Storage And Backup — professional stack.
For each requirement below, pick the option that fits your build — recommended first, then free and cheaper alternatives — or skip what your project doesn't need. Tap the info icon next to any requirement to see why it matters.
Object Storage - Standard Hot Tier (S3 API, 11x9s)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsS3: $0.023/GB-mo, $0.005/1000 PUT, $0.0004/1000 GET, $0.09/GB egress | Free Tier: 5GB for 12 months, 2000 PUT/20000 GET free | Overage: PAYG. R2: Free 10GB storage + 10M Class A + 10M Class B + ZERO egress forever | Paid $0.015/GB-mo, $4.50/M Class A, $0.36/M Class B. B2: $0.006/GB-mo ($6/TB), $0.005/1000 download, $0.01/GB egress | Free 10GB storage + 1GB/day egress. GCS: $0.020/GB-mo + $0.12/GB egress | Always Free 5GB in US.
Block Storage - General Purpose SSD (VM boot disks)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsEBS gp3: $0.08/GB-mo + $0.005/prov IOPS-mo over 3000 free, $0.005/prov MBps-mo over 125 | Free: 30GB gp3 for 12mo. Oracle Free: 200GB total (2 vol x 100GB) always free. GCP Balanced PD: $0.10/GB-mo SSD $0.04/GB-mo Balanced | Always Free 30GB-month. Hetzner: €0.0456/GB-mo (~$0.05/GB-mo). io2: $0.125/GB-mo + $0.065/IOPS-mo (99.999% durability).
File Storage - NFS Shared File System
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsEFS Std: $0.30/GB-mo, IA $0.045/GB-mo, One Zone $0.16/GB-mo | Free: 5GB-month for 12mo. JuiceFS OSS: $0 software + backend $6/TB (B2) self-hosted. Hetzner Box: 1TB €3.81 (~$4.15/mo) ~$0.004/GB-mo, 5TB €12.90/mo. Filestore Basic HDD $0.20/GB-mo, High Scale SSD $0.30/GB-mo. Azure Files Transactions $0.015/10k.
Backup Service - Basic File/VM/Image Backup
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsAWS Backup: $0.05/GB-mo warm, $0.01/GB-mo cold + $0.10/GB restore + $0.10/GB cross-region | Free: backup evaluation no free storage. Restic: $0 OSS, storage PAYG B2 $0.006/GB-mo. Duplicacy CLI: Free OSS personal, GUI $60 lifetime per device. Veeam: Free Community 10 VMs/instances | Paid $15/VM/mo, $180/VM/yr, Socket $1200/yr. Overage: 1TB backup ~$51.20/mo AWS.
Archiving - Low-cost Instant Retrieval
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsGlacier Instant: $0.004/GB-mo ($4/TB-mo) + $0.03/GB restore + $0.10/1000 restore req | Min 90 days. R2: $0.015/GB-mo if used as archive but zero egress (effectively $15/TB-mo, free first 10GB). B2: $0.006/GB-mo + $0.01/GB egress, no min. GCS Archive: $0.0012/GB-mo instant? Actually Nearline $0.01, Coldline $0.004, Archive $0.0012 + $0.05/GB retrieval.
Storage CDN / Egress Optimization & Edge Cache
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsR2 Zero Egress: $0/GB forever, 10GB free storage. Bunny: Storage $0.01/GB-mo on edge + Delivery $0.01/GB (min $1/mo) + Free 14-day trial 100GB. CloudFront: $0.085/GB first 10TB, $0.08 next 40TB, $0.02/GB after 5PB + $0.0075/10k req | Free 1TB egress + 10M req /mo for 12mo. Cache egress savings 70-90%.
Storage Monitoring & Metering
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsCloudWatch: $0.30/metric/mo first 10k, $0.10 next 240k | Free 10 metrics + 3 dashboards + Storage Lens free tier 28d metrics. S3 Lens paid $0.20/M obj /mo advanced. Prometheus self-host $0. Datadog: $15/host/mo Infra, $0.10/GB ingest + 15-mo retention | Free 1 host trial.
