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File Storage · head to head

Backblaze vs Cloudflare R2

Backblaze logo

Backblaze

File Storage

Unlimited cloud backup at an affordable price

From
$9/month
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: Backblaze personal Backup is $99 a year billed annually, with no monthly option; 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: Backblaze covers Unlimited backup, 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 Backblaze and Cloudflare R2 actually diverge.

Attributes where Backblaze and Cloudflare R2 differ
AttributeBackblazeCloudflare R2
Starting price$9/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownPer gigabyte stored per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, WebWeb, API
Founded2007Unknown

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 Backblaze

  • Unlimited backup
  • Continuous backup
  • Version history
  • Private encryption key
  • Restore by mail
  • Mobile apps
  • macOS
  • Windows

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.

Backblaze

  • Unlimited backup of a personal computer and external drivesnot Cloudflare R2
  • Restoring files from anywhere through the webnot Cloudflare R2
  • Mailed hard drive restore for large recoveriesnot Cloudflare R2
  • Private encryption key control for sensitive datanot Cloudflare R2

Cloudflare R2

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

Where each one falls short

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

Backblaze

  • Personal Backup is $99 a year billed annually, with no monthly option
  • Web restores are capped at 500GB per request
  • Forever version history is a Business tier add-on rather than included
  • Administrative controls and SSO are Business features
  • Backs up user data from a computer and attached drives, so NAS and server backup are not covered by the personal plan

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

Backblaze

$9/month
  • Personal Backup$9/month
    • Unlimited storage for single computer
    • Unlimited version history
    • 30-day trial
  • B2 Cloud Storage$6/TB/month
    • S3-compatible storage
    • Pay-as-you-go model

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 Backblaze if

  • You need unlimited backup.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Web.
  • You also want continuous backup.
Backblaze 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 Backblaze or Cloudflare R2 better?
Neither clearly leads. Backblaze starts at $9/month and Cloudflare R2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Backblaze or Cloudflare R2?
Cloudflare R2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $9/month for Backblaze and Free for Cloudflare R2.
Does Backblaze or Cloudflare R2 run on more platforms?
Backblaze runs on Windows, macOS, Web. 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. Backblaze starts at $9/month.
What is Backblaze best used for?
Backblaze is most often used for unlimited backup of a personal computer and external drives, restoring files from anywhere through the web, mailed hard drive restore for large recoveries, private encryption key control for sensitive data. Of those, unlimited backup of a personal computer and external drives and restoring files from anywhere through the web are not what Cloudflare R2 is typically brought in for.
What can Backblaze do that Cloudflare R2 cannot?
Backblaze covers Unlimited backup, Continuous backup, Version history, Private encryption key. Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, S3 API compatibility, Worker binding, Jurisdictional restriction.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Backblaze: What is the pricing for Backblaze Personal Backup?

Backblaze Personal Backup costs $9/month on monthly billing or $8.25/month when billed annually, providing unlimited storage for a single computer.

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.

Backblaze: What storage options does Backblaze B2 offer?

Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage is priced at $6/TB per month with a pay-as-you-go model, and is S3 compatible for flexible cloud storage.

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.

Backblaze: Does Backblaze support Linux systems?

No. Backblaze does not support Linux operating systems, limiting it to Windows, macOS, and web access only.

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.

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.

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