Developer and data platforms · Researched comparison
Best Amazon S3 Alternatives for Object Storage in 2026
The best pick for most teams whose bill is driven by downloads is Cloudflare R2 Standard storage at $0.015 per GB-month, with egress to the internet listed as free (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). Backblaze B2 is the pick when you want a simple published storage rate of $6.95 per TB per month (Backblaze B2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). DigitalOcean Spaces is the pick when you want a $5 per month starting bundle that includes 250 GiB storage and 1 TiB of outbound transfer (DigitalOcean Spaces pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
By The Computer Manual Editorial Team · Published 14 Nov 2026 · Last verified 14 Nov 2026
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Key takeaways
R2 Standard storage is $0.015 per GB-month, Infrequent Access is $0.01 per GB-month, and egress to the internet is listed as free (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Backblaze B2 starts at $6.95 per TB per month. Extra egress after the included amount was listed at $0.01 per GB (Backblaze B2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage starts at $7.99 per TB per month, with egress and API fees listed at $0 (Wasabi pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
DigitalOcean Spaces is $5 per month for 250 GiB storage and 1 TiB outbound transfer, then $0.02 per GiB extra storage and $0.01 per GiB extra transfer (DigitalOcean Spaces pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
We could not extract a clear Amazon S3 Standard regional rate from the calculator-heavy official page, so we link to it rather than invent a number.
Tool
Best for
Standout feature
Starting price (checked 14 Nov 2026)
Free plan or trial
1 Cloudflare R2
Teams whose bill is driven by egress
Free internet egress plus a published storage rate
$0.015 per GB-month, egress listed as free, checked 14 Nov 2026
See official docs
2 Backblaze B2
Teams that want a simple published per-TB rate
B2 storage starting price
$6.95 per TB per month, checked 14 Nov 2026
Free trial listed
3 Wasabi
Teams that want a flat storage rate with no egress or API fees listed
Hot Cloud Storage starting price
$7.99 per TB per month, checked 14 Nov 2026
Free trial listed
4 DigitalOcean Spaces
Teams that want a small, simple monthly bundle
$5 starting bundle
$5 per month for 250 GiB and 1 TiB outbound, checked 14 Nov 2026
See official page
5 Amazon S3
Teams that need a baseline comparison with Amazon's own storage
Official S3 pricing page
A clear Standard regional rate could not be extracted, checked 14 Nov 2026
See official page
How we picked
We considered 7 object storage products and shortlisted 5. We read official pricing docs on 14 Nov 2026 and applied the weights in how we score tools. This guide sits in developer and data platforms.
01
Cloudflare R2
Best for: Teams whose bill is driven by egress
R2 Standard storage is $0.015 per GB-month and Infrequent Access is $0.01 per GB-month (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). Egress to the internet is listed as free.
Class A operations are $4.50 per million requests on Standard, and Class B operations are $0.36 per million. Extra buckets beyond 100,000 are $0.10 per bucket per month.
Pros
Free egress is the feature that usually changes the comparison.
Storage and operation unit prices are public.
Infrequent Access has a lower storage rate if you can use it.
Cons
Request charges still apply, so a chatty workload is not free (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
You should confirm current free-egress terms on the official docs.
Infrequent Access adds retrieval costs, listed at $0.01 per GB.
Price: Standard storage is $0.015 per GB-month, with egress to the internet listed as free (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Skip it if you needed a simple $5 monthly bundle and very little download traffic.
Verdict. R2 is the default when downloads would have dominated an S3-style egress bill.
02
Backblaze B2
Best for: Teams that want a simple published per-TB rate
Backblaze B2 starts at $6.95 per TB per month (Backblaze B2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). The page described free egress up to three times the average monthly data stored, then $0.01 per GB.
A higher performance tier was listed from $15 per TB per month. Class D transactions were listed at $0.004 per 10,000 calls, with the first 2,500 calls per day free.
Pros
$6.95 per TB is easy to explain to finance.
An included egress allowance is published.
Transaction prices are itemised.
Cons
Egress above the included amount is not free (Backblaze B2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
The $15 tier is a different product class.
You still need to model requests, not only storage.
Price: B2 starts at $6.95 per TB per month (Backblaze B2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Skip it if your downloads would far exceed any included egress allowance and R2's free egress would matter more.
Verdict. Backblaze B2 is the pick when you want a clear TB price and a published egress allowance.
03
Wasabi
Best for: Teams that want a flat storage rate with no egress or API fees listed
Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage starts at $7.99 per TB per month (Wasabi pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). Egress and API fees were listed at $0 on the pay-as-you-go comparison we read.
Reserved capacity is also offered, with discounts described as depending on capacity and term. Confirm current minimums on the official page.
Pros
The $7.99 starting rate is public.
A $0 egress and API fee line is unusual and easy to model.
Pay-as-you-go and reserved options are both mentioned.
