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Cloud Spending Statistics 2026

IDC expects global public cloud spending to pass $1 trillion in 2026, and Synergy Research Group measured cloud infrastructure revenue of $167.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 55% year on year. Amazon, Microsoft and Google held 26%, 19% and 16% of that market. Flexera's 2026 survey found organizations estimate 29% of their cloud spend is wasted.

Download CSVCite this pageUpdated November 4, 2026 · 18 sources · 53/53 quotes re-checked

This page collects figures on what organizations spend on public cloud services, who receives that money, how much cloud providers are investing in capacity, and how much of the bill is wasted. It covers worldwide market forecasts, quarterly market data and provider earnings for 2026, cost management surveys, and regional data for the US, Europe, the UK, India and Australia. Most figures describe 2025 and 2026; the UK market data describe 2024.

Cloud is now a trillion-dollar line item. IDC forecasts public cloud spending above $1 trillion in 2026, growing over 21%, with the United States alone at $647 billion. Synergy Research Group's quarterly tracking of infrastructure services (IaaS, PaaS and hosted private cloud) reached $167.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026 and $558 billion over the trailing twelve months. Growth has accelerated, not slowed, as the market grows: Synergy's year-on-year rate rose to 55% in the third quarter, compared with 43% in the second.

The money flows to three providers and a fast-growing group of neoclouds. Amazon held 26% of the market, Microsoft 19% and Google 16% in Synergy's third quarter data. AWS revenue grew 39% to $46.0 billion, Azure revenue grew 48%, and Google Cloud more than doubled to $30.7 billion. Synergy says neocloud revenue passed $25 billion in 2025 and could approach $400 billion by 2031.

Providers are spending heavily to keep up. Alphabet's capital spending reached $51.4 billion in the third quarter of 2026, more than double the fourth quarter of 2025, and TrendForce expects the nine largest cloud providers to spend $957 billion on capex in 2026. For buyers, this capacity buildout has two sides: more AI services to rent, and a market where switching remains rare. The UK Competition and Markets Authority found fewer than 1% of customers switch provider each year and estimated that prices 5% above competitive levels would cost UK customers around £500 million a year.

Inside companies, cost control is the main concern. Flexera found 85% of organizations name managing cloud spend as a top challenge and estimated waste rose to 29% of cloud spend in 2026, the first increase in five years, as cloud-based AI workloads surged. The FinOps Foundation reports that 98% of FinOps practitioners now manage AI spend, and Cast AI's cluster telemetry shows average CPU utilization of 8% and GPU utilization of 5% in Kubernetes clusters.

01

Public cloud market size

Forecasters agree the public cloud market is close to or above $1 trillion a year, but definitions vary. IDC's figure covers all public cloud services including SaaS, which it says makes up more than half of the total, while Gartner breaks out IaaS separately within its IT spending forecast. IDC expects PaaS to grow fastest, by over 37%, and Gartner expects IaaS to grow 31.3%, both linked to AI workloads. The United States accounts for well over half of IDC's 2026 total.

02

Quarterly cloud infrastructure market and market share

Synergy Research Group's quarterly figures measure revenue from cloud infrastructure services (IaaS, PaaS and hosted private cloud), so they exclude SaaS and are lower than IDC's forecast. The growth rate has increased for twelve straight quarters, and Synergy says AI-specific services now account for around a third of the market. The three leaders hold about 61% between them, while neocloud revenue is growing from a much smaller base.

Worldwide cloud infrastructure market share, Q3 2026

Share of IaaS, PaaS and hosted private cloud revenue, third quarter of 2026.

  • Amazon26%
  • Microsoft19%
  • Google16%

Source: Synergy Research Group, Cloud Market Growth Rate Surges to Well Over 50% per Year; Q3 Revenues Reach $168 Billion

03

AWS, Azure and Google Cloud revenue

Provider earnings show where cloud budgets end up. AWS grew 39%, Azure 48% and Google Cloud 103% in the third quarter of 2026, and Alphabet says sales of TPU systems were a meaningful contributor to Google Cloud's growth. Microsoft does not report Azure in dollars in its headline results, but its product revenue table puts Azure at $33.2 billion for the quarter. These are provider revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, not customer spending forecasts.

  • $46.0 billion

    AWS segment sales grew 39% year on year to $46.0 billion in the third quarter of 2026.

    Amazon · Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    AWS segment sales increased 39% year-over-year to $46.0 billion.

