File Storage · head to head
IDrive e2 vs Scality RING
IDrive e2
File Storage
Low cost S3-compatible object storage with egress included up to a multiple of what you store
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Scality RING
File Storage
Petabyte-scale object storage software on your own hardware
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only IDrive e2 has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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.; Scality RING hardware is bought separately, so the software quote understates total cost and the buyer carries the sizing risk if the drive and server specification is wrong.
- They diverge on capability: IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints, Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which IDrive e2 and Scality RING actually diverge.
| Attribute | IDrive e2 | Scality RING |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | Per terabyte per month | quote |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, API | Linux |
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 IDrive e2
- S3-compatible endpoints
- Included egress allowance
- Versioning
- Regional endpoints
- Cross region replication
Only in Scality RING
- S3-compatible object storage
- File and object access
- Erasure coding
- Multi-site geodistribution
- Hardware independence
- ARTESCA
Both cover
- Object lock
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 Scality RING
- Replacing an S3 bucket whose cost is dominated by storage rather than by requestsnot Scality RING
- Small teams who want predictable monthly object storage billing with no request line itemsnot Scality RING
- Archiving media or logs that must stay accessible without a retrieval delaynot Scality RING
Scality RING
- A broadcaster archiving decades of video where hyperscaler storage and egress costs would be prohibitivenot IDrive e2
- A hospital group holding medical imaging on premises for data residency and retention reasonsnot IDrive e2
- An enterprise building an immutable on premises backup target for Veeam or Commvault with object locknot IDrive e2
- A service provider offering S3-compatible storage to its own customers on hardware it controlsnot 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.
Scality RING
- Hardware is bought separately, so the software quote understates total cost and the buyer carries the sizing risk if the drive and server specification is wrong.
- Running distributed erasure coded storage requires operations skills, and organisations that expected appliance simplicity end up staffing a storage team they had not budgeted.
- Rebuild times after a drive failure on large capacity disks are measured in hours or days, and capacity planning has to leave headroom for that degraded window.
- Pricing is per usable terabyte and quoted, so cost comparisons against cloud object storage require modelling your own retrieval patterns rather than reading a rate card.
- Small deployments carry a minimum viable node count for erasure coding to work sensibly, which makes the entry footprint larger and less economic than the per-terabyte price implies.
Pricing, plan by plan
IDrive e2
Free- FreeFree
- 10 GB stored
- S3 API access
- Egress within the included allowance
- Pay as you go$4/month
- Roughly 4 USD per terabyte stored per month
- Egress included up to a multiple of stored data
- No per operation charge on standard usage
Scality RING
On request- Scality RING$undefined/year
- Priced per usable terabyte, subscription or perpetual
- Server hardware purchased separately by the customer
- Support tiers quoted separately
- Scality ARTESCA$undefined/year
- Lighter object store for smaller footprints
- Priced per usable terabyte
- Commonly deployed as an immutable backup target
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 Scality RING if
- You need s3-compatible object storage.
- You work on Linux.
- You also want file and object access.
Questions people ask
- Is IDrive e2 or Scality RING better?
- Neither clearly leads. IDrive e2 starts at Free and Scality RING at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, IDrive e2 or Scality RING?
- IDrive e2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for IDrive e2 and On request for Scality RING.
- Does IDrive e2 or Scality RING run on more platforms?
- IDrive e2 runs on Web, API. Scality RING runs on Linux.
- Can I use IDrive e2 for free?
- Yes. IDrive e2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Scality RING starts at On request.
- 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 Scality RING is typically brought in for.
- What can IDrive e2 do that Scality RING cannot?
- IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints, Included egress allowance, Versioning, Regional endpoints. Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage, File and object access, Erasure coding, Multi-site geodistribution. Both handle Object lock.
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.
Scality RING: Do we buy hardware from Scality?
No. RING is software; you buy commodity servers and drives yourself, which is the point for buyers who want to rebid hardware at each refresh.
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.
Scality RING: Is it S3-compatible enough for backup software?
Yes, it is a common object lock target for Veeam, Commvault and Rubrik. Verify the specific S3 features your backup product needs during a proof of concept.
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.
Scality RING: What is ARTESCA?
A lighter object store from the same company, aimed at smaller footprints and backup targets rather than multi-petabyte archives.
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.
Related pages
More on Scality RING
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