AWS S3 Pricing 2026: Storage, Egress & Raff Comparison

AWS S3 pricing in 2026 is built from several separate cost components: storage, API requests, data retrieval, and data transfer. For S3 Standard in US East, storage starts at $0.023 per GB-month for the first 50 TB. PUT, COPY, POST, and LIST requests are billed separately, GET requests are billed separately, and public internet egress is charged after AWS's shared monthly free-transfer allowance.

Raff Object Storage uses a simpler model: $7/month for the first 100 GB, 1 TB of egress included, $0 API request fees, $0.07/GB-month above the first 100 GB, and $0.01/GB for egress above the included 1 TB.

That means AWS S3 can be cheaper for low-egress storage-only workloads, while Raff can be materially cheaper once public transfer and request volume become important. For example, 100 GB stored with no internet egress is about $2.30/month on S3 Standard before requests versus $7 on Raff. At 100 GB stored and 1 TB of internet egress, the same AWS example is about $85.46/month before requests, while Raff remains $7.

This guide explains the actual AWS S3 cost model, storage-class pricing, request charges, egress, and how those costs compare with Raff Object Storage.

AWS S3 pricing in 2026

Amazon S3 does not have one fixed monthly plan. Your bill depends on what storage class you use, how much data you store, how many requests your applications make, whether data is retrieved from colder classes, and where the data is transferred.

For a typical S3 Standard workload, the most important pricing components are:

1. storage per GB-month;
2. PUT, COPY, POST, and LIST requests;
3. GET and other read requests;
4. data transfer out to the internet;
5. cross-region or special transfer paths;
6. optional features and management services;
7. retrieval charges for colder storage classes.

That is why an S3 pricing estimate should model workload behavior rather than only multiply storage by a per-GB number.

AWS S3 Standard storage pricing per GB

For S3 Standard in US East, current storage pricing starts at:

At the first-tier rate:

These figures are storage only. They do not include requests, public internet transfer, retrieval, replication, or other AWS services.

This distinction matters because AWS S3 pricing per GB often sounds like one number, but storage cost is only one part of the bill.

AWS S3 request pricing

S3 Standard also meters API requests. In US East, current Standard request pricing includes approximately:

Examples:

For many small workloads, request charges are modest. For workloads with millions or billions of object operations, request pricing becomes another cost dimension to forecast.

Raff currently charges $0 for object API requests, so request volume does not add a separate billing line there.

AWS S3 data transfer pricing

Public internet transfer is where S3 costs can change quickly.

AWS currently provides a shared 100 GB/month free data-transfer allowance across eligible AWS services and Regions. After that, standard internet-transfer pricing applies. A typical U.S. schedule starts at:

Actual transfer charges can differ when traffic uses CloudFront, same-region AWS paths, private endpoints, cross-region architectures, accelerated transfer, negotiated enterprise pricing, or other AWS services.

For a simplified S3 Standard example using 1 TB = 1,024 GB and assuming the full 100 GB free-transfer allowance is available:

Raff includes 1 TB of egress in its $7 base Object Storage plan and charges $0.01/GB above 1 TB.

AWS S3 storage-class pricing

One of AWS S3's biggest advantages is its range of storage classes. Teams can trade access frequency, retrieval behavior, minimum storage duration, resilience model, and price against one another.

Common classes include:

• S3 Standard;
• S3 Intelligent-Tiering;
• S3 Standard-Infrequent Access;
• S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access;
• S3 Express One Zone;
• S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval;
• S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval;
• S3 Glacier Deep Archive.

Cold and archive classes can have much lower storage prices than S3 Standard, but may introduce retrieval charges, minimum storage durations, delayed access, or different availability characteristics.

That flexibility is a real AWS advantage. If the workload has predictable hot, warm, and archival tiers, S3 can optimize them independently. Raff intentionally uses a simpler general-purpose object-storage model rather than reproducing AWS's full storage-class matrix.

AWS S3 pricing calculator: what to include

A realistic AWS S3 cost estimate should include more than stored GB.

