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File Storage · head to head

Cloudflare R2 vs Panzura

Cloudflare R2 logo

Cloudflare R2

File Storage

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Panzura logo

Panzura

File Storage

Global file system putting one namespace over object storage across sites

From
On request
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.; Panzura cloud egress charges apply whenever data is read from the object store into a site that has not cached it, and organisations routinely discover this during a restore or a new site rollout rather than during procurement.
  • They diverge on capability: Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, Panzura covers Global file system.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Cloudflare R2 and Panzura differ
AttributeCloudflare R2Panzura
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer gigabyte stored per monthquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, Windows, Web

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 Panzura

  • Global file system
  • Global file locking
  • Local caching filers
  • Deduplication
  • Immutable snapshots
  • Cloud mirroring
  • Symphony data services

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

Panzura

  • An architecture firm with offices in three cities working on the same Revit models without copy conflictsnot Cloudflare R2
  • A media company consolidating project storage into object storage while keeping editors on a normal SMB sharenot Cloudflare R2
  • A manufacturer replacing per-site NAS filers and the backup estate that came with themnot Cloudflare R2
  • An organisation that needs immutable snapshots of unstructured file data as a ransomware recovery positionnot 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.

Panzura

  • Cloud egress charges apply whenever data is read from the object store into a site that has not cached it, and organisations routinely discover this during a restore or a new site rollout rather than during procurement.
  • Performance depends entirely on cache hit rates, so a team that works across the whole dataset rather than a hot subset sees latency that a local NAS would not have produced.
  • Licence cost is only part of total cost; object storage capacity, per-site filer nodes and egress all sit outside the vendor quote and can exceed it.
  • Recovery of a very large dataset is bounded by your internet link and by egress cost, so the practical recovery time after a site loss is often much longer than the snapshot policy implies.
  • Encryption keys can be held by the customer, but organisations that accept vendor-managed defaults give up the ability to render the object store unreadable independently, which some regulators now ask about explicitly.

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

Panzura

On request
  • Panzura CloudFS$undefined/year
    • Priced by usable capacity under management
    • Filer nodes licensed per site, physical or virtual
    • Object storage and cloud egress billed by your cloud provider separately

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 Panzura if

  • You need global file system.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Web.
  • You also want global file locking.
Panzura review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudflare R2 or Panzura better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudflare R2 starts at Free and Panzura at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudflare R2 or Panzura?
Cloudflare R2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cloudflare R2 and On request for Panzura.
Does Cloudflare R2 or Panzura run on more platforms?
Cloudflare R2 runs on Web, API. Panzura runs on Linux, Windows, Web.
Can I use Cloudflare R2 for free?
Yes. Cloudflare R2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Panzura starts at On request.
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 Panzura is typically brought in for.
What can Cloudflare R2 do that Panzura cannot?
Cloudflare R2 covers Zero egress billing, S3 API compatibility, Worker binding, Jurisdictional restriction. Panzura covers Global file system, Global file locking, Local caching filers, Deduplication.

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.

Panzura: Who holds the encryption keys?

Customer-managed keys are supported. Insist on them if you need the ability to revoke access to the object store independently of the vendor, and confirm the key custody model in writing.

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.

Panzura: What does it actually cost to run?

Model three things: the Panzura subscription, the object storage capacity, and cloud egress. The third is the one that catches buyers out during restores and site bring-ups.

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.

Panzura: Does it replace backup?

Immutable snapshots cover many recovery scenarios, but confirm your retention and compliance requirements before removing an existing backup product.

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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