Head-to-Head Specification Audit
AWS vs PayFast
Enterprise & SaaS Developers · Global
Specification Matrix
| Metric | AWS | PayFast |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $0/moTie | $0/moTie |
| API Rate Limit | Not confirmed | 60 req/min |
| Target Country | Global | South Africa |
| Category | Cloud Hosting & Edge | Payment Processing API |
| Compliance (vendor-stated) | GDPR, CCPA, POPIA, SOC2, ISO27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP | POPIA, PCI-DSS |
| Hosting Regions | US-East, US-West, EU-West, AP-Southeast, AU-East, AF-South-ZA | ZA-Cape-Town, ZA-Johannesburg |
| Native Integrations | 7 listedBetter | 6 listed |
AWS — Key Specs
Vendor-stated- ✓Cape Town region (af-south-1) provides local ZA data residency for POPIA compliance
- ✓200+ cloud services covering compute, storage, AI, databases, and IoT
- ✓99.99% uptime SLA on core services including S3, RDS, and EC2
- ✓Spot Instances reduce compute costs by up to 90% for fault-tolerant workloads
PayFast — Key Specs
Vendor-stated- ✓Only major payment gateway with POPIA-compliant ZA data residency by default
- ✓Supports EFT, credit card, Instant EFT, Mobicred, and SnapScan natively
- ✓No monthly fee — pay 2.0–3.5% per transaction only
- ✓Recurring billing API supports subscription SaaS models out of the box
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is lower-priced, AWS or PayFast?+
Both tools start at Free plan available on their entry plans.
Which compliance frameworks do AWS and PayFast list?+
Both list POPIA in their vendor documentation. AWS additionally lists GDPR, CCPA, SOC2, ISO27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP. PayFast additionally lists PCI-DSS. These are vendor-stated frameworks. VektorIndex has not independently audited these claims.
Does AWS or PayFast list POPIA as a supported compliance framework?+
AWS lists POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) as a supported compliance framework per its vendor documentation. VektorIndex has not independently verified this claim. South African organisations should request the vendor's current Data Processing Agreement and confirm data residency settings before processing personal information. PayFast lists POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) as a supported compliance framework per its vendor documentation. VektorIndex has not independently verified this claim. South African organisations should request the vendor's current Data Processing Agreement and confirm data residency settings before processing personal information.
Which has a higher documented API rate limit — AWS or PayFast?+
Available information does not support a direct comparison of API rate limits for these tools. Check each vendor's developer documentation.
Which data hosting regions do AWS and PayFast support?+
AWS lists hosting regions: US-East, US-West, EU-West, AP-Southeast, AU-East, AF-South-ZA. PayFast lists hosting regions: ZA-Cape-Town, ZA-Johannesburg. For data residency requirements in Global, confirm exact region configuration directly with each vendor.
Data last updated: 29 August 2026 — Sourced from official vendor documentation. Not independently audited. Report incorrect information
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