  • $17.8 billion

    AWS operating income was $17.8 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up from $11.4 billion a year earlier.

    Amazon · Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    AWS segment operating income was $17.8 billion, compared with $11.4 billion in third quarter 2025.

  • 7x

    Amazon says Fortune 500 companies are spending nearly 7 times more on Amazon Bedrock, its AI inference service, than a year earlier.

    Amazon · Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Drove continued rapid growth for Amazon Bedrock, AWS’s inference service, with Fortune 500 companies spending nearly 7x more year-over-year and total Bedrock token volume growing nearly 17x year-over-year.

  • 48%

    Microsoft's Azure revenue increased 48% in the quarter ended September 30, 2026.

    Microsoft · Microsoft FY27 Q1 Press Release (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Azure revenue increased 48%

  • $33,165 million

    Microsoft reported Azure revenue of $33,165 million for the quarter, compared with $22,384 million a year earlier.

    Microsoft · Microsoft FY27 Q1 Press Release (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Azure $33,165 $22,384

  • $677 billion

    Microsoft's commercial remaining performance obligation, contracted revenue not yet recognized, rose 73% to $677 billion at September 30, 2026.

    Microsoft · Microsoft FY27 Q1 Press Release (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    performance obligation increased 73% to $677 billion

  • $30.7 billion

    Google Cloud revenue increased 103% to $30.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026.

    Alphabet · Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Google Cloud delivered record growth as revenues increased 103% to $30.7 billion, led by strong growth in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) across enterprise AI infrastructure and enterprise AI solutions, as well as core GCP services.

  • $11,121 million

    Google Cloud operating income was $11,121 million in the third quarter of 2026, up from $3,594 million a year earlier.

    Alphabet · Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Google Cloud 3,594 11,121

04

Cloud provider capital spending

Cloud providers are spending more on data centers, servers and chips than ever. Alphabet's quarterly purchases of property and equipment rose about 84% between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the third quarter of 2026, and TrendForce expects the nine largest providers to roughly double capex in 2026. Synergy estimated in 2025 that generative AI was already adding about $50 billion of quarterly revenue for hyperscalers. Capex figures cover all property and equipment, not only AI.

Alphabet purchases of property and equipment by quarter (millions of US dollars)

Quarterly capital expenditures from Alphabet's third quarter 2026 earnings release.

$0$50,000$100,000Q4 2025: $27,851Q4 2025Q1 2026: $35,674Q1 2026Q2 2026: $44,924Q2 2026Q3 2026: $51,355Q3 2026

Source: Alphabet, Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results

  • $51,355 million

    Alphabet spent $51,355 million on property and equipment in the third quarter of 2026, up from $27,851 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.

    Alphabet · Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Less: purchases of property and equipment (27,851) (35,674) (44,924) (51,355) (159,804)

  • $159,804 million

    Over the twelve months to September 2026, Alphabet's purchases of property and equipment totaled $159,804 million.

    Alphabet · Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Less: purchases of property and equipment (27,851) (35,674) (44,924) (51,355) (159,804)

  • $94.8 billion

    Amazon's trailing twelve-month purchases of property and equipment rose by $94.8 billion year on year, turning free cash flow to an outflow of $42.4 billion.

    Amazon · Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Free cash flow decreased to an outflow of $42.4 billion for the trailing twelve months, driven primarily by a year-over-year increase of $94.8 billion in purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales and incentives.

  • $957 billion

    TrendForce projects combined capex at the nine largest cloud service providers to rise 106% to $957 billion in 2026.

    TrendForce · CSP CapEx Projected to Exceed US$1.5 Trillion in 2027, with AI Server Revenue Growing Over 90% YoY (Oct 2026)

    Exact quote

    Combined CapEx among the world’s nine leading CSPs is projected to surge 106% YoY to US$957 billion in 2026.

  • $50 billion

    Synergy estimated in 2025 that generative AI was driving an incremental $50 billion of quarterly revenue for hyperscalers.

    Synergy Research Group · Justifying the Explosive Growth in Hyperscale CAPEX (Sep 2025)

    Exact quote

    Synergy estimates that GenAI technology is now driving an incremental $50 billion in quarterly revenues for hyperscalers, over and above the growth that those services were already enjoying.

05

Cloud waste and cost management

Flexera's 2026 survey puts self-reported waste at 29% of cloud spend, the first increase in five years, as AI workloads made bills harder to predict. FinOps teams have expanded from cloud into AI, SaaS and licensing. Cast AI's figures are direct measurements from Kubernetes clusters before optimization, not survey answers, and show low CPU and GPU utilization and rising over-provisioning. Cast AI sells optimization software, so its sample is clusters connected to its platform.