Object Versioning & Replication (CRR/SRR)
Runs in multiple regions for speed and resilience. Enterprise-grade reliability and the hardest to retrofit.Pricing & free-tier limitsS3 Versioning: $0 (storage for all versions at $0.023/GB-mo). CRR: $0.02/1000 replication req + storage + $0.09/GB cross-region transfer. Free replication time control eval. MinIO: $0 OSS. B2: Replication free, storage $0.006/GB-mo, download $0.01/GB. GCS: $0.02/GB cross-region replication egress.
Lifecycle Tiering & Management
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsS3 Lifecycle: Free (PUT transition $0.01/1000). Intelligent-Tiering: $0.0025/1000 objects monitoring fee + auto $0.023→$0.004→$0.00099/GB-mo tiers | Free first 1M objects monitored. MinIO ILM $0. Rclone $0. Cost savings 40-95% via tiering. Overage minimal, automation free.
Encryption at Rest & KMS (SSE-S3, SSE-KMS, CSE)
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsSSE-S3: $0 free. KMS: $1/key/mo + $0.03/10k requests + $0.20/10k ECC. Free: 2000 KMS free tier req. MinIO KES $0 + storage cost. B2 SSE $0 included. CloudHSM $1.60/hr (~$1160/mo). Google KMS $1/key version + $0.03/10k ops. Rotation free, audit logs extra $0.25/GB.
Storage Access Control / IAM, Bucket Policies, ACLs
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsAWS IAM+S3 Policies: $0 free. R2 tokens: $0 free up to 1000 tokens. Okta: $2/user/mo SSO, $8/user/mo advanced | Free 100 MAU dev. ABAC audit: CloudTrail $2.50/100k events (90d free). Access analyzer free. Overage: policy eval $0.
Object Storage - Zero Egress S3-Compatible (Global Edge)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsR2: $0.015/GB-mo, $0 egress, Class A $4.50/M, Class B $0.36/M | Free 10GB storage + 10M reads + 10M writes free /mo forever. Wasabi: $6.99/TB/mo flat (~$0.00699/GB-mo) zero egress, zero API fees, 90-day min, 1TB min. IDrive e2: Free 10GB | Paid first year $4/TB promo then $10/TB/yr ($0.00083/GB-mo) – cheapest. Storj: $4/TB-mo + $7/TB egress, Free 25GB.
File Storage - SMB / Windows Share (FSx, Azure Files)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsFSx Windows: $0.10/GB-mo + $0.13/GB backup + $0.01/hr throughput | Free no tier. SMB OSS $0 + VM. Azure Files SMB: Standard $0.06/GB-mo transactions $0.015/10k, Premium $0.16/GB-mo + snapshot $0.06/GB-mo | Free 5GB 12mo. Hetzner Box SMB same $0.004/GB-mo. NetApp ONTAP $0.20/GB-mo.
Archiving - Deep Cold Archive (12hr+ restore)
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsDeep Archive: $0.00099/GB-mo ($0.99/TB-mo) + $0.02/GB bulk restore $0.025/GB standard restore 12hr + $0.025/1000 req | Min 180 days storage + 40KB overhead. Azure Archive: $0.00099/GB-mo + $0.10/GB rehydrate high priority. Glacier Flexible: $0.0036/GB-mo + $0.01/GB expedited $0.03. Overage restore example 1TB bulk ~$20 + storage.
Disaster Recovery - Basic Failover Replication
Copies of your data so a bug, hack, or outage doesn’t become permanent loss. Cheap insurance every serious project needs.Pricing & free-tier limitsAWS DRS: $0.045/GB-mo staging + $0.10/GB failover egress + EC2 recovery cost PAYG | Free 50 servers 30d trial. Zerto: ~$100k/yr enterprise for 100 VMs (~$83/VM/mo). Veeam DR: $15/VM/mo Orchestrator. DIY rclone $0 + storage $6/TB-mo. RTO 15min, RPO 1 sec-5 min.
