roles, require a plan and review step for infrastructure changes, set budget alerts, and keep the resources an agent creates tagged so you can find and destroy them.
Can Squiid cap cloud spend the way it caps API spend?
Not identically. Metered API usage pauses at a zero credit balance. Hyperscaler spend is governed by the budgets and quotas the cloud provider offers, so set those too. Squiid consolidates the invoice and surfaces the spend in one dashboard.
One key for your cloud.
And everything else.
Add AWS and 107 other services to one account, one key, one bill and one dashboard.