What backup options in the cloud are available for photographers?
The more data you accumulate over the years, the more you have to worry about backups. Backups are important, especially when it comes to professional data or customer files.
Finding the right backup strategy for your own needs is not easy, because there is no universal answer and the requirements are so different. Admittedly, dealing with it can be a bit annoying, but the loss of data is much more annoying.
Table of Contents
- Requirements
- Provider
- Alibaba Cloud
- Storage
- Recovery
- Amazon Web Services
- Storage
- Recovery
- Backblaze
- Storage
- Recovery
- Digitalocean
- Storage
- Recovery
- Dreamhost
- Storage
- Recovery
- Google Cloud
- Storage
- Recovery
- Huawei Cloud
- Storage
- Recovery
- JD Cloud
- Storage
- Recovery
- OVH
- Storage
- Recovery
- Strato
- Storage
- Recovery
- Tencent Cloud
- Storage
- Recovery
- Wasabi
- Storage
- Recovery
- Comparison
- Storage
- USA
- Europa
- Asien
- Recovery
- USA
- Europa
- Asien
- Compatibility with Amazon S3 API
- Conclusion
Requirements
As already mentioned, the requirements can vary greatly. In this article I would like to deal with the requirements of photographers and photo businesses. Most of it can easily be transferred to other areas.
The focus in this article will be on online backups. In addition to the original data you should also have at least one more offline backup.
The biggest obstacle for photographers regarding backups is the sheer amount of large files.
Personally, I would rule out a special backup service. The reason for this is that you usually only get fixed packages, depend heavily on the provider, often have no real influence on the encryption and depend on the provider’s software. Also the integration of several devices, team members or employees is not so easy.
Also excluded from this overview are the offers of Dropbox, Google One / Google Drive and Amazon Cloud Drive. Here you also pay in packages, the services are more designed for the sync of files and sometimes only a certain total size of storage is offered. Of course it can make sense to use these services as backup service if you are already a customer.
So what is left? For the storage of large amounts of files in the cloud, I would recommend a provider of object storage. What is Object Storage? Object storage is an architecture for storing computer data that manages data as objects, as opposed to file systems that manage data as a file hierarchy. From the customer’s point of view, it is (almost) unlimited storage space for their own data. This type of service is used by Facebook for storing profile pictures and Dropbox is also based on it.
There is no limit to how much data can be stored with such a provider. The limit remains of course the wallet. With a few exceptions, you will only be charged for what you actually use.
You don’t have to worry about the maintenance, like when you run your own server.
You can upload your data directly via a web interface with most providers, but probably the fewest use this option. Mainly data is stored on the servers via an API interface. The most common API is certainly the S3-API. It was developed by Amazon and there is a lot of software that can be connected to it.
Provider
Which provider do you use as a target for your photo backups? Again, there is no definitive answer, otherwise this article would be much shorter. The choice depends on your own preferences, of course.
One of the most important factors as a photographer will certainly be the price, especially if you want to store several terabytes of photos.
Another point can be the location of the provider. Not only the location of the company is important here, but also the location of the data center. In order to guarantee a fast upload of the backup data, it should not be too far away geographically. Furthermore, especially when working with customer data, you should find out whether you are legally bound to your own country. Of course you should encrypt every backup with a strong password before uploading.
In this article I introduce twelve different providers of storage space for the backup of photographers. Of course there are a lot more possibilities. Of course I could not test all of them. But they are all big providers or long established companies, so you don’t have to worry about the backup and the company disappearing tomorrow.
Most providers have a S3 compatible interface, if not this is mentioned again separately.
Some providers sell different classes of storage. The difference is mostly in the speed of retrieval and is sometimes clearly reflected in the price. The price for storage is usually much lower, but for the recovery / retrieval are additional costs.
