File Storage · head to head
Panzura vs Scality RING
Panzura
File Storage
Global file system putting one namespace over object storage across sites
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Scality RING
File Storage
Petabyte-scale object storage software on your own hardware
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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.; 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: Panzura covers Global file system, 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 Panzura and Scality RING actually diverge.
| Attribute | Panzura | Scality RING |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Linux, Windows, Web | Linux |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 Panzura
- Global file system
- Global file locking
- Local caching filers
- Deduplication
- Immutable snapshots
- Cloud mirroring
- Symphony data services
Only in Scality RING
- S3-compatible object storage
- File and object access
- Erasure coding
- Object lock
- Multi-site geodistribution
- Hardware independence
- ARTESCA
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Panzura
- An architecture firm with offices in three cities working on the same Revit models without copy conflictsnot Scality RING
- A media company consolidating project storage into object storage while keeping editors on a normal SMB sharenot Scality RING
- A manufacturer replacing per-site NAS filers and the backup estate that came with themnot Scality RING
- An organisation that needs immutable snapshots of unstructured file data as a ransomware recovery positionnot Scality RING
Scality RING
- A broadcaster archiving decades of video where hyperscaler storage and egress costs would be prohibitivenot Panzura
- A hospital group holding medical imaging on premises for data residency and retention reasonsnot Panzura
- An enterprise building an immutable on premises backup target for Veeam or Commvault with object locknot Panzura
- A service provider offering S3-compatible storage to its own customers on hardware it controlsnot Panzura
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
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
Panzura
On request- Panzura CloudFS$undefined/year
- Priced by usable capacity under management
- Filer nodes licensed per site, physical or virtual
- Object storage and cloud egress billed by your cloud provider separately
Scality RING
On request- Scality RING$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 Panzura if
- You need global file system.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Web.
- You also want global file locking.
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 Panzura or Scality RING better?
- Neither clearly leads. Panzura starts at On request and Scality RING at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Panzura or Scality RING?
- Panzura starts at On request and Scality RING at On request.
- Does Panzura or Scality RING run on more platforms?
- Panzura runs on Linux, Windows, Web. Scality RING runs on Linux.
- What is Panzura best used for?
- Panzura is most often used for an architecture firm with offices in three cities working on the same revit models without copy conflicts, a media company consolidating project storage into object storage while keeping editors on a normal smb share, a manufacturer replacing per-site nas filers and the backup estate that came with them, an organisation that needs immutable snapshots of unstructured file data as a ransomware recovery position. Of those, an architecture firm with offices in three cities working on the same revit models without copy conflicts and a media company consolidating project storage into object storage while keeping editors on a normal smb share are not what Scality RING is typically brought in for.
- What can Panzura do that Scality RING cannot?
- Panzura covers Global file system, Global file locking, Local caching filers, Deduplication. Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage, File and object access, Erasure coding, Object lock.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
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.
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.
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.
Panzura: Does it replace backup?
Immutable snapshots cover many recovery scenarios, but confirm your retention and compliance requirements before removing an existing backup product.
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.
Related pages
More on Scality RING
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