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File Storage · head to head

Cloudflare R2 vs Kopia

Cloudflare R2 logo

Cloudflare R2

File Storage

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kopia logo

Kopia

Backup

Open source deduplicating backup with client side encryption and a repository on almost any storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Kopia space is only reclaimed when maintenance runs, and in a shared repository full maintenance is owned by one client, so if that machine goes away the repository grows for ever while every backup still reports success.
  • They diverge on capability: Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, Kopia covers Content defined chunking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Cloudflare R2 and Kopia differ
AttributeCloudflare R2Kopia
Pricing modelPer gigabyte stored per monthOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, macOS, Windows, Docker
CategoryFile StorageBackup

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Kopia

  • Content defined chunking
  • Global deduplication
  • Pack blobs
  • Client side encryption
  • Desktop and command line
  • Repository verification

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 Kopia
  • Hosting a container or artefact registry that thousands of CI runners pull from every daynot Kopia
  • Distributing model weights or open datasets that are downloaded far more often than they are updatednot Kopia
  • Moving off S3 specifically to stop paying data transfer charges on a read heavy bucketnot Kopia

Kopia

  • Backing up laptops and workstations to cheap object storage with a desktop interface rather than a cron jobnot Cloudflare R2
  • Deduplicating backups of several similar machines into one repository so common content is stored oncenot Cloudflare R2
  • Replacing a chunk based tool whose per object charges made a cheap bucket expensivenot Cloudflare R2
  • Keeping an encrypted offsite copy where the storage provider must never be able to read the contentsnot 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.

Kopia

  • Space is only reclaimed when maintenance runs, and in a shared repository full maintenance is owned by one client, so if that machine goes away the repository grows for ever while every backup still reports success.
  • The repository format has changed across versions and mixing client versions against one repository is discouraged, so a fleet must be upgraded together rather than machine by machine.
  • There is no central orchestration or reporting for many machines, so monitoring a fleet means building your own alerting around exit codes.
  • Restoring many small files is slower than the backup was, because content must be reassembled from pack blobs, and this is rarely tested until the day it matters.
  • Encryption is client side with no escrow, so a lost repository password means the data is unrecoverable and there is no vendor to appeal to.

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

Kopia

Free
  • KopiaFree
    • Full functionality, no data limit
    • Desktop application included
    • Any supported storage back end

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 Kopia if

  • You need content defined chunking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want global deduplication.
Kopia review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudflare R2 or Kopia better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudflare R2 starts at Free and Kopia at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudflare R2 or Kopia?
Cloudflare R2 starts at Free and Kopia at Free.
Does Cloudflare R2 or Kopia run on more platforms?
Cloudflare R2 runs on Web, API. Kopia runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
Can I use Cloudflare R2 for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Kopia is typically brought in for.
What can Cloudflare R2 do that Kopia cannot?
Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, S3 API compatibility, Worker binding, Jurisdictional restriction. Kopia covers Content defined chunking, Global deduplication, Pack blobs, Client side encryption.

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.

Kopia: Is a partly corrupt repository still restorable?

Partly. Deduplication means one damaged pack blob affects every snapshot referencing its contents, but unaffected files still restore. Run verification regularly rather than assuming.

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.

Kopia: How does it compare with restic?

Similar guarantees, with packing that behaves better on per operation billing, a desktop interface, and compression enabled by default.

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.

Kopia: Do I need to run maintenance manually?

It is scheduled automatically by default, but you must ensure the client that owns full maintenance keeps running, otherwise deleted snapshots never free space.

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.

Kopia: Can several machines share one repository?

Yes, and that is where deduplication pays off, but they should run compatible versions and only one owns full maintenance.

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