Let’s come to the costs. As already mentioned, you pay for what you use. Calculations are made per time unit, which the file is stored by the respective provider. In addition, there are sometimes costs for using the API. I have omitted these in this article for reasons of clarity. Usually they are, depending on the usage, in the single-digit cent range for a backup. Also not included are any free contingents.
The upload is free with all providers, they are interested in storing as much data as possible. The situation is different for downloading files. Here, sometimes steep prices are charged. Therefore you should take a close look at this, especially if you access your backup often.
All prices are in US dollars and are from April 2020. The prices for storage are in GB per month. Recovery prices include the price of traffic and, if applicable, the cost of recovery (standard recovery time).
Where available, each provider has a location in Asia, Europe and the USA. For better comparability, I have always chosen Frankfurt (Germany), North Virginia (USA) and Singapore where possible. However, in some cases other locations in these regions are more favorable.
Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud is the cloud service provider of the Chinese group Alibaba. Alibaba can be described as the counterpart to Amazon.
The offer is also very similar to that of Amazon. The Object Storage Service (OSS) of Aliyun / Alibaba Cloud is compatible with Amazon S3. There are three storage classes to choose from. For the retrieval of Infrequent Access Storage and Archive Storage there are additional costs. The minimum storage period is 30 and 60 days.
When choosing the locations, you can choose between several in Europe, USA and Asia. A variety of options are available in China.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0185 | 0,0200 | 0,0200 |
| Infrequent Access | 0,010 | 0,010 | 0,015 |
| Archive | 0,0036 | 0,0041 | 0,0045 |
USA: North Virginia; EU: Frankfurt, Germany; ASIA: Singapore
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0760 | 0,0700 | 0,0800 |
| Infrequent Access | 0,0835 | 0,0775 | 0,0875 |
| Archive | 0,0860 | 0,0800 | 0,0900 |
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services, AWS for short, is the cloud part of Amazon. AWS is one of the market leaders in the cloud area. Not only Amazon.com is among the customers, but also a number of other well-known companies.
The Object Storage of AWS is called Simple Storage Service, short S3. Of course the S3 interface is supported.
The most important storage classes are Standard, Infrequent Access, Glacier and Glacier Deep Archive. Access to Glacier is charged additionally. Depending on how fast you need the data, the costs are higher. The advantage is the low price per month for storage. The minimum storage period is 30 days (Infrequent Access), 90 days (Glacier) and 180 days (Glacier Deep Archive). Even if you delete the files before, the time will be calculated.
AWS also has a variety of data centers around the world, so you can choose the one that suits you best.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0230 | 0,0245 | 0,025 |
| Infrequent Access | 0,0125 | 0,0135 | 0,0200 |
| Glacier | 0,0040 | 0,0045 | 0,0050 | Glacier Deep Archive | 0,00099 | 0,00180 | 0,00200 |
USA: North Virginia; EU: Frankfurt, Germany; ASIA: Singapore
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0900 | 0,0900 | 0,1200 |
| Infrequent Access | 0,0900 | 0,0900 | 0,1200 |
| Glacier | 0,1400 | 0,1500 | 0,1800 | Glacier Deep Archive | 0,1900 | 0,2100 | 0,2400 |
Backblaze
Backblaze is a US-American provider of backup software. The company was founded in 2007 and for some time now has been offering cloud storage that is independent of the backup software.
There is only one storage class. There is no compatibility to the S3-API. However, some backup programs offer the use of Backblaze B2. For the locations you only have the choice between USA and Europe.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,005 | 0,005 | – |
USA: Sacramento, California / Phoenix, Arizona; EU: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,01 | 0,01 | – |
Digitalocean
Digitalocean is a US-based provider of cloud infrastructure. The company was founded in New York City in 2011. At first, the company limited itself to the sale of virtual servers. In the meantime, the range of products on offer spans a wide variety of products. The product of interest for us is Digitalocean Spaces. The online storage is compatible with the S3 interface.
The price for the storage is the same for all available locations.
