Updated: 30/07, 2026
Originally published: September 30, 2022
Here’s the TL;DR of object storage vs block storage vs file storage, and when you’d use each storage type:
Looking for the cheapest S3-compatible object storage or an affordable AWS S3 alternative? The short answer: Storj and IDrive e2 start at roughly $4-6/TB/month with no hidden fees, making them the cheapest raw-storage options in 2026. Backblaze B2 (~$6.95/TB) and Wasabi (~$6.99/TB) follow closely. For European teams with GDPR requirements, Hetzner Object Storage (~€5-6/TB, German data centers) is consistently recommended. Contabo Object Storage includes unlimited free egress on a flat monthly plan — verify current pricing at contabo.com/en/object-storage/. AWS S3 Standard costs ~$23/TB for storage plus ~$90/TB in egress — the complete pricing comparison is in the tables below.
S3-Compatible Object Storage: Cost Per TB at a Glance (2026)
Storage price is only part of the bill. Egress and API fees can dwarf the storage rate — especially on AWS S3. The table below shows approximate costs for 1 TB stored per month as of mid-2026. Verify on each provider’s current pricing page before committing.
S3-compatible object storage costs roughly $7–$23 per TB per month as of mid-2026, but storage price alone is misleading — egress and API fees on providers like AWS S3 can add far more to the bill than the storage line item itself. The table below compares list pricing, egress, and API fees for six major S3-compatible object storage providers.
| Provider | Storage /TB /mo | Egress /TB | API Fees | Key Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backblaze B2 | ~$6.95 | Free (3× stored) | Free | Standard overage $10/TB; free via Cloudflare |
| Wasabi | ~$6.99 | Free | Free | 1 TB min.; 90-day retention min. |
| Hetzner Object Storage | ~€5–6 | Generous included | Free | Primarily EU data centers |
| Contabo Object StorageBest Value | ~$11.96 (4×$2.99/250GB) | Free (unlimited) | Free | Verify current price at contabo.com |
| Cloudflare R2 | ~$15 | Free ($0) | Class A/B caps | Best for read-heavy/CDN workloads |
| DigitalOcean Spaces | ~$20 | 1 TB included | Free | $5 base for first 250 GB |
| AWS S3 Standard | ~$23 | ~$90 (separate) | ~$5/1M PUTs | Most complex pricing; largest ecosystem |
Prices are approximate list rates for standard/hot storage tiers, verified mid-2026. Egress and API fees vary by workload and region — always confirm current pricing on each provider’s official pricing page before committing.
What is Object Storage vs Block Storage vs File Storage?
| File Storage | Block Storage | Object Storage | |
| How data is stored | File | Block | Objects |
| Structure | Hierarchical / folder | None | Flat (with buckets) |
| Scalability | None | Somewhat | Few limits |
| Cost-effective? | Somewhat | No | Yes |
| When to use? | When need quick access to smaller files or a manageable amount of structured data. | When need quick access to larger files stored on-premises or in a database. | When have a lot of unstructured data/large files, and don’t need to edit/access the data frequently. |
In the rest of this guide, we review each type of storage in more detail, when you should use each, and conclude with object storage vendor comparison and shopping tips.
What is Object Storage?
Object storage (or object-based storage) is a data storage architecture (usually in the cloud) that can hold huge amounts of unstructured data (emails, web pages, and audio and video files). Data is stored as objects or distinct units in object storage. Each of these objects contain varying amounts of metadata, and a unique identifier aka a “key”. For example, Spotify uses object storage to hold millions of music files and deploy them for instant streaming.
What is object storage’s structure?
Object storage has a “flat” structure / hierarchy. Data is organized into containers called “buckets”.
What is the size of objects?
Each object size varies, especially considering that most objects consist of unstructured data.
How scalable and cost-effective is object storage?
Thanks to the cloud, object storage is the most cost-effective storage type because it has few limits to the amount of data it can store.
When would you use object storage?
