File Storage · head to head
Scality RING vs VAST Data
Scality RING
File Storage
Petabyte-scale object storage software on your own hardware
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
VAST Data
File Storage
All-flash storage designed to make hard disk tiers unnecessary
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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.; VAST Data data reduction ratios drive the economics, and datasets that are already compressed, such as media or encrypted files, reduce poorly and destroy the cost per terabyte case.
- They diverge on capability: Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage, VAST Data covers Disaggregated architecture.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Scality RING and VAST Data actually diverge.
| Attribute | Scality RING | VAST Data |
|---|
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Linux), 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 Scality RING
- S3-compatible object storage
- File and object access
- Erasure coding
- Object lock
- Multi-site geodistribution
- Hardware independence
- ARTESCA
Only in VAST Data
- Disaggregated architecture
- Similarity-based reduction
- All-flash single tier
- Multi-protocol access
- Wide erasure coding
- GPU-oriented throughput
- Snapshots and replication
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Scality RING
- A broadcaster archiving decades of video where hyperscaler storage and egress costs would be prohibitivenot VAST Data
- A hospital group holding medical imaging on premises for data residency and retention reasonsnot VAST Data
- An enterprise building an immutable on premises backup target for Veeam or Commvault with object locknot VAST Data
- A service provider offering S3-compatible storage to its own customers on hardware it controlsnot VAST Data
VAST Data
- A GPU training cluster where storage throughput, not compute, is the bottleneck on job completionnot Scality RING
- A genomics group holding petabytes of sequencing output that must stay immediately readable rather than archived to tapenot Scality RING
- A quantitative finance team running backtests over historical market data that a disk tier cannot serve fast enoughnot Scality RING
- An organisation consolidating a fast tier and an archive tier into one system to reduce rack space and power drawnot Scality RING
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
VAST Data
- Data reduction ratios drive the economics, and datasets that are already compressed, such as media or encrypted files, reduce poorly and destroy the cost per terabyte case.
- There is a minimum viable cluster size, so the entry cost is high and the platform is not sensible for a small footprint however attractive the architecture is.
- Pricing is quoted against effective capacity after reduction, which means the price you signed depends on an assumption about your own data that only becomes measurable after deployment.
- The platform has expanded into database and data catalogue functions, which broadens the roadmap but means buyers evaluating it as a file system must be careful not to be sold an adjacent product they will not use.
- As a relatively young vendor in a market of long-lived incumbents, buyers with ten year retention requirements should press on long term support commitments and hardware availability rather than assume them.
Pricing, plan by plan
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
VAST Data
On request- VAST Data Platform$undefined/year
- Priced per usable capacity after data reduction
- Hardware and software sold together or via certified partners
- Subscription and capital purchase options
Which should you pick?
Choose Scality RING if
- You need s3-compatible object storage.
- You work on Linux.
- You also want file and object access.
Choose VAST Data if
- You need disaggregated architecture.
- You work on Linux.
- You also want similarity-based reduction.
Questions people ask
- Is Scality RING or VAST Data better?
- Neither clearly leads. Scality RING starts at On request and VAST Data at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Scality RING or VAST Data?
- Scality RING starts at On request and VAST Data at On request.
- Does Scality RING or VAST Data run on more platforms?
- Both run on Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Scality RING best used for?
- Scality RING is most often used for a broadcaster archiving decades of video where hyperscaler storage and egress costs would be prohibitive, a hospital group holding medical imaging on premises for data residency and retention reasons, an enterprise building an immutable on premises backup target for veeam or commvault with object lock, a service provider offering s3-compatible storage to its own customers on hardware it controls. Of those, a broadcaster archiving decades of video where hyperscaler storage and egress costs would be prohibitive and a hospital group holding medical imaging on premises for data residency and retention reasons are not what VAST Data is typically brought in for.
- What can Scality RING do that VAST Data cannot?
- Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage, File and object access, Erasure coding, Object lock. VAST Data covers Disaggregated architecture, Similarity-based reduction, All-flash single tier, Multi-protocol access.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
VAST Data: Do we still need an archive tier?
That is the central claim, and it holds when your data reduces well. Run a reduction assessment on your actual dataset before accepting the economics.
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.
VAST Data: How is capacity priced?
On usable capacity after data reduction, quoted rather than published. That makes the reduction ratio assumption the most important number in the contract.
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.
VAST Data: Is it suitable for a small deployment?
No. There is a minimum cluster size and the entry cost reflects it. Small footprints are better served elsewhere.
Related pages
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