Share of cloud decision-makers using generative AI

Flexera State of the Cloud surveys, 2024 to 2026.

47%
72%
81%
202420252026

Source: Flexera, Flexera Finds Cloud Value is Rising While AI Waste Grows

  • 29%

    Organizations in Flexera's 2026 State of the Cloud survey estimate 29% of their cloud spend is wasted, the first increase in five years, as cloud-based AI workloads surge.

    Flexera · Flexera Finds Cloud Value is Rising While AI Waste Grows (Mar 2026)

    Exact quote

    Alongside this shift, the report shows cloud-based AI workloads are surging, causing an increase in wasted cloud spend (29%) for the first time in five years.

  • 85%

    Managing cloud spend is a top challenge for 85% of organizations in Flexera's survey of more than 750 cloud decision-makers.

    Flexera · Flexera Finds Cloud Value is Rising While AI Waste Grows (Mar 2026)

    Exact quote

    While managing cloud spend remains a top challenge (85%), organizations are applying more mature FinOps practices, with 63% having established FinOps teams and 64% reporting value delivered to business units.

  • 76%

    More than three quarters (76%) of large enterprises spend over $5 million a month on cloud services, according to Flexera.

    Flexera · Flexera Finds Cloud Value is Rising While AI Waste Grows (Mar 2026)

    Exact quote

    More than three‑quarters (76%) of large enterprises now spend over $5 million monthly on cloud services.

  • 81%

    81% of Flexera respondents said they use generative AI in 2026, up from 72% a year earlier and 47% in 2024.

    Flexera · Flexera Finds Cloud Value is Rising While AI Waste Grows (Mar 2026)

    Exact quote

    AI has quickly moved from experimentation to operation, with 81% of respondents stating they are using generative AI, compared to 72% last year and 47% in 2024.

  • 98%

    In the FinOps Foundation's 2026 survey, 98% of FinOps teams manage AI spend, up from 31% two years earlier.

    FinOps Foundation · State of FinOps 2026 Report (2026)

    Exact quote

    AI cost management is the #1 skillset that teams need to develop. 98% now manage AI spend (up from 31% two years ago).

  • $83bn

    The 2026 State of FinOps survey drew 1,192 respondents representing more than $83 billion in annual cloud spend.

    FinOps Foundation · State of FinOps 2026 Report (2026)

    Exact quote

    6th annual survey since 2020 1,192 respondents Representing $83bn+ in annual cloud spend

  • 78%

    78% of FinOps practices in the FinOps Foundation's 2026 survey report into the CTO or CIO organization.

    FinOps Foundation · State of FinOps 2026 Report (2026)

    Exact quote

    FinOps is now firmly anchored in technology leadership, with 78% of practices reporting into the CTO/CIO organization (up 18% vs 2023 data).

  • 8%

    Average CPU utilization in Kubernetes clusters measured by Cast AI fell to 8% in its 2026 report, down from 10% a year earlier.

    Cast AI · 2026 State of Kubernetes Resource Optimization: CPU at 8%, Memory at 20%, and Getting Worse (Apr 2026)

    Exact quote

    CPU utilization fell to 8%, down from 10% last year.

  • 5%

    GPU utilization across the Kubernetes clusters Cast AI analyzed averaged just 5% in its 2026 report.

    Cast AI · 2026 State of Kubernetes Resource Optimization: CPU at 8%, Memory at 20%, and Getting Worse (Apr 2026)

    Exact quote

    This year, we added GPU utilization to the mix – and across the clusters we analyzed, it stood at just 5%.

  • 69%

    The share of Kubernetes clusters over-provisioning CPU rose from 40% to 69% in a year, according to Cast AI's telemetry from clusters on AWS, Google Cloud and Azure.

    Cast AI · 2026 State of Kubernetes Resource Optimization: CPU at 8%, Memory at 20%, and Getting Worse (Apr 2026)

    Exact quote

    CPU overprovisioning jumped from 40% to 69% year over year.

06

Regional cloud spending and competition

Outside the US, cloud spending is growing fast but is largely captured by US providers. Synergy finds European providers hold about 15% of their home market, and the UK CMA found a concentrated market where switching is rare and egress fees act as a barrier. Eurostat data show cloud use is now a majority practice among EU businesses with 10 or more employees, but adoption still varies by firm size. Country forecasts from Gartner are in local or US currency as stated.