Cons
$7.99 per TB is higher than Backblaze's $6.95 start (Wasabi pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Flat-rate storage can still have term or minimum rules you must read.
You should confirm the $0 fee terms against your workload, including deletion or early deletion rules if they apply.
Price: Hot Cloud Storage starts at $7.99 per TB per month, with egress and API fees listed at $0 (Wasabi pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Skip it if you only needed 250 GiB and a $5 bundle would be cheaper.
Verdict. Wasabi is the pick when you want a flat TB rate and the official $0 egress and API line holds for your workload.
04
DigitalOcean Spaces
Best for: Teams that want a small, simple monthly bundle
DigitalOcean Spaces is $5 per month and includes 250 GiB of storage and 1 TiB of outbound transfer (DigitalOcean Spaces pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Additional storage is $0.02 per GiB. Additional transfer is $0.01 per GiB. Cold storage was listed at $0.007 per GiB.
Extra storage at $0.02 per GiB is $20 per TB, which is higher than B2 or Wasabi.
It is a weaker fit once you leave the included bundle.
Price: Spaces is $5 per month for 250 GiB storage and 1 TiB outbound transfer (DigitalOcean Spaces pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Skip it if you already store many terabytes and would outgrow the $5 bundle in week one.
Verdict. Spaces is the starter bundle for small objects and modest transfer, not for a large archive.
05
Amazon S3
Best for: Teams that need a baseline comparison with Amazon's own storage
We opened Amazon S3 pricing on 14 Nov 2026. The page is calculator-heavy, and we could not extract a clear S3 Standard regional rate from the text, so we do not invent one.
Use the official calculator for your region and storage class, then compare that figure with the dated alternatives in this guide.
Pros
S3 remains the compatibility baseline many tools already speak.
The official pricing page and calculator are public.
It belongs in the comparison even when a flat number is hard to quote.
Cons
Without a dated Standard rate, it cannot be the priced top pick here.
Egress and request charges can dominate storage.
Regional and storage-class mixes make a single headline unsafe.
Price: A clear S3 Standard regional rate could not be extracted from Amazon S3 pricing on 14 Nov 2026.
Skip it if you wanted a single public headline you could paste into a memo today.
Verdict. Keep S3 as the baseline, then fill the official calculator result beside R2, B2, Wasabi and Spaces.
Price 1 TB stored and 1 TB downloaded
For 1 TB stored, Backblaze B2 is about $6.95 and Wasabi is about $7.99 (Backblaze B2 pricing and Wasabi pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). R2 Standard storage is $0.015 per GB-month, which is $15 per TB stored, but egress to the internet is listed as free (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
If you also download 1 TB, Wasabi's listed $0 egress and R2's free internet egress change the total more than the storage line. Spaces only stays cheap inside its 250 GiB and 1 TiB bundle.
What is the cheapest S3 alternative for a small site?
DigitalOcean Spaces at $5 per month is the cheapest dated start if 250 GiB and 1 TiB outbound are enough (DigitalOcean Spaces pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
When is R2 cheaper than Backblaze or Wasabi?
When download traffic would have been billed as egress. R2 lists internet egress as free, while storage is $0.015 per GB-month (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). For storage-only archives with little egress, B2 at $6.95 per TB can look cheaper.
Does Wasabi really charge $0 for egress?
The comparison we read listed egress and API fees at $0 (Wasabi pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). Read the current terms, including any minimums, before you treat that as a guarantee.
Why is there no Amazon S3 dollar figure?
Because we could not extract a clear Standard regional rate from the official page on 14 Nov 2026. We link to that page rather than invent a number.
What to check before you buy
Estimate stored GB and downloaded GB separately.
Read egress, request and minimum-duration rules, not only storage.
Confirm S3 API compatibility for your tools.
Check the region or location you will use.
Plan lifecycle rules for old objects.
Test a restore or a large download before you cut over.
Re-run the maths when traffic doubles.
FAQ
What is the best S3 alternative for most teams in 2026?
Cloudflare R2 is the best pick for most teams whose bill is driven by downloads, at $0.015 per GB-month with internet egress listed as free (R2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026). Choose Backblaze B2 at $6.95 per TB when storage is the main line, or Spaces at $5 when the small bundle is enough.
How much is Backblaze B2?
It starts at $6.95 per TB per month, with extra egress listed at $0.01 per GB after the included allowance (Backblaze B2 pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
How much is Wasabi?
Hot Cloud Storage starts at $7.99 per TB per month, with egress and API fees listed at $0 (Wasabi pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
How much is DigitalOcean Spaces?
It is $5 per month for 250 GiB storage and 1 TiB outbound transfer, then $0.02 per GiB extra storage and $0.01 per GiB extra transfer (DigitalOcean Spaces pricing, checked 14 Nov 2026).
Does this comparison copy another site's commercial order?
No. The order is editorial and follows the public rates we could date plus the how we score weights.