Before comparing providers, model:

1. average stored GB or TB;
2. chosen S3 storage class;
3. monthly PUT/LIST request volume;
4. monthly GET request volume;
5. retrieval volume from colder storage classes;
6. public internet egress;
7. cross-region transfer;
8. replication;
9. lifecycle transitions;
10. versioning growth;
11. Object Lock retention;
12. CloudFront or other delivery architecture;
13. data-processing or analytics services that read from S3.

This is also why two companies storing the same 1 TB of data can receive very different S3 bills.

AWS S3 vs Raff pricing

Raff Object Storage uses a base bundle plus simple overages. AWS S3 uses component pricing.

The table below uses S3 Standard in US East, the shared 100 GB monthly internet-transfer allowance, and the standard public-transfer schedule. AWS request charges are excluded from scenario totals and shown separately above.

These examples do not imply identical durability architecture, region coverage, storage classes, governance features, or service parity. They compare cost for general-purpose object storage workloads.

When AWS S3 is cheaper

AWS S3 is often cheaper when:

• the workload stores data but sends little of it to the public internet;
• S3 Standard's $0.023/GB-month storage rate is the main cost driver;
• colder data can move into IA or Glacier classes;
• data stays inside AWS and avoids standard public egress;
• the application already depends heavily on AWS services;
• storage-class optimization is more important than billing simplicity.

At 100 GB stored with no public egress, S3 Standard costs about $2.30/month before requests, which is below Raff's $7 base plan.

When Raff Object Storage is cheaper

Raff becomes more attractive when:

• public internet egress is high or unpredictable;
• the workload regularly downloads backups, exports, media, or static assets;
• API request volume is large enough to create another AWS cost line;
• the team values one simple storage model over multiple classes and retrieval rules;
• the application already runs on Raff infrastructure.

Raff's current Object Storage plan includes 100 GB of storage, 1 TB egress, and API requests for $7/month. Storage above 100 GB is $0.07/GB-month and egress above 1 TB is $0.01/GB.

AWS S3 vs Raff feature comparison

Pricing is only one side of the decision. AWS S3 has a much deeper feature and governance surface.

AWS S3 clearly wins when versioning, lifecycle automation, immutable retention, cross-region replication, archive classes, or deep AWS integration are requirements.

Raff wins when the workload primarily needs standard S3-compatible object operations with a smaller, easier-to-predict billing surface.

S3 compatibility and migration

Raff Object Storage supports common S3-compatible workflows through s3.raffusercloud.com.

Common tools include:

• AWS CLI;
• Boto3 and other AWS SDKs;
• rclone;
• s3cmd;
• Cyberduck;
• multipart uploads;
• presigned URLs;
• bucket policies;
• ACLs.

S3 compatibility does not mean full AWS feature parity. Applications that rely on IAM role assumptions, S3 event notifications, lifecycle transitions, Object Lock, access points, cross-region replication, Storage Lens, or AWS-specific analytics integrations need additional migration work.

AWS S3 durability and availability

AWS S3 publishes unusually specific durability targets. S3 Standard is designed for 99.999999999% durability and 99.99% availability, with redundant storage across at least three Availability Zones.

Raff publishes a 99.9% platform SLA but does not publish an equivalent eleven-nines Object Storage durability target. If procurement requires a documented object-durability design, AWS has the stronger published position.

That difference should be treated as a real architecture consideration rather than hidden behind price comparison.

AWS S3 regions and replication

AWS S3 is available across AWS's global region footprint and supports same-region and cross-region replication.

Raff currently exposes Object Storage from us-east. That can fit workloads whose users, recovery design, and data-placement requirements are compatible with that geography, but AWS is the stronger choice when multi-region object placement or specific data residency is required.

When you should choose AWS S3 over Raff

Choose AWS S3 when:

• you need versioning, lifecycle policies, Object Lock, replication, or advanced storage classes;
• you need global region choice or multi-region data placement;
• your application already depends on IAM, Lambda, CloudFront, Athena, Glue, EventBridge, or other AWS-native services;
• archive economics matter more than a simple single storage class;
• procurement requires AWS's published durability model;
• most traffic stays inside AWS and public egress is low.

AWS S3's main advantage is not the headline storage rate alone. It is the combination of global architecture, data-governance controls, storage classes, and ecosystem depth.

