{
  "id": 1272952,
  "title": "Backblaze B2 vs Self-Hosted S3: Which Saves More Money?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/backblaze-b2-vs-self-hosted-s3-which-saves-more-money",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-16T13:21:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/ethan-carter/backblaze-b2-vs-self-hosted-s3-which-saves-more-money-4gp8"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Backblaze B2 and self-hosted S3 (RustFS or MinIO) are two cloud storage options that have different pricing structures and capabilities. Backblaze B2 offers a simple pricing model with a flat rate of $0.00695/GB/month for storage, no charges for uploads, and free egress up to three times your stored capacity. After that, the cost is $0.01/GB.\n\nOn the other hand, self-hosted S3 offers more flexibility and functionality but comes with higher costs. The self-hosted option costs approximately $38 for 1 TB, $53 for 10 TB, $142 for 50 TB, $253 for 100 TB, and $917 for 500 TB, considering hardware amortization and operational costs over 36 months.\n\nThe crossover point between B2 and self-hosted S3 is around 7 TB. For most backup and archive workloads, B2's convenience and predictable pricing usually make it the more cost-effective choice. However, for active workloads with frequent reads and writes, self-hosted S3 becomes more economical around the same storage volume.\n\nB2's egress (data transfer out) is free up to three times your stored capacity, with a $0.01/GB charge beyond that. In most backup and archive workloads, download costs are effectively zero due to the generous free egress tier. In contrast, self-hosted S3 has no egress costs at all since it uses your own network and bandwidth.\n\nIn summary, Backblaze B2 is ideal for simple, predictable storage needs at a low cost, especially for backups and archives. Self-hosted S3, while more expensive, offers greater flexibility, functionality, and potentially lower costs for active workloads with higher egress demands. A hybrid approach, using B2 for cold storage and self-hosted S3 for hot data, can also be an effective solution depending on the specific requirements of the workload.",
  "summary": "Backblaze B2 vs Self-Hosted S3: Which Actually Saves More Money in 2026? Backblaze B2's pricing is about as simple as cloud storage gets: $0.00695/GB/month (~$6.95/TB/mo) for storage, no charge for uploads, and free egress up to 3× your stored capacity (then $0.01/GB). No storage tiers, no retrieval classes, no egress spreadsheet. For backups, archives, and media libraries that combination tends…",
  "key_points": [
    "Backblaze B2 offers flat $0.00695/GB/month storage pricing",
    "Self-hosted S3 costs $38 for 1 TB, $253 for 100 TB",
    "B2's egress is free up to three times stored capacity"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}