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--- title: Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files comparison description: Compare the scalability, performance, and features of Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files. author: khdownie services: storage ms.service: azure-file-storage ms.topic: concept-article ms.date: 11/11/2025 ms.author: kendownie recommendations: false # Customer intent: "As a cloud architect, I want to compare Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files, so that I can choose the best file storage solution to meet my workload scalability and performance requirements." --- # Compare Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files This article provides a comparison of Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files. Most workloads that require cloud file storage work well on either Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files. To help determine the best fit for your workload, review the information provided in this article. For more information, see the [Azure Files](./index.yml) and [Azure NetApp Files](../../azure-netapp-files/index.yml) documentation and the [Shared storage for all enterprise file-workloads](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJEbmITLwwU&t=4s) session which covers choosing between Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files. ## Features | Category | Azure Files | Azure NetApp Files | |---------|-------------------------|---------| | Description | [Azure Files](https://azure.microsoft.com/services/storage/files/) is a fully managed, highly available, enterprise-grade service that is optimized for random access workloads with in-place data updates.<br><br> Azure Files is built on the same Azure storage platform as other services like Azure Blobs. | [Azure NetApp Files](https://azure.microsoft.com/services/netapp/) is a fully managed, highly available, enterprise-grade NAS service that can handle the most demanding, high-performance, low-latency workloads requiring advanced data management capabilities. It enables the migration of workloads deemed "un-migratable."<br> Azure NetApp Files is built on NetApp's bare metal with ONTAP storage OS running inside the Azure datacenter for a consistent Azure experience and on-premises like performance. | | Protocols | Premium<br><ul><li>SMB 2.1, 3.0, 3.1.1</li><li>NFSv4.1</li><li>REST</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>SMB 2.1, 3.0, 3.1.1</li><li>REST</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [available file share protocols](./storage-files-planning.md#available-protocols). | All tiers<br><ul><li>SMB 2.1, 3.x (including SMB Continuous Availability optionally)</li><li>NFSv3, NFSv4.1</li><li>Dual protocol access (NFSv3/SMB and NFSv4.1/SMB)</li><li>[Object REST API access (S3-compatible API)](../../azure-netapp-files/object-rest-api-introduction.md)</li></ul><br> To learn more, see how to create [NFS](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-create-volumes.md), [SMB](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-create-volumes-smb.md), or [dual-protocol](../../azure-netapp-files/create-volumes-dual-protocol.md) volumes. | | Region Availability | Premium<br><ul><li>30+ Regions</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>All regions</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [Products available by region](https://azure.microsoft.com/global-infrastructure/services/?products=storage). | All tiers<br><ul><li>40+ Regions</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [Products available by region](https://azure.microsoft.com/global-infrastructure/services/?products=storage). | | Redundancy | Premium<br><ul><li>LRS</li><li>ZRS</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>LRS</li><li>ZRS</li><li>GRS</li><li>GZRS</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [redundancy](./storage-files-planning.md#redundancy). | All tiers<br><ul><li>Built-in local HA</li><li>[Cross-region replication](../../azure-netapp-files/cross-region-replication-introduction.md)</li><li>[Cross-zone replication](../../azure-netapp-files/cross-zone-replication-introduction.md)</li><li>[Availability zones for high availability](../../azure-netapp-files/use-availability-zones.md)</li><li>[Cross-zone-region replication](../../azure-netapp-files/cross-zone-region-replication.md)</li></ul> | | Service-Level