However, there is a minimum charge of 5 dollars per month. This includes 250 GB and 1 TB traffic. However, I still charge the stated $0.01 per gigabyte to calculate the cost of recovery.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,02 | 0,02 | 0,02 |
USA: New York; EU: Frankfurt, Germany; ASIA: Singapore
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,01 | 0,01 | 0,01 |
Dreamhost
Dreamhost is a web hosting provider based in California. The US-American company was founded in 1996. The cloud storage product is called DreamObjects and is compatible with the S3 API.
There is only one location in California and also only one storage class.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,025 | – | – |
USA: Irvine, California
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,05 | – | – |
Google Cloud
I probably don’t need to introduce Google. The Californian company is of course also involved in the highly competitive cloud market. Cloud storage is the product we are interested in.
Cloud storage is not compatible with S3, but is still supported by a good number of software.
There are four storage classes to choose from. Nearline has a minimum storage period of 30 days. With Cloudline it is 90 days and with Archive 365 days (1 year). The longer one binds oneself the cheaper the storage becomes. In contrast, recovery in the event of data loss is also significantly more expensive. Especially for archives you should take a close look at the price list from Google, not that you have to pay more than you expected.
Google also offers a worldwide network of locations. Partly the prices fluctuate strongly. Especially for the archive storage class there are some more favorable locations than in this overview here.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0230 | 0,0230 | 0,0200 |
| Nearline | 0,0130 | 0,0130 | 0,0100 |
| Coldline | 0,0060 | 0,0060 | 0,0050 | Archive | 0,0025 | 0,0025 | 0,0015 |
USA: North Virginia; EU: Frankfurt, Germany; ASIA: Singapore
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,1200 | 0,1200 | 0,1200 |
| Nearline | 0,0130 | 0,0130 | 0,0130 |
| Coldline | 0,1400 | 0,1400 | 0,1400 | Archive | 0,1700 | 0,1700 | 0,1700 |
Huawei Cloud
Huawei also joins the illustrious ranks of technology companies that have entered the cloud market. The Chinese company is aimed at companies in China itself.
However, the S3-compatible Object Storage Service offers some interesting locations, such as Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, Johannesburg or Santiago de Chile. Locations in the USA and Europe do not exist at this time.
There are also three storage classes here, based on Amazon S3. For Infrequent Access and Archive there is a minimum storage period of 30 days and 90 days respectively. For reading, additional costs are charged for both storage classes.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | – | 0,0230 |
| Infrequent Access | – | – | 0,0150 |
| Archive | – | – | 0,0050 |
ASIA: Singapore
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | – | 0,114 |
| Infrequent Access | – | – | 0,124 |
| Archive | – | – | 0,124 |
JD Cloud
Like Huawei, JD Cloud is only a fraction of the photographers who are interested in backup. JD Cloud is a subsidiary of JD.com (京东) an e-commerce company based in Beijing.
The Object Storage Service is also compatible with the S3 protocol. Currently there are only locations in China, more precisely Beijing, Suqian, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Here, too, the storage classes are directly oriented to Amazon. For the archive storage class, an additional fee is charged for access. The minimum storage period is 60 days. With Reduced Redundancy a lower availability is guaranteed. In everyday life, however, you will probably not notice a big difference.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | – | 0,018 |
| Reduced Redundancy | – | – | 0,0099 |
| Archive | – | – | 0,0099 |
ASIA: Beijing, China
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | – | 0,0710 |
| Reduced Redundancy | – | – | 0,0710 |
| Archive | – | – | 0,1560 |
OVH
OVH is a French company. The focus is on the operation of data centres and the corresponding servers. With the product “Object Storage” there is also a S3 compatible storage service. The servers for this are probably located in France, but this is not further specified on the page.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | 0,0130 | – |
EU: France
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | 0,0130 | – |
Strato
Strato is also a provider of servers and webspace. The German company belongs to the United Internet Group. HiDrive S3 is the name of the product compatible with S3. The servers for this are located in the Strato data centers in Karlsruhe / Berlin. This is also not specified further.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | 0,0200 | – |
EU: Germany
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | – | 0,0530 | – |
Tencent Cloud
Although not so well known in Europe and the USA, Tencent from Shenzhen is a true greatness. The technology company was founded in 1998 and is active in many areas with subsidiaries.
