Best S3-Compatible Object Storage 2026: Cloud Storage APIs Compared
We rank cloud object storage for developers and businesses — services you reach through an API, usually the Amazon S3 API, to keep backups, media, logs and application files. Only facts from the providers' own pages count: the pay-as-you-go price of standard (hot) storage per GB-month, the price of data transfer out to the internet (egress), a permanent free tier, the minimum storage duration, S3 API compatibility, the number of regions, versioning, lifecycle rules, Object Lock (immutable storage), encryption at rest, SOC 2 or ISO 27001, the uptime percentage in a published SLA, a public status page and the year the company started. Every fact links to an official page with a check date. This is not a ranking of consumer cloud drives such as Google Drive or Dropbox: those are in our cloud storage ranking. We do not run speed tests or use reviews, and paid placements never change the Score.
| # | Company | Who it serves | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Backblaze B2 | 85 | $0.00695 | $0.01 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | 99.9% | Free S3 API Object Lock SOC 2/ISO |
| 2 | Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage | 76 | $0.00799 | $0.00 | No | Yes | 16 | Yes | Not verified | S3 API Object Lock SOC 2/ISO |
| 3 | OVHcloud Object Storage | 74 | $0.01463 | $0.00 | Not verified | Yes | 10 | Yes | Not verified | S3 API Object Lock SOC 2/ISO |
| 4 | Cloudflare R2 | 70 | $0.015 | $0.00 | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Yes | 99.9% | Free S3 API Object Lock |
| 5 | Storj Object Storage | 67 | $0.007 | $0.007 | No | Yes | Not verified | Yes | 99.95% | S3 API Object Lock |
| 6 | Google Cloud Storage | 63 | $0.022 | $0.11176 | Yes | Not verified | 46 | Yes | 99.95% | Free Object Lock SOC 2/ISO |
| 7 | DigitalOcean Spaces | 63 | $0.01863 | $0.00931 | No | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | 99.9% | S3 API SOC 2/ISO |
| 8 | IDrive e2 | 63 | $0.006 | Not verified | No | Yes | 15 | Yes | Not verified | S3 API Object Lock SOC 2/ISO |
| 9 | Amazon S3 | 44 | $0.023 | $0.09 | No | Yes | Not verified | Yes | Not verified | S3 API Object Lock SOC 2/ISO |
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.00695
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.01
- Permanent free tier
- Yes
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- 4
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- 99.9%
Pros
- Free or cheap egress
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- Independently audited security
- High uptime in a published SLA
Details Visit site ↗ 95% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.00799
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.00
- Permanent free tier
- No
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- 16
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- Not verified
Pros
- Free or cheap egress
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- Independently audited security
- Works with the Amazon S3 API
Cons
- No permanent free tier
Details Visit site ↗ 90% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.01463
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.00
- Permanent free tier
- Not verified
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- 10
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- Not verified
Pros
- Free or cheap egress
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- Independently audited security
- Works with the Amazon S3 API
Details Visit site ↗ 84% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.015
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.00
- Permanent free tier
- Yes
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- Not verified
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- 99.9%
Pros
- Free or cheap egress
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- High uptime in a published SLA
- Works with the Amazon S3 API
Cons
- No confirmed object versioning
Details Visit site ↗ 83% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.007
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.007
- Permanent free tier
- No
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- Not verified
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- 99.95%
Pros
- Free or cheap egress
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- High uptime in a published SLA
- Works with the Amazon S3 API
Cons
- No permanent free tier
- No confirmed lifecycle rules
Details Visit site ↗ 83% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.022
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.11176
- Permanent free tier
- Yes
- S3 API compatible
- Not verified
- Regions (provider's count)
- 46
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- 99.95%
Pros
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- Independently audited security
- High uptime in a published SLA
- Many regions to choose from
Cons
- Expensive egress
Details Visit site ↗ 88% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.01863
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.00931
- Permanent free tier
- No
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- Not verified
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Not verified
- Uptime SLA
- 99.9%
Pros
- Free or cheap egress
- Independently audited security
- High uptime in a published SLA
- Works with the Amazon S3 API
Cons
- No permanent free tier
Details Visit site ↗ 83% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.006
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- Not verified
- Permanent free tier
- No
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- 15
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- Not verified
Pros
- Low storage price per GB-month
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- Independently audited security
- Works with the Amazon S3 API
Cons
- No permanent free tier
Details Visit site ↗ 73% backed by facts
-
- Storage price per GB-month (standard class)
- $0.023
- Egress price per GB (to the internet)
- $0.09
- Permanent free tier
- No
- S3 API compatible
- Yes
- Regions (provider's count)
- Not verified
- Object Lock (immutable storage)
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- Not verified
Pros
- Object Lock for immutable backups
- Independently audited security
- Works with the Amazon S3 API
- Encrypts stored data
Cons
- Expensive egress
- No permanent free tier
Details Visit site ↗ 73% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- Hetzner Object Storage (61% backed by facts)
- Oracle Cloud Object Storage (site closed to automated checks, )
- Scaleway Object Storage (site closed to automated checks, )
- Vultr Object Storage (site closed to automated checks, )
Sites marked as closed refuse automated reading (403 error, captcha or a robots.txt ban). We don't bypass such protection, so we can't verify their facts and they are not ranked. This says nothing about their quality. A company can send links to its official pages to [email protected].
