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File Storage · head to head

Arq Backup vs Cloudflare R2

Arq Backup logo

Arq Backup

File Storage

Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud storage

From
$50/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cloudflare R2 logo

Cloudflare R2

File Storage

S3-compatible object storage that charges nothing for egress to the internet

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cloudflare R2 has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Arq Backup runs on Mac and Windows only; Cloudflare R2 there is no archive tier below Infrequent Access, so genuinely cold data costs roughly ten to fifteen times what it would cost in a deep archive class and there is nowhere cheaper to lifecycle it to.
  • They diverge on capability: Arq Backup covers Client-side encryption, Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arq Backup and Cloudflare R2 actually diverge.

Attributes where Arq Backup and Cloudflare R2 differ
AttributeArq BackupCloudflare R2
Starting price$50/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer gigabyte stored per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, MacWeb, API
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Arq Backup

  • Client-side encryption
  • Hourly backups
  • Network backup
  • Deduplication
  • Immutable backups
  • Budget controls
  • AWS S3
  • Google Cloud

Only in Cloudflare R2

  • Zero egress billing
  • S3 API compatibility
  • Worker binding
  • Jurisdictional restriction
  • Infrequent Access tier
  • Custom domain serving

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Arq Backup

  • Data protectionnot Cloudflare R2
  • Disaster recoverynot Cloudflare R2
  • Business continuitynot Cloudflare R2
  • Ransomware protectionnot Cloudflare R2
  • Compliancenot Cloudflare R2

Cloudflare R2

  • Serving a large media or asset library to the public where transfer out, not storage, is the dominant costnot Arq Backup
  • Hosting a container or artefact registry that thousands of CI runners pull from every daynot Arq Backup
  • Distributing model weights or open datasets that are downloaded far more often than they are updatednot Arq Backup
  • Moving off S3 specifically to stop paying data transfer charges on a read heavy bucketnot Arq Backup

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Arq Backup

  • Runs on Mac and Windows only
  • Arq 7 is licensed per computer, and continuing to receive updates after the first year costs $25 per year per computer
  • Arq Premium covers up to 5 computers, so larger households or teams need more than one subscription
  • Arq Premium includes 1TB of storage and charges $0.0059 per GB per month beyond it

Cloudflare R2

  • There is no archive tier below Infrequent Access, so genuinely cold data costs roughly ten to fifteen times what it would cost in a deep archive class and there is nowhere cheaper to lifecycle it to.
  • Class A operations are billed at 4.50 USD per million, so a workload that writes millions of small objects can spend more on operations than on the storage those objects occupy.
  • Infrequent Access carries both a retrieval fee and a thirty day minimum storage duration, so data that is deleted or re-read sooner ends up more expensive than if it had stayed on Standard.
  • You choose a location hint rather than a region, so you cannot prove to an auditor which datacentre holds an object unless you use a jurisdiction restricted bucket, and jurisdictions are limited.
  • Support level follows your Cloudflare account plan rather than the storage spend, so a team on a low tier account gets ticket support with no storage specific SLA, and an R2 incident is a Cloudflare incident you cannot fail over from because the free egress only exists inside Cloudflare.

Pricing, plan by plan

Arq Backup

$50/year
  • Arq Premium$50/year
    • 5 computers
    • Arq Cloud storage option
    • Email support

Cloudflare R2

Free
  • Free tierFree
    • 10 GB stored per month
    • 1 million Class A operations
    • 10 million Class B operations
  • Standard$0.015/month
    • Per gigabyte stored per month
    • 4.50 USD per million Class A operations
    • 0.36 USD per million Class B operations
  • Infrequent Access$0.01/month
    • Per gigabyte stored per month
    • Per gigabyte data retrieval fee
    • Thirty day minimum storage duration

Which should you pick?

Choose Arq Backup if

  • You need client-side encryption.
  • You work on Windows, Mac.
  • You also want hourly backups.
Arq Backup review

Choose Cloudflare R2 if

  • You need zero egress billing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want s3 api compatibility.
Cloudflare R2 review

Questions people ask

Is Arq Backup or Cloudflare R2 better?
Neither clearly leads. Arq Backup starts at $50/year and Cloudflare R2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arq Backup or Cloudflare R2?
Cloudflare R2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $50/year for Arq Backup and Free for Cloudflare R2.
Does Arq Backup or Cloudflare R2 run on more platforms?
Arq Backup runs on Windows, Mac. Cloudflare R2 runs on Web, API.
Can I use Cloudflare R2 for free?
Yes. Cloudflare R2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Arq Backup starts at $50/year.
What is Arq Backup best used for?
Arq Backup is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Cloudflare R2 is typically brought in for.
What can Arq Backup do that Cloudflare R2 cannot?
Arq Backup covers Client-side encryption, Hourly backups, Network backup, Deduplication. Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, S3 API compatibility, Worker binding, Jurisdictional restriction.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arq Backup: What are the different licensing models for Arq?

Arq 7 is a perpetual license with a one-time purchase and 1 year of free updates, then $25/year for continued updates. Arq Premium is a subscription model covering up to 5 computers with 1TB of included cloud storage.

Source
Cloudflare R2: Is egress really free, with no hidden transfer charge?

Yes for data served out of R2 to the internet. You still pay per operation for the requests that serve it, and if you pull data into R2 from another provider you pay that provider the egress on the way in.

Arq Backup: Is there a trial period before purchasing Arq?

Yes, Arq 7 includes a 30-day free trial.

Source
Cloudflare R2: How does the total cost compare with S3 for a public download bucket?

Storage is more expensive per terabyte than S3 Infrequent Access, but S3 charges roughly 90 USD per terabyte served. Any bucket that serves more than about a fifth of its stored volume each month is cheaper on R2.

Arq Backup: What are the storage costs beyond the included 1TB with Arq Premium?

Additional storage is billed at $0.0059/GB per month beyond the 1TB included with Arq Premium.

Source
Cloudflare R2: Can I use R2 without using the rest of Cloudflare?

Yes, it works through the plain S3 API from anywhere. You lose the Worker binding and the free CDN caching in front of it, which is where a lot of the practical benefit sits.

Arq Backup: Can I access my backup data directly or is it in a proprietary format?

Arq uses open and documented backup formats with transparent storage, allowing users direct access to encrypted backup data.

Source
Cloudflare R2: Does R2 have a cold archive class like Glacier?

No. Infrequent Access is the coldest tier, at two thirds of the Standard rate plus retrieval fees.

Arq Backup: Are perpetual licenses from earlier Arq versions still compatible?

Yes, perpetual licenses from Arq 5 and earlier remain compatible with Arq 7.

Source
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