Object storage is essential for modern applications—file uploads, backups, static assets, data lakes, and media libraries all need a place to live. Amazon S3 defined the API standard, but you don't need AWS to use it. S3-compatible storage providers offer the same API at a fraction of the cost, often with better pricing for European use cases.
Price Comparison
| Provider | Storage (per TB/mo) | Egress (per TB) | EU Datacenter | Free Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon S3 | $23.00 | $90.00 | Frankfurt, Ireland | 5 GB (12 months) |
| Google Cloud Storage | $20.00 | $120.00 | Multiple EU | 5 GB |
| Cloudflare R2 | $15.00 | $0 (free egress) | Auto (hints) | 10 GB |
| Backblaze B2 | $6.00 | $10.00 | Amsterdam | 10 GB |
| Hetzner | ~€5.24 | €1.00 (after 1 TB free) | Germany, Finland | 1 TB included |
| Scaleway | €12.00 | €0.01/GB (€10.24/TB) | Paris, Amsterdam | 75 GB |
| OVHcloud | €7.00 | Free (internal) | Multiple EU | None |
| DanubeData | €3.99/mo flat* | 1 TB included | Germany | €50 credit |
*DanubeData's €3.99/month base includes 1 TB storage and 1 TB traffic. Overage is charged per GB.
Understanding the Costs
Storage vs Egress
Storage is what you pay to keep your data. Egress is what you pay when someone downloads it. For many applications, egress costs exceed storage costs—especially for media-heavy sites or APIs serving files.
Amazon S3's egress at $90/TB means serving a 1 TB dataset costs more per month in bandwidth than it does in storage. This is why providers like Cloudflare R2 (zero egress) and Backblaze B2 (free egress with Cloudflare) have gained popularity.
Minimum Commitments
Some providers charge per GB with no minimum. Others have a base fee that includes a storage/traffic allowance. DanubeData's €3.99/month base fee includes 1 TB of both storage and traffic, making it cost-effective for small-to-medium usage and predictable for budgeting.
Provider Details
Cloudflare R2
R2's zero egress pricing makes it the most cost-effective for read-heavy workloads. If your primary use case is serving static assets or media files, R2 eliminates the biggest cost factor.
Best for: CDN assets, static websites, applications with high download traffic
Limitation: No guaranteed EU data residency (data placement follows "hints," not guarantees). US-headquartered company subject to CLOUD Act.
Backblaze B2
Backblaze offers the lowest storage cost at $6/TB/month, and free egress when paired with Cloudflare or Fastly CDN. Their Amsterdam datacenter provides EU data residency.
Best for: Backups, archives, large datasets where storage cost dominates
Limitation: US-headquartered, limited S3 API compatibility compared to AWS, Amsterdam only for EU.
Hetzner Object Storage
Hetzner's object storage is competitively priced with a generous 1 TB included traffic allowance. Available in Germany and Finland.
Best for: Backup storage, application data alongside Hetzner VPS/dedicated servers
Limitation: Limited S3 API compatibility, no versioning, basic feature set compared to AWS S3.
DanubeData Object Storage
DanubeData provides S3-compatible storage at €3.99/month with 1 TB storage and 1 TB traffic included. It supports versioning, CORS, and lifecycle rules. Buckets integrate directly with DanubeData VPS and managed apps over private networking.
Best for: Application storage alongside DanubeData infrastructure, GDPR-compliant file storage, backup targets
Limitation: Germany datacenter only, less mature than established providers.
S3 Compatibility Matrix
| Feature | AWS S3 | R2 | B2 | Hetzner | DanubeData |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUT/GET/DELETE | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multipart Upload | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Versioning | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Lifecycle Rules | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| CORS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Presigned URLs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AWS SDK Compatible | Native | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Choosing the Right Provider
For Lowest Storage Cost
Backblaze B2 at $6/TB/month is the cheapest raw storage, especially when paired with Cloudflare for free egress. Good for backups, archives, and cold storage.
For Zero Egress Fees
Cloudflare R2 eliminates egress costs entirely. If you serve large files frequently, this saves the most money. The trade-off is less certainty about data location.
For European Data Residency
Hetzner, OVHcloud, or DanubeData—all European companies with EU-only datacenters. DanubeData adds versioning and lifecycle rules that Hetzner lacks.
For an All-in-One Platform
DanubeData combines object storage with VPS, databases, caches, and managed apps on the same platform. If you're already using DanubeData for compute, adding S3 storage is the simplest path—private networking means zero-latency access from your applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use AWS SDKs with S3-compatible providers?
Yes. All providers listed above support the S3 API. You configure a custom endpoint URL in your AWS SDK client and it works with your existing code. Typically you change three settings: endpoint URL, access key, and secret key.
What is the cheapest S3-compatible storage in Europe?
For raw per-GB pricing, Hetzner Object Storage and Backblaze B2 (Amsterdam) are the cheapest. DanubeData's €3.99/month flat fee is cheapest for storage under ~750 GB. Cloudflare R2 is cheapest when egress costs dominate.
Which S3-compatible storage is best for GDPR?
European-headquartered providers (Hetzner, OVHcloud, Scaleway, DanubeData) offer the simplest GDPR compliance because your data stays in the EU with a European data controller. US-headquartered providers (AWS, Google, Cloudflare, Backblaze) can offer EU regions but are subject to US law.
Can I migrate from S3 to another provider?
Yes. Tools like rclone can copy data between any S3-compatible providers. For large datasets, this can take time but requires no application changes—just update the endpoint URL when migration is complete.
Need S3-compatible storage in Europe? Try DanubeData with €50 in credit.