File Storage · head to head
IDrive e2 vs Rook
IDrive e2
File Storage
Low cost S3-compatible object storage with egress included up to a multiple of what you store
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Rook
Cloud
Kubernetes operator that deploys and manages Ceph storage clusters
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: IDrive e2 the included egress is capped as a multiple of stored data, so a small bucket that serves a lot of traffic exhausts the allowance quickly and the economics stop looking cheap exactly where a CDN backed store would still be free.; Rook rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.
- They diverge on capability: IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints, Rook covers Ceph operator.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which IDrive e2 and Rook actually diverge.
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 IDrive e2
- S3-compatible endpoints
- Included egress allowance
- Object lock
- Versioning
- Regional endpoints
- Cross region replication
Only in Rook
- Ceph operator
- Block, file and object
- Erasure coding
- CSI driver
- Automated upgrades
- Multi-cluster mirroring
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
IDrive e2
- The offsite copy in a three two one backup chain driven by Veeam, restic or a NAS backup clientnot Rook
- Replacing an S3 bucket whose cost is dominated by storage rather than by requestsnot Rook
- Small teams who want predictable monthly object storage billing with no request line itemsnot Rook
- Archiving media or logs that must stay accessible without a retrieval delaynot Rook
Rook
- An on-premises Kubernetes platform needing block, shared filesystem and S3 storage without buying three productsnot IDrive e2
- A team that already runs Ceph and wants its lifecycle managed declaratively inside Kubernetesnot IDrive e2
- A large cluster where three-way replication overhead is unaffordable and erasure coding is requirednot IDrive e2
- An organisation building a private cloud that cannot use managed cloud storage services for residency reasonsnot IDrive e2
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
IDrive e2
- The included egress is capped as a multiple of stored data, so a small bucket that serves a lot of traffic exhausts the allowance quickly and the economics stop looking cheap exactly where a CDN backed store would still be free.
- The region list is short compared with the hyperscalers, so data residency requirements outside the main markets are hard to satisfy and multi region designs have fewer options.
- S3 compatibility covers the common calls but not the long tail, so software that relies on less common features can fail in ways that are hard to diagnose against a provider with thin public documentation.
- Support is organised around a consumer and small business backup product rather than a platform engineering organisation, so escalating a storage layer problem takes longer than it would with a specialist provider.
- IDrive publishes far less about the underlying architecture, durability engineering and incident history than its competitors, so due diligence on the storage layer is largely taking the vendor at its word.
Rook
- Rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.
- There is no vendor and no SLA; the realistic commercial support routes are IBM Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation or an independent Ceph consultancy, both of which change the cost picture entirely.
- Ceph is resource hungry, needing substantial memory and dedicated disks per OSD, so the hardware cost of a properly sized cluster is often underestimated.
- Recovery and rebalancing after a disk or node failure generates heavy background input and output that can degrade application performance for hours, which surprises teams sizing for steady state.
- Minimum viable clusters require several nodes with several disks each, so it is impractical at small scale and the entry hardware cost exceeds simpler alternatives.
Pricing, plan by plan
IDrive e2
Free- FreeFree
- 10 GB stored
- S3 API access
- Egress within the included allowance
- Pay as you go$4/month
- Roughly 4 USD per terabyte stored per month
- Egress included up to a multiple of stored data
- No per operation charge on standard usage
Rook
Free- RookFree
- Apache 2.0 licensed, no licence fee
- Graduated CNCF project
- Community support via GitHub and Slack only
Which should you pick?
Choose IDrive e2 if
- You need s3-compatible endpoints.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want included egress allowance.
Choose Rook if
- You need ceph operator.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Kubernetes.
- You also want block, file and object.
Questions people ask
- Is IDrive e2 or Rook better?
- Neither clearly leads. IDrive e2 starts at Free and Rook at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, IDrive e2 or Rook?
- IDrive e2 starts at Free and Rook at Free.
- Does IDrive e2 or Rook run on more platforms?
- IDrive e2 runs on Web, API. Rook runs on Linux, Kubernetes.
- Can I use IDrive e2 for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is IDrive e2 best used for?
- IDrive e2 is most often used for the offsite copy in a three two one backup chain driven by veeam, restic or a nas backup client, replacing an s3 bucket whose cost is dominated by storage rather than by requests, small teams who want predictable monthly object storage billing with no request line items, archiving media or logs that must stay accessible without a retrieval delay. Of those, the offsite copy in a three two one backup chain driven by veeam, restic or a nas backup client and replacing an s3 bucket whose cost is dominated by storage rather than by requests are not what Rook is typically brought in for.
- What can IDrive e2 do that Rook cannot?
- IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints, Included egress allowance, Object lock, Versioning. Rook covers Ceph operator, Block, file and object, Erasure coding, CSI driver.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
IDrive e2: Is the egress genuinely free?
It is included up to an allowance tied to how much you store, not unlimited. Read heavy workloads on a small bucket will exceed it.
Rook: Who supports it in production?
Nobody by default. IBM sells Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation, which is supported Rook and Ceph, and independent consultancies sell Ceph support. Decide this before deployment.
IDrive e2: Does it work with Veeam and restic?
Yes, both treat it as a standard S3 endpoint, and object lock is supported for immutable backup chains.
Rook: Does it need Ceph knowledge?
Yes. Rook handles deployment and routine operations, but troubleshooting a degraded cluster is a Ceph skill and there is no way around it.
IDrive e2: Is there a minimum retention period?
No fixed minimum retention charge on standard storage, which is a real difference from providers that bill ninety days on early deletion.
Rook: Can it replace an object storage appliance?
Functionally yes, through the RADOS gateway, but you take on the operations that an appliance vendor would otherwise carry.
IDrive e2: How does it compare with Backblaze B2?
The rates are close. B2 is the better documented and more widely integrated service; e2 is cheaper at list and has a different egress allowance model.
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