There are also three classes of memory. With Infrequent Access, files must be stored for at least 30 days. With archives, it is a full 90 days. In addition, there are fees for reading the backup.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,1810 | 0,0200 | 0,0220 |
| Infrequent Access | 0,0140 | 0,0140 | 0,0160 |
| Archive | 0,0045 | 0,0045 | 0,0050 |
USA: North Virginia; EU: Frankfurt, Germany; ASIA: Singapore
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0700 | 0,0700 | 0,0720 |
| Infrequent Access | 0,0720 | 0,0720 | 0,0750 |
| Archive | 0,0800 | 0,0800 | 0,0840 |
Wasabi
Wasabi Technologies is still quite new on the market. The US company was founded in 2015 by the founders of Carbonite (a backup service) and introduced its cloud storage product in 2017. The company caused a sensation with its low storage costs.
There is only one class of storage. The API is compatible with S3. There is no charge for outgoing traffic. But there is a minimum storage period of 90 days for a file and at least 1 TB per month is charged, even if you are below that.
Storage
| Class | 1GB/M (USA) | 1GB/M (EU) | 1GB/M (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0059 | 0,0059 | – |
USA: North Virginia; EU: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Recovery
| Class | 1GB (USA) | 1GB (EU) | 1GB (ASIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0,0000 | 0,0000 | – |
Comparison
Storage
Finally an overview of all providers for a backup. Most photographers will probably find themselves in a range from 500 GB to 5 TB.
USA
| Provider | 100GB/M | 1TB/M | 5TB/M | 1GB/M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Glacier Deep Archive | 0,099 $ | 0,99 $ | 4,95 $ | 0,00099 $ |
| Google Cloud Archive | 0,250 $ | 2,50 $ | 12,50 $ | 0,00250 $ |
| Alibaba Archive | 0,360 $ | 3,60 $ | 18,00 $ | 0,00360 $ |
| AWS Glacier | 0,400 $ | 4,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 0,00400 $ |
| Tencent Archive Storage | 0,450 $ | 4,50 $ | 22,50 $ | 0,00450 $ |
| Backblaze | 0,500 $ | 5,00 $ | 25,00 $ | 0,00500 $ |
| Wasabi | 0,590 $ | 5,90 $ | 29,50 $ | 0,00590 $ |
| Google Cloud Coldline | 0,600 $ | 6,00 $ | 30,00 $ | 0,00600 $ |
| Alibaba Infrequent Access | 1,000 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,01000 $ |
| AWS Infrequent Access | 1,250 $ | 12,50 $ | 62,50 $ | 0,01250 $ |
| Google Cloud Nearline | 1,300 $ | 13,00 $ | 65,00 $ | 0,01300 $ |
| Tencent Infrequent Access | 1,400 $ | 14,00 $ | 70,00 $ | 0,01400 $ |
| Tencent Standard | 1,810 $ | 18,10 $ | 90,50 $ | 0,01810 $ |
| Alibaba Standard | 1,850 $ | 18,50 $ | 92,50 $ | 0,01850 $ |
| Digitalocean | 2,000 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,02000 $ |
| AWS Standard | 2,300 $ | 23,00 $ | 115,00 $ | 0,02300 $ |
| Google Cloud Standard | 2,300 $ | 23,00 $ | 115,00 $ | 0,02300 $ |
| Dreamhost | 2,500 $ | 25,00 $ | 125,00 $ | 0,02500 $ |
Europa
| Provider | 100GB/M | 1TB/M | 5TB/M | 1GB/M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Glacier Deep Archive | 0,18 $ | 1,80 $ | 9,00 $ | 0,0018 $ |
