Backblaze B2 vs AWS S3: Which Is Cheaper for Personal Backup?

By Alex Morgan, Cloud Solutions Architect
Last Updated: May 2026 · 9 min read

Backblaze B2 and AWS S3 are the two most popular cloud storage backends for personal backup. When I set up automated backups with Restic, I needed to pick one. I ran both in parallel for three months, storing the same 1 TB dataset. Then I crunched the numbers for a full year. One was dramatically cheaper — but the math changed once I factored in occasional downloads.

Pricing Breakdown: 1 TB for One Year

I calculated the cost of storing 1 TB for 12 months, uploading once (1 TB ingress), and downloading 100 GB over the year (typical recovery scenario). Here's the exact math at published rates (May 2026):

Cost Component	Backblaze B2	AWS S3 Standard
Storage (per GB/month)	$0.006/GB = $6/TB/month	$0.023/GB = $23/TB/month
Storage (12 months)	$72	$276
Upload (ingress)	Free	Free
Download 100 GB (egress)	$1 (first 3x stored/mo free)	$9 (after 1 GB free tier)
API Calls (estimate)	~$1 (Class B/C)	~$5 (PUT/GET beyond free tier)
Total Estimated (Year)	~$74	~$290

Backblaze B2 is roughly 4x cheaper for personal backup. The gap narrows if you frequently download large amounts of data, but for backup — where writes dominate and reads are rare — Backblaze wins decisively. S3's API charges are unpredictable and can spike if your backup tool is chatty (Restic's prune operations, for example, generate many API calls).

Speed Comparison

Both services can saturate a typical home broadband connection. On my 100 Mbps upload, both maxed out at ~11-12 MB/s. Downloads were similar. S3 offers more edge locations globally — if you're in South America or Southeast Asia, S3 may have lower latency. But for backup (not real-time access), latency is irrelevant.

Setup Complexity

Backblaze B2: Create bucket in web dashboard → generate App Key → paste into Restic/Rclone config. Takes 5 minutes.
AWS S3: Create bucket → configure IAM user with S3FullAccess policy → generate access key → configure bucket policy → set lifecycle rules (optional but recommended). Takes 15-20 minutes with a higher chance of misconfiguration.

For a solo user who just wants encrypted backup, Backblaze B2 is simpler. S3's complexity is justified only if you're already inside the AWS ecosystem and need granular permissions or integration with other services (Lambda triggers, Glacier archiving, etc.).

Egress Trap: Backblaze B2 allows free egress up to 3x your stored data per month — for 1 TB stored, you can download 3 TB free. AWS S3 only offers 1 GB free egress per month, then charges $0.09/GB. If you ever need a full restore, B2 gives it to you for free; S3 bills you $90 for downloading 1 TB. This is the hidden cost that shocked me.

Final Verdict: Which One Should You Use?

Your Use Case	Recommendation
Personal encrypted backup with Restic/Rclone	Backblaze B2 — cheaper, simpler, free egress
I need global edge delivery (CDN) for files	AWS S3 + CloudFront
I'm already on AWS and want minimal new accounts	AWS S3 (despite higher cost)
I want predictable, simple billing	Backblaze B2 — no hidden API charges

My setup: I use Backblaze B2 with Restic for daily automated backups of 30 GB of critical files. My monthly bill? $1.50. That's not a typo. If I had used S3, the same setup would cost around $6/month — still cheap, but 4x more for no practical benefit. If you're a solo user or small team backing up files, B2 is the no-brainer.

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