8 Best AWS S3 Alternatives (2026)

The closest alternatives to AWS S3 are Backblaze B2, Bunny Storage, Cloudflare R2 and DigitalOcean Spaces, with 4 more below. Each shares a comparison category with it, so every rationale here names both tools' real values. AWS S3 is 11th of 11 on Egress $/TB ($90 /TB), usually where a switch starts.

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Why do people look for AWS S3 alternatives?

Most people searching for AWS S3 alternatives are not shopping, they already run it and something has stopped fitting.
That something is usually a specific number rather than a feeling.
This page starts from the fields where AWS S3 genuinely trails the rosters it appears in, and only then covers the reasons that never show up in a table.

The measured reasons.

Egress $/TB, $90 /TB, the weakest of the 11 here. Cloudflare R2 records $0 /TB.
True cost /mo (USD), $472.6 /mo, the weakest of the 9 here. Hetzner Object Storage records $12.47 /mo.
Storage $/TB/mo, $23 /TB/mo, the weakest of the 11 here. Storj records $4 /TB/mo.
True cost /mo (AUD), A$718.35 /mo, the weakest of the 9 here. Hetzner Object Storage records A$18.95 /mo.
Class A $/M ops, $5 /M ops, 11th of 12. Backblaze B2 records $0 /M ops.

Any one of those is enough on its own if you sized your architecture around it.
None of them is enough if you didn't, which is why the list is short and specific rather than a general case against AWS S3.

The reasons that never make it into a table.

A price rise after a funding round.
A licence change that turns a self-host into a subscription.
A region you now need and they do not have.
An acquisition.
A support experience that quietly degrades.
None of those are fields, and all of them move teams, which is why every entry below links back to S3-compatible storage, where the full field set and its sources live.
The ones we catch get logged on the AWS S3 timeline.

How the shortlist is ordered.

Every tool below shares at least one comparison category with AWS S3, sorted by how many categories the two overlap in.
There is no editorial ranking, no sponsorship and no affiliate link, the order is the overlap count.
The rationale under each is generated from the two tools' own cells, so it names real values rather than adjectives.

1.Backblaze B2

Backblaze B2, Cheap US and EU object storage with free egress up to three times stored volume.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on True cost /mo (USD) ($26.95 /mo against $472.6 /mo), Egress $/TB ($10 /TB against $90 /TB) and True cost /mo (AUD) (A$40.96 /mo against A$718.35 /mo).
What you give up: Sydney region (No, where AWS S3 records Yes) and Official MCP server (No, where AWS S3 records Yes).
Best for backup and archive targets where object lock matters and latency does not.
The sensible cheap, feature-complete middle, but no APAC region rules it out for Australia.

Where Backblaze B2 and AWS S3 actually differ

True cost /mo (USD): $26.95/moAWS S3: $472.6 /mo
Sydney region: NoAWS S3: Yes
Egress $/TB: $10/TBAWS S3: $90 /TB
True cost /mo (AUD): A$40.96/moAWS S3: A$718.35 /mo
Class A $/M ops: $0/M opsAWS S3: $5 /M ops
Official MCP server: NoAWS S3: Yes

Backblaze B2 profile Compare in S3-compatible storage

2.Bunny Storage

Bunny Storage, Edge storage built as a CDN origin, with its own API rather than a faithful S3 one.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on Egress $/TB ($10 /TB against $90 /TB), True cost /mo (USD) ($60 /mo against $472.6 /mo) and Class A $/M ops ($0 /M ops against $5 /M ops).
What you give up: S3 API coverage (30 %, where AWS S3 records 100 %) and Versioning (No, where AWS S3 records Yes).
Best for static sites, images and video served to a global audience through Bunny's CDN.
A CDN origin with storage attached, not an object store; superb Sydney delivery, but no S3 semantics.

