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Cloud · head to head

Longhorn vs Wasabi

Longhorn logo

Longhorn

Cloud

Open source distributed block storage for Kubernetes, incubating at the CNCF

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wasabi logo

Wasabi

Cloud

Hot cloud storage without egress fees

From
$7.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Longhorn has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Longhorn there is no vendor and no SLA, so a production incident at three in the morning is your own problem unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime support separately.; Wasabi 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • They diverge on capability: Longhorn covers Per-volume controllers, Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Longhorn and Wasabi actually diverge.

Attributes where Longhorn and Wasabi differ
AttributeLonghornWasabi
Starting priceFree$7.99/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, KubernetesWeb, API
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Longhorn

  • Per-volume controllers
  • Synchronous replication
  • Snapshots and backups
  • Volume expansion
  • Disaster recovery volumes
  • Web interface

Only in Wasabi

  • Hot Cloud Storage
  • S3 Compatible API
  • Object Lock
  • Versioning
  • Multi-region
  • Data Migration Tools
  • Immutability
  • Ransomware Protection

What people use each for

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

Longhorn

  • An on-premises Kubernetes cluster with local disks and no SAN that needs replicated persistent volumesnot Wasabi
  • Edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole clusternot Wasabi
  • A K3s deployment where the storage layer must be light enough to run alongside the workloadsnot Wasabi
  • A team that wants snapshots and S3 backups of persistent volumes without paying per-node storage licencesnot Wasabi

Wasabi

  • Backup and recoverynot Longhorn
  • Media storagenot Longhorn
  • Archive replacementnot Longhorn
  • Ransomware protectionnot Longhorn

Where each one falls short

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

Longhorn

  • There is no vendor and no SLA, so a production incident at three in the morning is your own problem unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime support separately.
  • Synchronous replication across nodes means write latency depends on the slowest replica and the network between nodes, which makes it a poor fit for latency-sensitive databases.
  • Every replica is a full copy, so three-way replication consumes three times the raw capacity, unlike erasure-coded systems that are far more space efficient.
  • It is designed for block storage on modest clusters and does not scale to the node counts or throughput that Ceph or a commercial array handles, so growth eventually forces a migration.
  • Recovery from certain degraded states, such as a volume stuck detaching or replicas failing to rebuild, requires manual intervention and knowledge of Longhorn internals that is not widely held.

Wasabi

  • 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • Significantly smaller global footprint than AWS with only 16 regions, resulting in higher latency for users in underserved regions
  • Performance can degrade with high-volume transactions requiring throughput management strategies
  • Hot storage only, no cold/archival storage tier for long-term data at lower cost
  • Support responsiveness gaps with teams experiencing multi-day waits for critical issue resolution

Pricing, plan by plan

Longhorn

Free
  • LonghornFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed, no licence fee
    • Community support via GitHub and Slack only
    • No vendor SLA or escalation path

Wasabi

$7.99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Wasabi review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Longhorn if

  • You need per-volume controllers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes.
  • You also want synchronous replication.
Longhorn review

Choose Wasabi if

  • You need hot cloud storage.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want s3 compatible api.
Wasabi review

Questions people ask

Is Longhorn or Wasabi better?
Neither clearly leads. Longhorn starts at Free and Wasabi at $7.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Longhorn or Wasabi?
Longhorn has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Longhorn and $7.99/month for Wasabi.
Does Longhorn or Wasabi run on more platforms?
Longhorn runs on Linux, Kubernetes. Wasabi runs on Web, API.
Can I use Longhorn for free?
Yes. Longhorn has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wasabi starts at $7.99/month.
What is Longhorn best used for?
Longhorn is most often used for an on-premises kubernetes cluster with local disks and no san that needs replicated persistent volumes, edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole cluster, a k3s deployment where the storage layer must be light enough to run alongside the workloads, a team that wants snapshots and s3 backups of persistent volumes without paying per-node storage licences. Of those, an on-premises kubernetes cluster with local disks and no san that needs replicated persistent volumes and edge sites where shipping a storage array is impractical and three nodes is the whole cluster are not what Wasabi is typically brought in for.
What can Longhorn do that Wasabi cannot?
Longhorn covers Per-volume controllers, Synchronous replication, Snapshots and backups, Volume expansion. Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage, S3 Compatible API, Object Lock, Versioning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Longhorn: Who do we call when it breaks?

Nobody, unless you buy SUSE Rancher Prime, which includes commercial support for Longhorn. This is the decisive question for production use.

Wasabi: What is Wasabi's pricing structure?

Wasabi offers pay-as-you-go pricing at $7.99 per TB per month as of July 2026, with no egress or API request fees. Reserved capacity plans are available for multi-year terms with volume discounts.

Source
Longhorn: How much capacity does replication cost?

Full copies, so three replicas means three times the raw capacity. Budget accordingly rather than assuming erasure coding efficiency.

Wasabi: Does Wasabi charge for data downloads or API calls?

No. Wasabi includes zero egress fees and zero API request fees, which is a major cost advantage over AWS S3. Customers can plan their budget to the penny without worrying about surprise data transfer charges.

Source
Longhorn: Is it suitable for production databases?

For modest workloads yes, but synchronous replication adds write latency and high-transaction databases usually want something faster.

Wasabi: Is there a minimum storage duration requirement?

Yes. Wasabi enforces a 90-day minimum storage term. Users who delete data before 90 days are still charged for the full 90-day period.

Source
Wasabi: Is Wasabi S3-compatible?

Yes. Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage is fully S3-compatible, meaning organizations can integrate it into existing workflows without rewriting application code used with AWS S3.

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