Object Lock / Immutability / WORM / Retention
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsS3 Object Lock: $0 feature + storage $0.023/GB-mo (compliance retention cannot be deleted). MinIO OSS $0 WORM. B2 Object Lock: $0 + $0.006/GB-mo flat. Wasabi Compliance: $6.99/TB-mo immutability included, 90-day min. Veeam immutable repo free with hardened Linux. Legal hold fee $0, audit extra.
Storage Gateway - Hybrid On-Prem Sync & Cache
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsAWS SG VM Appliance: Free VM + $125/gateway/mo File Gateway + $0.023/GB stored + $0.01/GB data written. TrueNAS OSS $0 + hardware. Synology C2 1TB $70/yr (~$5.83/mo). Data Box Disk $0 appliance rental + storage. Rclone free bandwidth $0, PAYG S3 $0.023/GB-mo.
Multipart Upload & Transfer Acceleration
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsS3 Multipart: $0 free over 5GB required. Transfer Accel: $0.04/GB + edge accel (up to 500% faster) + S3 costs | Free eval. Bunny Accel: $0.01/GB delivery. Aspera: $0.80/hr + $0.12/GB. Rclone bandwidth free, 95% cheaper for 1TB uploads: Accel ~$40 vs standard $0. AWS free 100GB transfer acc trial.
Storage Analytics & Cost Explorer
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsStorage Lens Free: 28d metrics free. Advanced: $0.20/M objects/mo (e.g., 100M objects $20/mo) + CloudWatch metrics $0.15/M. Cost Explorer free. Datadog Log Analytics: $1.70/M events + infra $15/host. Infracost free OSS $0, Cloud pricing API $49/mo team. Savings: analytics typically 20-30% cost cut.
Block Storage - High IOPS Provisioned (io2, Extreme)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsio2 Block Express: $0.125/GB-mo + $0.065/prov IOPS-mo (up to 256k IOPS, 4000 MB/s) | 99.999% SLA. io2 $0.125/GB. GCP Extreme: $0.125/GB-mo + $0.10/IOPS-mo beyond base. Azure Ultra: $0.000153/GB/hr ~$0.112/GB-mo + IOPS $0.000032/hr. Free local NVMe $0 but ephemeral (300k IOPS). Pure CBS $0.15/GB-mo + license.
File Storage - High Performance Parallel (Lustre, ONTAP, EFS)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsFSx Lustre: $0.14/GB-mo HDD Persist, $0.20/GB-mo SSD, $1.20/GB scratch for AI | Throughput 12GB/s per fs. Filestore High Scale SSD: $0.30/GB-mo min 1TB $300/mo, Enterprise $0.45/GB-mo. JuiceFS HPC: $0 software + Redis $15/mo + S3 backend $0.015/GB-mo. Azure NetApp 4TB min $400/mo ($0.10/GB).
Backup Service - Application-Consistent DB Backup (RDS, SQL, SAP)
Persistent storage for your app’s data — users, products, orders. The single most important architectural decision for most projects.Pricing & free-tier limitsAWS Backup RDS: $0.095/GB-mo backup > free tier + $0.10/GB restore | Snapshot free tier 100GB-mo for snapshots. WAL-G OSS $0 + storage $6/TB. Rubrik Cloud $0.10/GB-mo + $1500/mo platform min | Free 90-day eval 1TB. Veeam DB plugin $18/VM/mo. Borg $0 self-host, dedup 10x savings.
Disaster Recovery - Orchestrated Runbook & Failover Testing
Copies of your data so a bug, hack, or outage doesn’t become permanent loss. Cheap insurance every serious project needs.Pricing & free-tier limitsAWS Resilience Hub: $0 free assessment + DRS $0.045/GB-mo staging. Route53 health $0.50/check/mo + $0.50 failover. Terraform OSS $0. Zerto Orch: ~$100k/yr for 100 VMs includes runbook AI, non-disruptive testing hourly. Veeam Orch $20/VM/mo ($200/yr) includes 1-click failover + testing.
