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File Storage · head to head

Cloudflare R2 vs IDrive

Cloudflare R2 logo

Cloudflare R2

File Storage

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IDrive logo

IDrive

File Storage

Affordable online backup with multiple device support

From
$2.5/month
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: 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.; IDrive the advertised annual rates are first year introductory prices, with standard pricing applying from the second year onward
  • They diverge on capability: Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, IDrive covers Multiple device backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cloudflare R2 and IDrive actually diverge.

Attributes where Cloudflare R2 and IDrive differ
AttributeCloudflare R2IDrive
Starting priceFree$2.5/month
Pricing modelPer gigabyte stored per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, APIWindows, Mac, Linux, Web
FoundedUnknown1995

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 Cloudflare R2

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

Only in IDrive

  • Multiple device backup
  • True archiving
  • Continuous protection
  • IDrive Express
  • Snapshots
  • File sharing
  • iOS
  • Android

What people use each for

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

Cloudflare R2

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

IDrive

  • Online backup for computers, servers and mobile devicesnot Cloudflare R2
  • Backing up multiple machines under one accountnot Cloudflare R2

Where each one falls short

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

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.

IDrive

  • The advertised annual rates are first year introductory prices, with standard pricing applying from the second year onward
  • The two year offer discounts only the first year, so the second year reverts to the full rate
  • Team plans tie user and computer counts to the storage tier, so 10 TB means exactly 10 computers
  • Business storage costs far more per terabyte than Personal, at $719.88 a year for 1.25 TB against $143.88 for 5 TB

Pricing, plan by plan

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

IDrive

$2.5/month
  • IDrive Personal$2.5/month
    • Promotional pricing: $2.50/month (billed annually)
    • Regular pricing: $6.99/month
    • 50% savings with annual billing
  • IDrive Team$null/month
    • Cloud backup service for small business
  • IDrive Business$null/month
    • Backup for computers and servers
  • IDrive 360 Enterprise Backup$null/month
    • Endpoint, servers, and SaaS cloud backup
    • For MSPs and IT teams

Which should you pick?

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

Choose IDrive if

  • You need multiple device backup.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux, Web.
  • You also want true archiving.
IDrive review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudflare R2 or IDrive better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudflare R2 starts at Free and IDrive at $2.5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudflare R2 or IDrive?
Cloudflare R2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cloudflare R2 and $2.5/month for IDrive.
Does Cloudflare R2 or IDrive run on more platforms?
Cloudflare R2 runs on Web, API. IDrive runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Web.
Can I use Cloudflare R2 for free?
Yes. Cloudflare R2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IDrive starts at $2.5/month.
What is Cloudflare R2 best used for?
Cloudflare R2 is most often used for serving a large media or asset library to the public where transfer out, not storage, is the dominant cost, hosting a container or artefact registry that thousands of ci runners pull from every day, distributing model weights or open datasets that are downloaded far more often than they are updated, moving off s3 specifically to stop paying data transfer charges on a read heavy bucket. Of those, serving a large media or asset library to the public where transfer out, not storage, is the dominant cost and hosting a container or artefact registry that thousands of ci runners pull from every day are not what IDrive is typically brought in for.
What can Cloudflare R2 do that IDrive cannot?
Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, S3 API compatibility, Worker binding, Jurisdictional restriction. IDrive covers Multiple device backup, True archiving, Continuous protection, IDrive Express.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

IDrive: How much does IDrive Personal cost?

IDrive Personal starts at $2.50/month when billed annually, representing a 50% discount from the regular price of $6.99/month. A 7-day free trial is available without requiring a credit card.

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.

IDrive: What is the price for IDrive Cloud Applications Backup?

IDrive Cloud Applications Backup costs $20 per seat per year with unlimited storage. This covers backups for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox, and Box.

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.

IDrive: How much does IDrive e2 cloud object storage cost?

IDrive e2 starts at $29.75 per year for 1 TB (first-year promotional pricing; regular price $59.50/year). IDrive markets this as 90% cheaper than AWS pricing for equivalent storage.

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.

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