| Google Cloud Archive | 0,25 $ | 2,50 $ | 12,50 $ | 0,0025 $ |
| Alibaba Archive | 0,41 $ | 4,10 $ | 20,50 $ | 0,0041 $ |
| AWS Glacier | 0,45 $ | 4,50 $ | 22,50 $ | 0,0045 $ |
| Tencent Archive Storage | 0,45 $ | 4,50 $ | 22,50 $ | 0,0045 $ |
| Backblaze | 0,50 $ | 5,00 $ | 25,00 $ | 0,0050 $ |
| Wasabi | 0,59 $ | 5,90 $ | 29,50 $ | 0,0059 $ |
| Google Cloud Coldline | 0,60 $ | 6,00 $ | 30,00 $ | 0,0060 $ |
| Alibaba Infrequent Access | 1,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,0100 $ |
| Google Cloud Nearline | 1,30 $ | 13,00 $ | 65,00 $ | 0,0130 $ |
| OVH | 1,30 $ | 13,00 $ | 65,00 $ | 0,0130 $ |
| AWS Infrequent Access | 1,35 $ | 13,50 $ | 67,50 $ | 0,0135 $ |
| Tencent Infrequent Access | 1,40 $ | 14,00 $ | 70,00 $ | 0,0140 $ |
| Alibaba Standard | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| Digitalocean | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| Strato | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| Tencent Standard | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| Google Cloud Standard | 2,30 $ | 23,00 $ | 115,00 $ | 0,0230 $ |
| AWS Standard | 2,45 $ | 24,50 $ | 122,50 $ | 0,0245 $ |
Asien
| Provider | 100GB/M | 1TB/M | 5TB/M | 1GB/M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud Archive | 0,15 $ | 1,50 $ | 7,50 $ | 0,0015 $ |
| AWS Glacier Deep Archive | 0,20 $ | 2,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 0,0020 $ |
| Alibaba Archive | 0,45 $ | 4,50 $ | 22,50 $ | 0,0045 $ |
| AWS Glacier | 0,50 $ | 5,00 $ | 25,00 $ | 0,0050 $ |
| Google Cloud Coldline | 0,50 $ | 5,00 $ | 25,00 $ | 0,0050 $ |
| Huawei Archive | 0,50 $ | 5,00 $ | 25,00 $ | 0,0050 $ |
| Tencent Archive Storage | 0,50 $ | 5,00 $ | 25,00 $ | 0,0050 $ |
| JD Cloud Archival Storage | 0,99 $ | 9,90 $ | 49,50 $ | 0,0099 $ |
| JD Cloud Reduced Redundancy | 0,99 $ | 9,90 $ | 49,50 $ | 0,0099 $ |
| Google Cloud Nearline | 1,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,0100 $ |
| Alibaba Infrequent Access | 1,50 $ | 15,00 $ | 75,00 $ | 0,0150 $ |
| Huawei Infrequent Access | 1,50 $ | 15,00 $ | 75,00 $ | 0,0150 $ |
| Tencent Infrequent Access | 1,60 $ | 16,00 $ | 80,00 $ | 0,0160 $ |
| JD Cloud Standard | 1,80 $ | 18,00 $ | 90,00 $ | 0,0180 $ |
| Alibaba Standard | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| AWS Infrequent Access | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| Digitalocean | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| Google Cloud Standard | 2,00 $ | 20,00 $ | 100,00 $ | 0,0200 $ |
| Tencent Standard | 2,20 $ | 22,00 $ | 110,00 $ | 0,0220 $ |
| Huawei Standard | 2,30 $ | 23,00 $ | 115,00 $ | 0,0230 $ |
| AWS Standard | 2,50 $ | 25,00 $ | 125,00 $ | 0,0250 $ |
Recovery
If the original files are destroyed or no longer available, the backup is used. A local backup is simply connected via USB. For a cloud backup, the data must first be downloaded. There are fees for the transfer. The fees vary depending on the provider and storage class. When choosing a provider, you must always keep these costs in mind.