Where Bunny Storage and AWS S3 actually differ

S3 API coverage: 30%AWS S3: 100 %
Egress $/TB: $10/TBAWS S3: $90 /TB
True cost /mo (USD): $60/moAWS S3: $472.6 /mo
Versioning: NoAWS S3: Yes
Object lock / WORM: NoAWS S3: Yes
Lifecycle rules: NoAWS S3: Yes

Bunny Storage profile Compare in S3-compatible storage

3.Cloudflare R2

Cloudflare R2, S3-compatible object storage with zero egress fees, on Cloudflare's network.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on Egress $/TB ($0 /TB against $90 /TB), True cost /mo (USD) ($22.74 /mo against $472.6 /mo) and True cost /mo (AUD) (A$34.56 /mo against A$718.35 /mo).
What you give up: Versioning (No, where AWS S3 records Yes) and IAM granularity (3, where AWS S3 records 5).
Best for public assets, media and package registries where egress dwarfs storage.
The default for read-heavy work, the only provider where egress stops being a line item.

Where Cloudflare R2 and AWS S3 actually differ

Egress $/TB: $0/TBAWS S3: $90 /TB
True cost /mo (USD): $22.74/moAWS S3: $472.6 /mo
Versioning: NoAWS S3: Yes
True cost /mo (AUD): A$34.56/moAWS S3: A$718.35 /mo
IAM granularity: 3AWS S3: 5
True cost from Sydney (AUD): A$34.56/moAWS S3: A$900.14 /mo

Cloudflare R2 profile AWS S3 vs Cloudflare R2 Compare in S3-compatible storage

4.DigitalOcean Spaces

DigitalOcean Spaces, Bundled object storage plus free CDN, priced as a flat base fee with overages.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on Egress $/TB ($10 /TB against $90 /TB), True cost /mo (USD) ($60 /mo against $472.6 /mo) and Class A $/M ops ($0 /M ops against $5 /M ops).
What you give up: Versioning (No, where AWS S3 records Yes) and Object lock / WORM (No, where AWS S3 records Yes).
Best for static assets and user uploads served from Sydney with a bundled CDN.
Buy it for the bundling and Sydney region, not the feature set; no versioning or bucket events.

Where DigitalOcean Spaces and AWS S3 actually differ

Egress $/TB: $10/TBAWS S3: $90 /TB
True cost /mo (USD): $60/moAWS S3: $472.6 /mo
Versioning: NoAWS S3: Yes
Object lock / WORM: NoAWS S3: Yes
Event notifications: NoAWS S3: Yes
Class A $/M ops: $0/M opsAWS S3: $5 /M ops

DigitalOcean Spaces profile Compare in S3-compatible storage

5.Hetzner Object Storage

Hetzner Object Storage, The cheapest credible S3 endpoint in Europe, with a deliberately thin feature set.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on Egress $/TB ($1.38 /TB against $90 /TB), True cost /mo (USD) ($12.47 /mo against $472.6 /mo) and True cost /mo (AUD) (A$18.95 /mo against A$718.35 /mo).
What you give up: Sydney region (No, where AWS S3 records Yes) and Object lock / WORM (No, where AWS S3 records Yes).
Best for CI artefacts, build caches and cold backups where the bill is the point.
Wins the headline number by a mile but loses on features; great for caches, wrong as a system of record.

Where Hetzner Object Storage and AWS S3 actually differ

Egress $/TB: $1.38/TBAWS S3: $90 /TB
True cost /mo (USD): $12.47/moAWS S3: $472.6 /mo
Sydney region: NoAWS S3: Yes
Object lock / WORM: NoAWS S3: Yes
TTFB from Sydney: 300msAWS S3: 25 ms
Event notifications: NoAWS S3: Yes

Hetzner Object Storage profile Compare in S3-compatible storage

6.iDrive e2

iDrive e2, USD 4/TB S3-compatible storage with zero-egress marketing and a fair-use cap.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on Egress $/TB ($0 /TB against $90 /TB), Storage $/TB/mo ($4 /TB/mo against $23 /TB/mo) and Class A $/M ops ($0 /M ops against $5 /M ops).
What you give up: Event notifications (No, where AWS S3 records Yes) and Official MCP server (No, where AWS S3 records Yes).
Best for backup and MSP workloads where storage volume dominates and reads are rare.
Cheapest storage alongside Storj, object lock included, but egress terms too illegible to price; fine for backups.