Agreement (SLA)<br><br> Note that SLAs for Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files are calculated differently. | [SLA for Azure Files](https://azure.microsoft.com/support/legal/sla/storage/) | [SLA for Azure NetApp Files](https://azure.microsoft.com/support/legal/sla/netapp) | | Identity-Based Authentication and Authorization | SMB<br><ul><li>Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)</li><li>Microsoft Entra Domain Services</li><li>Microsoft Entra Kerberos</li></ul><br> Note that identify-based authentication is only supported when using SMB protocol. To learn more, see [FAQ](./storage-files-faq.md#security-authentication-and-access-control). | SMB<br><ul><li>Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)</li><li>Microsoft Entra Domain Services</li></ul><br> NFS/SMB dual protocol<ul><li>ADDS/LDAP integration</li><li>[ADD/LDAP over TLS](../../azure-netapp-files/configure-ldap-over-tls.md)</li></ul><br>NFSv3/NFSv4.1<ul><li>[ADDS/LDAP integration with NFS extended groups](../../azure-netapp-files/configure-ldap-extended-groups.md)</li>[FreeIPA, OpenLDAP, and Red Hat Directory Server](../../azure-netapp-files/configure-directory-server.md)</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [Azure NetApp Files NFS FAQ](../../azure-netapp-files/faq-nfs.md) and [Azure NetApp Files SMB FAQ](../../azure-netapp-files/faq-smb.md). | | Encryption | All protocols<br><ul><li>Encryption at rest (AES-256) with customer or Microsoft-managed keys</li></ul><br>SMB<br><ul><li>Kerberos encryption using AES-256 (recommended) or RC4-HMAC</li><li>Encryption in transit</li></ul><br>NFSv4.1<br><ul><li>Encryption in transit</li></ul><br>REST<br><ul><li>Encryption in transit</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [Security and networking](files-nfs-protocol.md#security-and-networking). | All protocols<br><ul><li>Encryption at rest (AES-256) with Microsoft-managed keys</li><li>[Encryption at rest (AES-256) with customer-managed keys](../../azure-netapp-files/configure-customer-managed-keys.md)</li></ul><br>SMB<ul><li>Encryption in transit using AES-CCM (SMB 3.0) and AES-GCM (SMB 3.1.1)</li></ul><br>NFSv4.1<ul><li>Encryption in transit using Kerberos with AES-256</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [security FAQ](../../azure-netapp-files/faq-security.md). | | Access Options | <ul><li>Internet</li><li>Secure VNet access</li><li>VPN Gateway</li><li>ExpressRoute</li><li>Azure File Sync</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [network considerations](./storage-files-networking-overview.md). | <ul><li>Secure VNet access</li><li>VPN Gateway</li><li>ExpressRoute</li><li>[Virtual WAN](../../azure-netapp-files/configure-virtual-wan.md)</li><li>[Global File Cache](https://bluexp.netapp.com/global-file-cache/onboarding)</li><li>[HPC Cache](../../hpc-cache/hpc-cache-overview.md)</li><li>[Standard Network Features](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-network-topologies.md#configurable-network-features)</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [network considerations](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-network-topologies.md). | | Data Protection | <ul><li>Incremental snapshots</li><li>File/directory user self-restore</li><li>Restore to new location</li><li>In-place revert</li><li>Share-level soft delete</li><li>Azure Backup integration</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [Azure Files enhances data protection capabilities](https://azure.microsoft.com/blog/azure-files-enhances-data-protection-capabilities/). | <ul><li>[Azure NetApp Files backup](../../azure-netapp-files/backup-introduction.md)</li><li>Snapshots (255/volume)</li><li>File/directory user self-restore</li><li>Restore to new volume</li><li>In-place revert</li><li>[Cross-region replication](../../azure-netapp-files/cross-region-replication-introduction.md)</li><li>[Cross-zone replication](../../azure-netapp-files/cross-zone-replication-introduction.md)</li><li>[Cross-zone-region replication](../../azure-netapp-files/cross-zone-region-replication.md)</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [How Azure NetApp Files snapshots work](../../azure-netapp-files/snapshots-introduction.md). | | Migration Tools | <ul><li>Azure Data Box</li><li>Azure File Sync</li><li>Azure Storage