When you should choose Raff over AWS S3

Choose Raff when:

• your workload needs straightforward S3-compatible buckets;
• public egress is meaningful or unpredictable;
• you want 1 TB egress bundled into the base plan;
• you want $0 API request fees;
• the application already runs on Raff compute;
• you prefer a smaller billing surface over AWS's storage-class and request matrix.

For uploads, media, exports, backups, static assets, build artifacts, and ordinary application-object storage, the simpler pricing model can be easier to forecast.

Migrating from AWS S3 to Raff

1. Inventory the S3 estate. Record bucket names, regions, object counts, sizes, storage classes, versioning, lifecycle policies, Object Lock, replication, encryption, bucket policies, IAM dependencies, and event integrations.
2. Check feature dependencies. Identify AWS-specific features that do not map directly to Raff.
3. Provision Raff Object Storage. Create the target bucket and credentials and confirm us-east satisfies the workload.
4. Transfer objects. Use rclone, AWS CLI with the Raff endpoint, an SDK migration, or another verified copy process.
5. Verify object integrity. Compare object counts and checksums and test uploads, downloads, multipart operations, presigned URLs, policies, and application reads/writes.
6. Cut over application endpoints. Change the S3 endpoint only after validation.
7. Keep AWS available through a rollback window. Remove old buckets, replication rules, IAM policies, and other AWS resources only after production verification.

Version history, lifecycle rules, Glacier classes, Object Lock, replication, and AWS event integrations do not move as ordinary object data. They must be redesigned or replaced deliberately.

Frequently asked questions

How much does AWS S3 cost per GB?

S3 Standard in US East currently starts at $0.023 per GB-month for the first 50 TB. That is storage-only pricing; API requests, retrieval, and internet transfer can add separate charges.

How much does 1 TB of AWS S3 cost per month?

At the first-tier S3 Standard storage rate, 1 TB is roughly $23.55/month using 1 TB = 1,024 GB. Public egress, API requests, and other services can increase the total.

Is AWS S3 expensive?

It depends on workload behavior. S3 Standard storage itself can be inexpensive, but public egress, request volume, retrieval, replication, and other services can materially increase the monthly bill.

Does AWS S3 charge for requests?

Yes. S3 Standard meters request types separately. PUT, COPY, POST, and LIST operations are currently about $0.005 per 1,000 requests, while GET-class requests are about $0.0004 per 1,000 in US East.

Does AWS S3 charge for bandwidth?

Yes. AWS provides a shared monthly free-transfer allowance, then charges public internet egress using tiered rates. The first standard U.S. tier is currently $0.09/GB after the allowance.

Is Raff cheaper than AWS S3?

It depends on the workload. At 100 GB stored with no internet egress, S3 Standard is about $2.30/month before requests versus Raff at $7. At 100 GB stored and 1 TB of public egress, Raff remains $7 while the AWS example is about $85.46 before requests.

What is the cheapest S3 storage class?

AWS offers multiple lower-cost archive and infrequent-access classes, including Glacier options. The cheapest class depends on access frequency, retrieval needs, minimum storage duration, and recovery-time requirements.

Does Raff support the S3 API?

Raff provides S3-compatible Object Storage and works with common S3 tooling such as AWS CLI, SDKs, rclone, s3cmd, multipart upload, and presigned URLs. It does not reproduce every AWS S3 feature.

Sources

• Amazon S3 pricing
• Amazon S3 product overview
• Raff Object Storage
• S3-Compatible Object Storage: Use Cases for Developers
• Pricing verified: 2026-08-28

Conclusion: AWS S3 pricing vs Raff

AWS S3 pricing starts with inexpensive per-GB storage, but the complete bill depends on storage class, API requests, retrieval, and transfer. S3 Standard in US East begins at $0.023/GB-month and gives teams access to AWS's deep storage-class, replication, lifecycle, Object Lock, region, and ecosystem capabilities.

Raff Object Storage takes the opposite approach: $7/month includes 100 GB, 1 TB egress, and API requests, with simple storage and transfer overages.

Choose AWS S3 when global architecture, advanced governance, archive classes, replication, or AWS-native integrations matter most. Choose Raff when standard S3-compatible workflows and predictable transfer/request economics are the stronger priority.