How we calculate the Score
35%
Price
The pay-as-you-go price of the standard (hot) storage class per GB-month for a US or EU region at the first volume tier, as printed on the official pricing page or in the provider's official machine-readable price file: $0 scores 100, $0.03 or more scores 0 (weight 3). A price per TB-month is divided by 1,000, a price per GiB by 1.073741824 and per TiB by 1,099.511627776; an hourly price counts only if the page itself states the monthly equivalent. A price without a stated period, a price drawn only by a script or a price in a currency chosen by our visitor location stays empty. Also the price per GB of data transfer out to the internet beyond any free allowance: $0 scores 100, $0.10 or more scores 0, and a provider that states egress is free gets $0 (weight 2). Also a permanent free tier of storage (weight 1); a trial or one-time credit does not count.
20%
API and features
Compatibility with the Amazon S3 API, so existing tools and SDKs work (weight 2); the number of regions or data-centre locations where the provider offers object storage, on a logarithmic scale up to 30 (weight 2); object versioning (weight 1) and lifecycle rules that expire or move objects automatically (weight 1). Features in preview or beta do not count.
25%
Data protection
Object Lock or another documented way to make objects immutable (WORM) for a retention period, which protects backups from ransomware and accidental deletion (weight 2); encryption of stored data at rest (weight 1); and an independent SOC 2 audit or ISO 27001 certification of the provider (weight 2).
20%
Reliability and trust
The monthly uptime percentage in the provider's published SLA document for the standard storage class, on a straight line from 99% (0 points) to 100% (100 points) (weight 2); availability or durability figures from marketing pages are not an SLA and do not count. Also a public status page (weight 1) and how long the company has been running: 20 years or more scores 100 (weight 1).
How to choose object storage
Estimate storage and downloads
Write down how many terabytes you will store, how fast that grows and how much you download each month. Storage price per GB-month and egress price per GB together decide most of the bill; request fees and minimum charges add the rest.
Check minimums and hidden costs
Some providers bill a minimum storage duration (for example 30 or 90 days) or a minimum amount of storage per month, and deleting data early is charged as if you had kept it. Read these terms if you keep many short-lived files.
Make sure your tools work
Most backup software, SDKs and command-line tools speak the Amazon S3 API. Check that the provider supports the operations you need, such as versioning, lifecycle rules and Object Lock, and that it has a region close to your servers or users.
Protect backups and read the SLA
For backups, turn on versioning and Object Lock so that ransomware or a mistake cannot delete your copies. For business data, read the published SLA, look at the status page history and consider a second copy with another provider.
Frequently asked questions
Which object storage is best?
The service in first place has the highest Score under our open method, but the right choice depends on your workload. Estimate how much data you store, how much you download each month and where your users are, then compare the full bill and the features you need, such as Object Lock for backups or many regions for low latency.
How do you compare object storage prices?
We take the pay-as-you-go price of the standard (hot) storage class per GB-month and the price per GB of egress to the internet, as printed on the provider's official pricing page or in its official machine-readable price file (for Amazon S3, the AWS Price List API). A price per TB is divided by 1,000; a price per GiB is converted to GB (divided by 1.073741824), and the original GiB price is quoted in the source note. We do not use prices in other currencies, prices drawn only by a script, or hourly prices without a monthly figure on the page.
Why does Amazon S3 rank low and Hetzner stay outside the ranking?
Amazon S3 has a higher storage and egress price than most providers here, no permanent free tier, and its SLA table and region count are drawn by a script, so those facts stay empty and score 0. Hetzner publishes Object Storage prices only in euros and as a bundle with a per-TB-hour rate, which we do not convert, so it stays below the data completeness threshold and is listed outside the ranking. Neither says anything about the quality of the services.
What is egress and why does it matter?
Egress is the data you download from storage to the internet. Some providers charge for every gigabyte, others give a free allowance tied to the amount you store, and some charge nothing. For media, downloads or a busy website, egress can cost more than storage itself, so look at both prices.
Why are Scaleway, Oracle and Vultr not ranked?
Their websites refused our crawler (HTTP 403 or a bot challenge) when we checked them. We do not bypass protection, so we have no facts for these services and list them outside the ranking with a note.