Mover</li><li>Storage Migration Service</li><li>AzCopy</li><li>Robocopy</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [Migrate to Azure file shares](./storage-files-migration-overview.md). | <ul><li>[Global File Cache](https://bluexp.netapp.com/global-file-cache/onboarding)</li><li>[CloudSync](https://docs.netapp.com/us-en/occm38/concept_cloud_sync.html), [XCP](https://xcp.netapp.com/)</li><li>Storage Migration Service</li><li>AzCopy</li><li>Robocopy</li><li>Application-based (for example, HSR, Data Guard, AOAG)</li><li>[Migration Assistant](../../azure-netapp-files/migrate-data.md)</li></ul> | | Tiers | <ul><li>Premium</li><li>Transaction Optimized</li><li>Hot</li><li>Cool</li></ul><br> To learn more, see [storage tiers](./storage-files-planning.md#storage-tiers). | <ul><li>Ultra</li><li>Premium</li><li>Standard</li><li>Flexible</li><li>[Cool Access](../../azure-netapp-files/cool-access-introduction.md)</li></ul><br> All tiers provide sub-ms minimum latency unless you are using cool access.<br><br> To learn more, see [Service Levels](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md), [Performance Considerations](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-performance-considerations.md), and [Performance considerations for Azure NetApp Files storage with cool access](../../azure-netapp-files/performance-considerations-cool-access.md). | | Pricing | [Azure Files Pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/storage/files/) | [Azure NetApp Files Pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/netapp/) | ## Scalability and performance | Category | Azure Files | Azure NetApp Files | |---------|---------|---------| | Minimum Share/Volume Size | Premium<br><ul><li>100 GiB</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>No minimum (SMB only - NFS requires Premium shares).</li></ul> | All tiers<br><ul><li>50 GiB (Minimum capacity pool size: 1 TiB)</li></ul> | | Maximum Share/Volume Size | 100 TiB | All tiers<br><ul><li>100 TiB (regular volume)</li><li>2 PiB (large volume)</li><li>7.2 PiB (extra-large volume with cool access enabled)</li><li>2,048 TiB capacity pool size limit</li></ul><br>Up to 12.5 PiB per Azure NetApp account | | Maximum Share/Volume IOPS | Premium<br><ul><li>Up to 100k</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>Up to 20k</li></ul> | Ultra, Premium, and Flexible<br><ul><li>Up to 450k </li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>Up to 320k</li></ul> | | Maximum Share/Volume Throughput | Premium<br><ul><li>Up to 10 GiB/s</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>Up to [storage account limits](./storage-files-scale-targets.md#storage-account-data-plane-limits).</li></ul> | Ultra<br><ul><li>4.5 GiB/s (regular volume)</li><li>12.5 GiB/s (large volume)</li></ul><br>Premium<br><ul><li>Up to 4.5 GiB/s (regular volume)</li><li>12.5 GiB/s (large volume)</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>Up to 1.6 GiB/s (regular volume)</li><li>12.5 GiB/s (large volume)</li></ul><br>Flexible<ul><li>[5 x 128 MiB/second/TiB x Size of capacity pool in TiB](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#flexible-service-level-throughput-examples)</li></ul> | | Maximum File Size | 4 TiB | 16 TiB | | Maximum IOPS Per File | Premium<br><ul><li>Up to 8,000</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>1,000</li></ul> | All tiers<br><ul><li>Up to volume limit</li></ul> | | Maximum Throughput Per File | Premium<br><ul><li>300 MiB/s (Up to 1 GiB/s with SMB multichannel)</li></ul><br>Standard<br><ul><li>60 MiB/s</li></ul> | All tiers<br><ul><li>Up to volume limit</li></ul> | | SMB Multichannel | Yes | Yes | | Latency | Single-millisecond minimum latency (2ms to 3ms for small IO) | Sub-millisecond minimum latency (<1ms for random IO)<br><br>To learn more, see [performance benchmarks](../../azure-netapp-files/performance-benchmarks-linux.md). | For more information on scalability and performance targets, see [Azure Files](./storage-files-scale-targets.md) and [Azure NetApp Files](../../azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-resource-limits.md). ## Next Steps * [Azure Files documentation](./index.yml) * [Azure NetApp Files documentation](../../azure-netapp-files/index.yml) * [Shared storage for all enterprise file-workloads session](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJEbmITLwwU&t=4s)