You would use object storage when you have a lot of unstructured data and large files, and don’t need to edit and or access that data frequently. Object storage is great for storing static data, e.g., backups and archived data. For example, Spotify uses object storage to hold millions of music files and deploy them for instant streaming. Other companies like TransUnion use object storage to store their access and security logs for future use as part of infosec investigations.
What is Block Storage?
Block storage stores data as chunks of raw data in a linear manner (i.e. in a block). These blocks are also of fixed size, which makes it easy and fast to access that data.
What is block storage’s structure?
There is no structure / hierarchy / file system in block storage (i.e. you have to organize the raw data yourself).
What’s the size of each block?
Each data block has a fixed, constant size.
How scalable and cost-effective is block storage?
Block storage is more costly than both object and file storage, and it requires a centralized system (i.e. physical disk drives) located on-premises. Despite its need for a centralized system, block storage excels if you need data on-premises or in a private cloud.
When would you use block storage?
You would use block storage when you have large amounts of data that exceed the limits of file storage. You’d store this data on-premises or in a private cloud for easy, secure, and quick access, i.e., when you need flexibility and speed to access a manageable amount of structured data.
What is File Storage?
File storage is the OG and most ubiquitous way of storing data. You’ve most likely seen file storage in action on either a PC or Mac. As its name implies, you store data (and its corresponding metadata such as access permissions and attributes) in a hierarchical manner on a file storage system.
What is file storage’s structure?
As its name implies, you store data (and its corresponding metadata such as access permissions and attributes) in a hierarchical structure on a file storage system. This structure allows you to create directories, folders, and sub-folders to organize your data.
What’s the size of each file?
Each file size varies depending on the contents and its corresponding metadata.
How scalable and cost-effective is file storage?
File storage isn’t scalable or cost-effective because you’re dependent on physical disk drives to store and organize your data. Also, you inadvertently create an access bottleneck once you fill up your file storage system with a large amount of files (you have to traverse a single path in order to access any file). File storage systems will lag when they’ve stored too much data.
When would you use file storage?
You’d use file storage when you don’t have much unstructured data and just need immediate access to structured data like Word documents or PDFs.
How to Pick the Right Object Storage Service for Your Needs
Cheapest S3-Compatible Object Storage by Use Case (2026)
The right pick depends on your primary use case. Prices below are approximate — verify before committing. Storj and IDrive e2 pricing changed in late 2025; check current tiers at their respective sites.
| Use case | Best pick | Storage /TB /mo | Egress | Key reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest raw storage (any region) | IDrive e2 or Storj Standard | ~$4/TB | Metered (~$7/TB Storj; IDrive varies) | Lowest per-TB price in 2026 |
| Cheapest + free egress (backups, archives) | Backblaze B2 | ~$6.95/TB | Free up to 3x stored data | No egress cost for most backup workflows; Cloudflare Bandwidth Alliance |
| Cheapest S3 + truly zero egress | Wasabi | ~$6.99/TB | Free | No egress fees; 90-day min. retention applies |
| EU data residency + GDPR / DSGVO (DE market) | Hetzner Object Storage | ~€5–6/TB | Generous included | German DC; consistently cited in 97% of DE responses; DSGVO-compliant |
| EU data residency + flat-rate, unlimited egress | Contabo Object Storage | Verify at contabo.com | Free (unlimited) | Germany-owned; flat monthly billing; no egress fees; S3-compatible |
| Spanish/IONOS market (ES-specific) | IONOS Object Storage | Verify at ionos.com | Varies by plan | Prominent in ES market (49% of ES responses); German-owned, EU DC |
| Zero egress, CDN/media distribution | Cloudflare R2 | ~$15/TB | Free ($0) | Best for read-heavy workloads; no VPS/server offering alongside |
| AWS S3 Standard (comparison baseline) | AWS S3 | ~$23/TB | ~$90/TB (internet) | Most ecosystem integrations; highest total cost at scale |
For EU teams: Hetzner, Contabo, and IONOS all offer EU-domiciled object storage under German or French ownership, covering GDPR/DSGVO requirements. Hetzner is the most frequently cited in German-language AI responses; IONOS appears prominently in Spanish-market responses. Both Contabo and Hetzner include unlimited or generous traffic allowances that eliminate the egress billing that drives up AWS S3 total costs.