EU enterprises using paid cloud services by size, 2025

Eurostat ICT usage survey, EU enterprises with 10 or more employees, 2025.

84.7%
66.8%
49.3%
Large (250+)Medium (50 to 249)Small (10 to 49)

Source: Eurostat, Cloud computing - statistics on the use by enterprises

  • £10.5 billion

    UK customers spent £10.5 billion on cloud services in 2024, with spending growing nearly 30% a year since 2020, according to the Competition and Markets Authority.

    UK Competition and Markets Authority · Cloud services market investigation: Summary of final decision (Jul 2025)

    Exact quote

    Customers spent £10.5 billion on cloud services in 2024, with spending growing by nearly 30% each year since 2020 as they rely increasingly on cloud, rather than on-premises or ‘traditional’ IT.

  • 30 to 40%

    The CMA found Microsoft and AWS each held a 30 to 40% share of UK IaaS supply in 2024.

    UK Competition and Markets Authority · Cloud services market investigation: Summary of final decision (Jul 2025)

    Exact quote

    The IaaS market is highly concentrated and the two largest providers, Microsoft and AWS, each has a high share of supply at [30-40]% in 2024.

  • 1%

    Fewer than 1% of UK cloud customers switch provider each year, the CMA found.

    UK Competition and Markets Authority · Cloud services market investigation: Summary of final decision (Jul 2025)

    Exact quote

    less than 1% of customers switch provider each year.

  • £500 million

    The CMA estimated that if UK cloud prices were 5% above competitive levels, customers would pay around £500 million more per year.

    UK Competition and Markets Authority · Cloud services market investigation: Summary of final decision (Jul 2025)

    Exact quote

    By way of illustration, if prices were on average 5% above those in well-functioning markets, this would in aggregate result in UK customers paying around £500 million more per year for these services than they would in more competitive markets.

  • €61 billion

    The European cloud market reached €61 billion (US$70 billion) in 2024, six times its 2017 size, according to Synergy.

    Synergy Research Group · European Cloud Providers’ Local Market Share Now Holds Steady at 15% (Jul 2025)

    Exact quote

    However, over that same period the European cloud market grew by a factor of six, reaching €61 billion (US$70 billion) in 2024.

  • 15%

    European cloud providers' share of their home market fell from 29% in 2017 to 15% in 2022 and has stayed at around 15% since, according to Synergy.

    Synergy Research Group · European Cloud Providers’ Local Market Share Now Holds Steady at 15% (Jul 2025)

    Exact quote

    European cloud providers’ market share dropped from 29% in 2017 to 15% in 2022, though it has stayed relatively constant at around 15% since then.

  • $17.5 billion

    Gartner forecasts end-user public cloud spending in India to grow 28.1% to $17.5 billion in 2026.

    Gartner · Gartner Forecasts End-User Public Cloud Spending in India to Surpass $17 Billion in 2026 (Jun 2026)

    Exact quote

    End-user spending on public cloud services in India is forecast to grow 28.1% to total $17.5 billion in 2026, up from $13.7 billion in 2025, according to Gartner, Inc, a business and technology insights company.

  • 40%

    In India, Gartner expects infrastructure as a service spending to grow 40% in 2026 and platform as a service 25.4%, the two fastest growing cloud segments.

    Gartner · Gartner Forecasts End-User Public Cloud Spending in India to Surpass $17 Billion in 2026 (Jun 2026)

    Exact quote

    Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) are expected to be the fastest-growing segments in India's cloud market, with IaaS projected to grow 40% in 2026, followed by PaaS at 25.4% (see Table 1).

  • A$33.6 billion

    Australian organizations are expected to spend more than A$33.6 billion on public cloud services in 2026, up 17.9%.

    Gartner · Gartner Forecasts Australian Organizations Will Spend More Than A$33 Billion on Public Cloud in 2026 (May 2026)

    Exact quote

    Australian organizations are expected to spend more than A$33.6 billion on public cloud services in 2026, an increase of 17.9% from 2025, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.

  • 52.74%

    In 2025, 52.74% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees bought paid cloud computing services, up 7.42 percentage points from 2023.

    Eurostat · Cloud computing - statistics on the use by enterprises (Dec 2025)

    Exact quote

    Although the proportion of enterprises with internet access was at similar near saturation levels in most EU countries, more than half (52.74%) reported that they used paid cloud computing services, with an increase of 7.42 percentage points (pp) compared with 2023 (see Figure 1).

