Head-to-Head Matrix · August 2026 Verified
Head-to-Head Comparison
AWS S3 vs Cloudflare R2
Cloudflare R2 is dramatically cheaper for egress-heavy and public web assets due to $0 egress fees. AWS S3 Standard remains the enterprise choice for complex IAM, S3 Object Lock, and multi-tier lifecycle rules.
Side-by-Side Cost & Feature Matrix
| Feature / Pricing Dimension | S3 Standard | R2 |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor & Parent | AWS | Cloudflare |
| Storage Rate ($/TB/mo) | $23.00 | $15.00 |
| Internet Egress ($/TB) | $90.00 | $0.00 (Free) |
| Free Egress Policy | 0.1 TB / month | 100% Free / Unmetered |
| Write Requests (PUT/LIST per 1M) | $5.00 | $4.50 |
| Read Requests (GET/HEAD per 1M) | $0.40 | $0.36 |
| S3 API Compatibility | ✓ Standard S3 API | ✓ Standard S3 API |
| Minimum Commitment | None; 5 GB free tier (12 months) | None |
| Datacenter Regions | US, EU, AP, SA | automatic |
Simulated Real-World Workload Scenarios
Starter / Web App
S3 Standard $59.59/mo
vs
R2 $15.48/mo
🏆 R2 saves ~$44.11/mo on this workload.
Growth / Backup
S3 Standard $494.19/mo
vs
R2 $152.82/mo
🏆 R2 saves ~$341.37/mo on this workload.
Data Lake / Scale
S3 Standard $2504.89/mo
vs
R2 $762.45/mo
🏆 R2 saves ~$1742.44/mo on this workload.
Decision Guide: Pros & Gotchas
Why Choose S3 Standard?
- ✓ 11 9s durability standard
- ✓ Extensive lifecycle tiering
- ✓ Deep AWS ecosystem & IAM integration
- ✓ Global availability zones
⚠️ Gotchas to Watch:
- ! Egress is $90/TB (often 80%+ of the total monthly bill)
- ! Class A requests billed at $5/M
Why Choose R2?
- ✓ 100% Zero egress bandwidth fees
- ✓ Automatic Anycast edge distribution
- ✓ 10 GB free storage + generous free API ops
- ✓ S3 API compatible with Workers integration
⚠️ Gotchas to Watch:
- ! Storage rate ($15/TB) is higher than B2/Wasabi
- ! High-frequency Class A operations ($4.50/M) can add up
Have a Custom Workload?
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