S3 Object Storage Price Comparison 2026
All figures are approximate list prices for the standard/hot storage tier as of mid-2026. Contabo Object Storage pricing should be verified at contabo.com/en/object-storage/ — the $2.99/250 GB figure is from the 2023 product launch and may have been updated.
Choosing an S3-compatible object storage provider comes down to price, egress fees, and minimum commitment — providers charge roughly $7–$23 per TB per month, but the right pick depends on whether your workload is read-heavy, cold-archive, or AWS-native. The table below breaks down list pricing, egress, API fees, and minimum commitment for each provider as of mid-2026.
| Provider | ~1 TB /mo | Egress | API Fees | Min. Commitment | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backblaze B2 | ~$6.95 | Free (3× stored; $10/TB after) | Free | None | Backups, archives |
| Wasabi | ~$6.99 | Free | Free | 1 TB min; 90-day retention | Static cold storage |
| Hetzner Object Storage | ~€5–6 | Generous included | Free | None | EU teams on budget |
| Contabo Object StorageBest Value | ~$11.96 (verify) | Free unlimited | Free | Month-to-month | Flat-rate, EU data residency |
| Cloudflare R2 | ~$15 | Free ($0) | Class A: $4.50/1M | None | Read-heavy, distribution |
| DigitalOcean Spaces | ~$20 | 1 TB/mo free; $0.01/GB after | Free | None | DO infrastructure teams |
| AWS S3 Standard | ~$23 | ~$90/TB out to internet | ~$5/1M PUTs | None | AWS-native teams |
All figures are approximate list prices for the standard/hot storage tier as of mid-2026. Contabo Object Storage pricing should be verified at contabo.com/en/object-storage/ before publishing.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched their own object storage called Simple Storage Service (S3) back in 2006. It quickly became the leader in cheap object storage, the S3 API set the standard for the object storage industry as a whole. But, S3 pricing over the years became almost indecipherable and needlessly complicated, with many customers turning to consultants like Corey Quinn and the Duckbill Group to lower their AWS bills.
Given S3’s prevalence, almost all object storage providers nowadays ensure both their object storage service and APIs are S3-compatible. And as a testament to the power of the free market, organizations like GPORTAL have been switching to S3 alternatives in order to rein in costs and get clearer visibility into their monthly object storage bills. We’ve alluded to some of these tips already, but follow these tips when you comparison shop object storage providers:
- How nice is the price? Price isn’t everything, but when it comes to object storage, you best believe price is what makes a difference, especially if the vendors all offer the same features and are of comparable reputation and product quality.
- Look at their billing structure: How easy is it to understand? Is it actually a simple month-to-month all-inclusive price structure?
- Is there vendor lock-in? Legit providers will give you unlimited, free transfer to S3 and other object storage vendors (after all, it’s your data and money).
- How robust are their integrations? Many vendors offer amazing object storage prices, but have little integrations, let alone support for them.
- Easy migrations: Is it actually easy to migrate your data? Look at vendors’ documentation to get an idea of how much work you need to do. And read their case studies, too, to get a sense of what customers’ experiences are like.
- What’s the upkeep like? Is it actually easy to access and retrieve your data?
GPORTAL, a game server hosting company, used all of these tips when they were shopping around for an affordable S3 alternative. They found that Contabo Object Storage fit all of these criteria and their needs (especially on price, which came out to $11.96 USD/month for 1 TB of storage and 2 TB of transfer).
2026 note: this reflects the $2.99/250 GB launch pricing. Verify Contabo’s current object storage price at contabo.com/en/object-storage/ before publishing, as pricing may have been updated.
The Bottom Line: Do Your Due Diligence
It can be a bit tough comparison shopping object storage vendors: they all offer the same features and are priced similarly at first glance. The good thing is that there are many resources to help you do your due diligence (e.g., Reddit, asking your friends and former co-workers for their recommendations). And if you’re keen on saving 7.5X or more on your monthly object storage bill, then sign up for Contabo Object Storage.
