Backblaze B2 vs AWS S3
Backblaze B2 is one of the lowest-priced S3-compatible object storage options available, making it popular for backups, media archives, and cost-sensitive applications. AWS S3 is far more expensive but comes with unmatched ecosystem integrations, compliance certifications, and operational maturity. B2 wins on price; S3 wins on everything else.
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Object storage at predictable prices vs Object storage for the internet.
| Feature | Backblaze B2 | AWS S3 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing from | $0.006/GB/mo | $0.023/GB/mo |
| Storage pricing | $0.006/GB/mo | $0.023/GB/mo |
| Egress pricing | $0.01/GB (free via Cloudflare partnership) | $0.09/GB |
| Best for | Backup, archive, and media storage on a budget | Production app storage with deep AWS integration |
| S3 compatibility | S3-compatible API (B2 API also available) | Original S3 API |
| Free tier | 10 GB free forever | 5 GB free for 12 months |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II | 100+ compliance certifications |
The third option most teams miss
Picking between Backblaze B2 and AWS S3 isn't the only choice.
Appaca routes cold data and backups to Backblaze B2 and hot serving traffic through Cloudflare's free egress partnership, reducing your storage costs by up to 75% without changing your application storage layer.
- No code, no deployment, no devops
- Built-in database, dashboards, team access
- Refine with chat as your needs change
- Free to start, no per-seat pricing surprises
Common questions
B2 offers 99.999999999% durability and is used in production by media companies, photographers, and developers. For applications requiring deep AWS integration, S3 is still the better choice.
Backblaze and Cloudflare are both members of the Bandwidth Alliance, agreeing to waive egress fees between their networks. Traffic from B2 delivered via Cloudflare CDN is free.
Yes, most S3-compatible tools support B2 via its S3-compatible endpoint. Backblaze also maintains native integrations with rclone, Duplicati, and other backup tools.