Cross-Region Replication & Global Namespace
Runs in multiple regions for speed and resilience. Enterprise-grade reliability and the hardest to retrofit.Pricing & free-tier limitsS3 MRAP: $0.0033/GB data routed + $0.20/hr per MRAP + storage $0.023/GB-mo + $0.09/GB inter-region xfer. MinIO Site Repl free $0. R2: single global namespace auto, no replication fees, $0.015/GB-mo. Wasabi replication $6.99/TB-mo both regions ($14/TB). GCS Turbolift $0.01/GB transfer + storage $0.020.
Data Deduplication & Compression (Backup & Storage)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsFSx ONTAP dedup/compression inclusive ~50% savings $0 extra license. OSS dedup $0 + compute, ratio typically 3:1-10:1 reduces B2 $6/TB to $0.60-2/TB effective. Data Domain Virtual Edition $30k/yr 16TB license ~$156/TB/mo but 30:1. ZSTD compression $0 OSS 2-4x. Effective cost 1TB deduped ~$1.50-3/mo B2.
Ransomware Detection & Anomaly Scan (Backup Immutability)
Copies of your data so a bug, hack, or outage doesn’t become permanent loss. Cheap insurance every serious project needs.Pricing & free-tier limitsGuardDuty S3 Malware: $0.04/GB scanned + $1.50/M eval events | Free 30-day trial. S3 Malware Protection: $0.04/GB scan. ClamAV OSS $0 + compute $0.02/GB scan time. Rubrik Sensitive Data Discovery $0.05/GB-mo + platform fee. Veeam ONE $8/VM/mo includes ransomware scan. Datadog Security $0.20/GB ingested.
Storage Audit Logging & Compliance (SOC2, HIPAA)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsCloudTrail Data Events: $0.10/100k S3 events | Management free 1 trail. S3 Access Logs $0 storage only $0.023/GB-mo logs. Config $0.003/rule eval. MinIO audit $0 + Loki $0 storage PAYG. Vanta $18000/yr compliance monitoring (~$1500/mo). Drata $14000/yr (~$1167/mo). Datadog Audit Trail $0.20/GB.
PrivateLink / Private Endpoint for Storage (VPC private)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsS3 Gateway Endpoint $0 free. Interface Endpoint (PrivateLink): $0.01/hr (~$7.20/mo) + $0.01/GB processed | Free first AZ data processed 1GB free promo. Tailscale free 3 users 100 devices self-host exit fee $0. Cloudflare Tunnel $0 ingress free. Equinix Fabric port $200/mo + $0.03/GB. PrivateLink saves egress $0.09-> $0.01/GB.
Storage Firewall / WAF for Buckets / DDoS Protection
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsAWS WAF: $6/rule/mo + $0.60/M req + $1.00/M text inspection | 1 rule $5. Shield Advanced $3000/mo + $0.05/GB DDoS mitigation data transfer. Cloudflare WAF Free 5 rules + $5/mo Pro 20 rules, managed $20/mo + $0 egress. Bunny WAF $20/mo + $0.01/GB. Fastly: $0.0075/req min $500/mo.
Snapshot Management & Scheduling (EBS, File, Object)
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsEBS Snapshot Standard: $0.05/GB-mo (incremental), Archive Tier $0.0125/GB-mo (75% cheaper) + $0.01/1000 PUT. DLM free policy orchestration. Hetzner Snapshot 20% of volume cost per snapshot ~$0.01/GB-mo. N2WS $0.01/GB-mo backup ~ $2k/mo for 10TB. Druva $0.40/GB-mo all-in + unlimited snapshots.
How this professional storage and backup checklist works.
Each requirement below is something a professional storage and backup build typically needs. Pick one of the four researched options — recommended, free, cheaper or paid — add your own with "Other", or skip the requirement if your project doesn't need it. Nothing is mandatory; the plan on the right tracks what you've decided so nothing gets forgotten.
Your picks are saved in this browser automatically, so you can come back anytime. Options are researched per build level and refreshed as vendors change their plans — always verify details on the provider's page before committing.