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Research · head to head

Terra vs Wasabi

Terra logo

Terra

Research

Open biomedical research platform for genomic analysis, priced only by the cloud you consume

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 Terra has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Terra the absence of a licence fee hides the real cost driver: an idle notebook virtual machine left running overnight, or a workspace bucket full of intermediate workflow outputs, quietly consumes grant money with no vendor invoice to prompt a review.; Wasabi 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • They diverge on capability: Terra covers No platform licence fee, Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Terra and Wasabi actually diverge.

Attributes where Terra and Wasabi differ
AttributeTerraWasabi
Starting priceFree$7.99/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Google Cloud, Microsoft AzureWeb, API
CategoryResearchCloud
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: 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 Terra

  • No platform licence fee
  • Cloud pass-through billing
  • WDL workflow execution
  • Notebook environments
  • Controlled-access data
  • Workspace sharing
  • Compliance posture
  • Multi-cloud

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.

Terra

  • A genomics lab running whole-genome alignment and variant calling pipelines without provisioning or maintaining a local clusternot Wasabi
  • A consortium sharing controlled-access human data across institutions where the data cannot be copied to each sitenot Wasabi
  • A health system analysing patient genomic data under a HIPAA business associate agreementnot Wasabi
  • A federal or federally funded project needing FedRAMP Moderate authorisation for its analysis environmentnot Wasabi

Wasabi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Terra

  • The absence of a licence fee hides the real cost driver: an idle notebook virtual machine left running overnight, or a workspace bucket full of intermediate workflow outputs, quietly consumes grant money with no vendor invoice to prompt a review.
  • Cost governance is entirely the customer responsibility, and grant-funded groups without a cloud engineer routinely overspend before anyone reads the Google or Azure bill in enough detail to find the cause.
  • It assumes genuine bioinformatics competence: writing or adapting WDL workflows, managing data tables and debugging failed tasks are all on you, so a wet lab without computational staff cannot use it productively.
  • Feature parity between the Google Cloud and Azure deployments is not identical, so a decision on cloud provider constrains which capabilities and datasets you can reach and is expensive to reverse later.
  • It is a research platform rather than a regulated clinical system: it is not a validated GxP environment and does not carry the qualification package a diagnostic or submission workflow would require, so clinical use needs additional infrastructure and validation you provide yourself.

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

Terra

Free
  • Terra platformFree
    • No charge for the platform, administration, security controls or frontline support
    • Workspaces, workflow execution and notebook environments included
    • Available on Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure
  • Cloud consumption$undefined/month
    • Google Cloud or Azure charges passed through at cost with no markup
    • Running notebook virtual machines around 0.22 USD per hour, roughly 0.027 USD per hour when paused
    • Storage billed continuously on workspace buckets and intermediate workflow outputs

Wasabi

$7.99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Wasabi review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Terra if

  • You need no platform licence fee.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure.
  • You also want cloud pass-through billing.
Terra 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 Terra or Wasabi better?
Neither clearly leads. Terra 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, Terra or Wasabi?
Terra has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Terra and $7.99/month for Wasabi.
Does Terra or Wasabi run on more platforms?
Terra runs on Web, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure. Wasabi runs on Web, API.
Can I use Terra for free?
Yes. Terra has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wasabi starts at $7.99/month.
What is Terra best used for?
Terra is most often used for a genomics lab running whole-genome alignment and variant calling pipelines without provisioning or maintaining a local cluster, a consortium sharing controlled-access human data across institutions where the data cannot be copied to each site, a health system analysing patient genomic data under a hipaa business associate agreement, a federal or federally funded project needing fedramp moderate authorisation for its analysis environment. Of those, a genomics lab running whole-genome alignment and variant calling pipelines without provisioning or maintaining a local cluster and a consortium sharing controlled-access human data across institutions where the data cannot be copied to each site are not what Wasabi is typically brought in for.
What can Terra do that Wasabi cannot?
Terra covers No platform licence fee, Cloud pass-through billing, WDL workflow execution, Notebook environments. Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage, S3 Compatible API, Object Lock, Versioning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Terra: Is Terra really free?

The platform is. There is no licence fee. Everything you pay is Google Cloud or Azure compute, storage and egress, passed through at cost.

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
Terra: What actually drives the bill?

Running virtual machines and stored data. Pausing notebooks drops a virtual machine from about 0.22 to about 0.027 dollars an hour, and deleting intermediate workflow outputs is the other main saving.

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
Terra: Can I use it with protected health information?

Yes. Terra signs HIPAA business associate agreements and GDPR data processing agreements, and the Azure deployment holds FedRAMP Moderate authorisation.

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
Terra: Is it validated for clinical or GxP use?

No. It is a research platform. Regulated clinical or submission workflows need validation and controls you build yourself.

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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