Where iDrive e2 and AWS S3 actually differ

Egress $/TB: $0/TBAWS S3: $90 /TB
Event notifications: NoAWS S3: Yes
Storage $/TB/mo: $4/TB/moAWS S3: $23 /TB/mo
Class A $/M ops: $0/M opsAWS S3: $5 /M ops
Official MCP server: NoAWS S3: Yes
CDN integration: noneAWS S3: first-party-paid

iDrive e2 profile Compare in S3-compatible storage

7.MinIO

MinIO, The self-hosted S3 reference implementation, your hardware, your bandwidth, your SLA.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on Class A $/M ops ($0 /M ops against $5 /M ops), Class B $/M ops ($0 /M ops against $0.4 /M ops) and GA year (2015 against 2006).
What you give up: CDN integration (diy, where AWS S3 records first-party-paid).
Best for on-premises or air-gapped deployments where data cannot leave your control.
The reference point, not a competitor; run it only if you already operate storage hardware.
Note that we carry MinIO as the do-it-yourself baseline in that roster, the "what if we just ran this ourselves" reference point.
The honest answer is usually that it is cheaper and considerably more work.

Where MinIO and AWS S3 actually differ

Class A $/M ops: $0/M opsAWS S3: $5 /M ops
Class B $/M ops: $0/M opsAWS S3: $0.4 /M ops
CDN integration: diyAWS S3: first-party-paid
GA year: 2,015AWS S3: 2006
Replication model: erasure-codedAWS S3: multi-az
S3 API coverage: 98%AWS S3: 100 %

MinIO profile Compare in S3-compatible storage

8.Scaleway Object Storage

Scaleway Object Storage, European-sovereign S3 storage with multi-AZ classes and a real IAM system.
It meets AWS S3 in S3-compatible storage.
It is ahead on Egress $/TB ($11.6 /TB against $90 /TB), True cost /mo (USD) ($72.8 /mo against $472.6 /mo) and Class A $/M ops ($0 /M ops against $5 /M ops).
What you give up: Sydney region (No, where AWS S3 records Yes) and TTFB from Sydney (300 ms, where AWS S3 records 25 ms).
Best for EU data residency obligations with a European legal entity behind them.
The most feature-complete non-hyperscaler, but 300 ms away; pick it when EU data residency is required.

Where Scaleway Object Storage and AWS S3 actually differ

Sydney region: NoAWS S3: Yes
Egress $/TB: $11.6/TBAWS S3: $90 /TB
True cost /mo (USD): $72.8/moAWS S3: $472.6 /mo
TTFB from Sydney: 300msAWS S3: 25 ms
Class A $/M ops: $0/M opsAWS S3: $5 /M ops
Official MCP server: NoAWS S3: Yes

Scaleway Object Storage profile Compare in S3-compatible storage

How this list was built

There is no editorial ranking on this page and no sponsorship behind it. The order is mechanical: every tool that shares a comparison category with AWS S3, sorted by how many categories the two overlap in. A tool that meets AWS S3 in three rosters sits above one that meets it in a single roster, because more overlap means the comparison is more like-for-like.

The rationale under each entry is composed from the two tools' own cells. Where they differ on a field we score, the sentence names both values and the unit. Where they don't differ, it says so instead of manufacturing a distinction, which is why some entries are short.

Values, sources and verification dates all live on the category tables: S3-compatible storage. If a figure here disagrees with a vendor's current pricing page, the vendor is right and we are stale.

Still deciding whether to move at all? The AWS S3 profile has the when-to-use and when-not-to-use blocks, and the AWS S3 timeline has the dated changes that usually trigger a migration.