USA
| Provider | 100GB/M | 1TB/M | 5TB/M | 1GB/M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasabi | 0,00 $ | 0,00 $ | 0,00 $ | 0,0000 $ |
| Backblaze | 1,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,0100 $ |
| Digitalocean | 1,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,0100 $ |
| Dreamhost | 5,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 250,00 $ | 0,0500 $ |
| Tencent Standard | 7,00 $ | 70,00 $ | 350,00 $ | 0,0700 $ |
| Tencent Infrequent Access | 7,20 $ | 72,00 $ | 360,00 $ | 0,0720 $ |
| Alibaba Standard | 7,60 $ | 76,00 $ | 380,00 $ | 0,0760 $ |
| Tencent Archive Storage | 8,00 $ | 80,00 $ | 400,00 $ | 0,0800 $ |
| Alibaba Infrequent Access | 8,35 $ | 83,50 $ | 417,50 $ | 0,0835 $ |
| Alibaba Archive | 8,60 $ | 86,00 $ | 430,00 $ | 0,0860 $ |
| AWS Infrequent Access | 9,00 $ | 90,00 $ | 450,00 $ | 0,0900 $ |
| AWS Standard | 9,00 $ | 90,00 $ | 450,00 $ | 0,0900 $ |
| Google Cloud Standard | 12,00 $ | 120,00 $ | 600,00 $ | 0,1200 $ |
| Google Cloud Nearline | 13,00 $ | 130,00 $ | 650,00 $ | 0,1300 $ |
| AWS Glacier | 14,00 $ | 140,00 $ | 700,00 $ | 0,1400 $ |
| Google Cloud Coldline | 14,00 $ | 140,00 $ | 700,00 $ | 0,1400 $ |
| Google Cloud Archive | 17,00 $ | 170,00 $ | 850,00 $ | 0,1700 $ |
| AWS Glacier Deep Archive | 19,00 $ | 190,00 $ | 950,00 $ | 0,1900 $ |
Europa
| Provider | 100GB/M | 1TB/M | 5TB/M | 1GB/M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasabi | 0,00 $ | 0,00 $ | 0,00 $ | 0,0000 $ |
| Backblaze | 1,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,0100 $ |
| Digitalocean | 1,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,0100 $ |
| OVH | 1,30 $ | 13,00 $ | 65,00 $ | 0,0130 $ |
| Strato | 5,30 $ | 53,00 $ | 265,00 $ | 0,0530 $ |
| Alibaba Standard | 7,00 $ | 70,00 $ | 350,00 $ | 0,0700 $ |
| Tencent Standard | 7,00 $ | 70,00 $ | 350,00 $ | 0,0700 $ |
| Tencent Infrequent Access | 7,20 $ | 72,00 $ | 360,00 $ | 0,0720 $ |
| Alibaba Infrequent Access | 7,75 $ | 77,50 $ | 387,50 $ | 0,0775 $ |
| Alibaba Archive | 8,00 $ | 80,00 $ | 400,00 $ | 0,0800 $ |
| Tencent Archive Storage | 8,00 $ | 80,00 $ | 400,00 $ | 0,0800 $ |
| AWS Infrequent Access | 9,00 $ | 90,00 $ | 450,00 $ | 0,0900 $ |
| AWS Standard | 9,00 $ | 90,00 $ | 450,00 $ | 0,0900 $ |
| Google Cloud Standard | 12,00 $ | 120,00 $ | 600,00 $ | 0,1200 $ |
| Google Cloud Nearline | 13,00 $ | 130,00 $ | 650,00 $ | 0,1300 $ |
| Google Cloud Coldline | 14,00 $ | 140,00 $ | 700,00 $ | 0,1400 $ |
| AWS Glacier | 15,00 $ | 150,00 $ | 750,00 $ | 0,1500 $ |
| Google Cloud Archive | 17,00 $ | 170,00 $ | 850,00 $ | 0,1700 $ |