  • 77.25%

    Among EU enterprises buying cloud services in 2025, 77.25% purchased at least one infrastructure as a service product.

    Eurostat · Cloud computing - statistics on the use by enterprises (Dec 2025)

    Exact quote

    Large proportion (77.25%) purchased also at least one cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), i.e. at least one of the hosting enterprise’s database, storage of files or computing power to run enterprise’s own software as a cloud computing service.

FAQ

How big is the cloud computing market in 2026?

IDC forecasts public cloud spending above $1 trillion in 2026, including SaaS. Synergy Research Group, which tracks only infrastructure and platform services, measured $167.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026 and $558 billion over twelve months.

Who has the largest share of cloud spending?

Amazon, with 26% of the worldwide cloud infrastructure market in the third quarter of 2026, followed by Microsoft at 19% and Google at 16%, according to Synergy Research Group.

How much cloud spend is wasted?

Organizations in Flexera's 2026 State of the Cloud survey estimated 29% of their cloud spend is wasted, up for the first time in five years. Cast AI's 2026 cluster data found average CPU utilization of 8% in Kubernetes clusters, with 69% of clusters over-provisioning CPU.

How much are cloud providers spending on data centers?

TrendForce projects the nine largest cloud providers will spend $957 billion on capex in 2026. Alphabet alone spent $51.4 billion on property and equipment in the third quarter, and Amazon's twelve-month purchases of property and equipment rose by $94.8 billion year on year.

How often do businesses switch cloud providers?

Rarely. The UK Competition and Markets Authority found fewer than 1% of customers switch provider each year, and identified egress fees as a key barrier to switching or using several clouds.

Methodology note

We combined forecasts (IDC, Gartner, TrendForce), measured market data (Synergy Research Group), provider earnings releases (Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet), official sources (UK Competition and Markets Authority, Eurostat) and practitioner data (Flexera, FinOps Foundation, Cast AI). Market totals differ because IDC includes SaaS while Synergy covers only IaaS, PaaS and hosted private cloud, and provider revenue includes items such as TPU system sales that are not pure infrastructure. Flexera's waste figure is a self-reported estimate from survey respondents; Cast AI's utilization figures come from telemetry on clusters connected to its platform. We list the year each figure describes and flag older data in the text. Every quote is re-fetched from the source by our checker. See how we rank and verify.

Sources

  1. 1Alphabet: Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results
  2. 2Amazon: Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results
  3. 3Cast AI: 2026 State of Kubernetes Resource Optimization: CPU at 8%, Memory at 20%, and Getting Worse
  4. 4Eurostat: Cloud computing - statistics on the use by enterprises
  5. 5FinOps Foundation: State of FinOps 2026 Report
  6. 6Flexera: Flexera Finds Cloud Value is Rising While AI Waste Grows
  7. 7Gartner: Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 15% in 2027, Totaling $7.35 Trillion
  8. 8Gartner: Gartner Forecasts End-User Public Cloud Spending in India to Surpass $17 Billion in 2026
  9. 9Gartner: Gartner Forecasts Australian Organizations Will Spend More Than A$33 Billion on Public Cloud in 2026
  10. 10IDC: Global Public Cloud Spending to Surpass $1 Trillion in 2026, Driven by PaaS and AI Platform Adoption
  11. 11Microsoft: Microsoft FY27 Q1 Press Release
  12. 12Synergy Research Group: Cloud Market Growth Rate Surges to Well Over 50% per Year; Q3 Revenues Reach $168 Billion
  13. 13Synergy Research Group: Q2 Cloud Market Passes $143 Billion; Highest Growth Rate in Eight Years
  14. 14Synergy Research Group: Neocloud Market Forecast to Approach $400B by 2031, Driven by Surging AI Infrastructure Demand
  15. 15Synergy Research Group: Justifying the Explosive Growth in Hyperscale CAPEX
  16. 16Synergy Research Group: European Cloud Providers’ Local Market Share Now Holds Steady at 15%
  17. 17TrendForce: CSP CapEx Projected to Exceed US$1.5 Trillion in 2027, with AI Server Revenue Growing Over 90% YoY
  18. 18UK Competition and Markets Authority: Cloud services market investigation: Summary of final decision

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Rankozo. (2026, November 4). Cloud Spending Statistics 2026. https://rankozo.com/cloud-spending-statistics

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