| AWS Glacier Deep Archive | 21,00 $ | 210,00 $ | 1050,00 $ | 0,2100 $ |
Asien
| Provider | 100GB/M | 1TB/M | 5TB/M | 1GB/M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digitalocean | 1,00 $ | 10,00 $ | 50,00 $ | 0,0100 $ |
| JD Cloud Reduced Redundancy | 7,10 $ | 71,00 $ | 355,00 $ | 0,0710 $ |
| JD Cloud Standard | 7,10 $ | 71,00 $ | 355,00 $ | 0,0710 $ |
| Tencent Standard | 7,20 $ | 72,00 $ | 360,00 $ | 0,0720 $ |
| Tencent Infrequent Access | 7,50 $ | 75,00 $ | 375,00 $ | 0,0750 $ |
| Alibaba Standard | 8,00 $ | 80,00 $ | 400,00 $ | 0,0800 $ |
| Tencent Archive Storage | 8,40 $ | 84,00 $ | 420,00 $ | 0,0840 $ |
| Alibaba Infrequent Access | 8,75 $ | 87,50 $ | 437,50 $ | 0,0875 $ |
| Alibaba Archive | 9,00 $ | 90,00 $ | 450,00 $ | 0,0900 $ |
| Huawei Standard | 11,40 $ | 114,00 $ | 570,00 $ | 0,1140 $ |
| AWS Infrequent Access | 12,00 $ | 120,00 $ | 600,00 $ | 0,1200 $ |
| AWS Standard | 12,00 $ | 120,00 $ | 600,00 $ | 0,1200 $ |
| Google Cloud Standard | 12,00 $ | 120,00 $ | 600,00 $ | 0,1200 $ |
| Huawei Archive | 12,40 $ | 124,00 $ | 620,00 $ | 0,1240 $ |
| Huawei Infrequent Access | 12,40 $ | 124,00 $ | 620,00 $ | 0,1240 $ |
| Google Cloud Nearline | 13,00 $ | 130,00 $ | 650,00 $ | 0,1300 $ |
| Google Cloud Coldline | 14,00 $ | 140,00 $ | 700,00 $ | 0,1400 $ |
| JD Cloud Archival Storage | 15,60 $ | 156,00 $ | 780,00 $ | 0,1560 $ |
| Google Cloud Archive | 17,00 $ | 170,00 $ | 850,00 $ | 0,1700 $ |
| AWS Glacier | 18,00 $ | 180,00 $ | 900,00 $ | 0,1800 $ |
| AWS Glacier Deep Archive | 24,00 $ | 240,00 $ | 1200,00 $ | 0,2400 $ |
Compatibility with Amazon S3 API
| Provider | Compatible |
|---|---|
| Alibaba Standard | Yes |
| Amazon | Yes |
| Backblaze | No |
| Digitalocean | Yes |
| Dreamhost | Yes |
| Google Cloud | No |
| Huawei Cloud | Yes |
| JD Cloud | Yes |
| OVH | Yes |
| Strato | Yes |
| Tencent Cloud | Yes |
| Wasabi | Yes |
Conclusion
Which provider should you choose as a photographer?
If the price of storage is what it’s all about, you’d have to go with AWS Glacier Deep Archive or Google Cloud Archive. The low cost of storage is paid for by the limited flexibility offered by the minimum storage period and the high cost of recovery. It is precisely the cost of recovery that should be carefully calculated before choosing one of the archive storage classes.
The provider with the lowest storage costs with direct access to the backup is Backblaze B2. The lowest cost of recovery and at the same time compatible with the S3 API is Wasabi.
Which providers would you recommend and are still missing from the list?
