Best Cloud Storage for Website Backups in 2026: AWS S3 vs Backblaze B2 vs Wasabi
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Storing website backups on the same server that hosts your live website violates the most fundamental rule of disaster recovery:
"If your hosting account is compromised or the datacenter experiences hardware failure, both your live website and your backup files vanish simultaneously."
Storing encrypted, automated backups off-site in S3-compatible cloud object storage protects your business against ransomware, catastrophic server failure, and rogue employees.
However, using standard Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 can lead to surprising egress and API transaction fees.
Here is how Backblaze B2, Wasabi, and AWS S3 compare for off-site website backups in 2026.
Pricing & Features Benchmark (1 Terabyte Storage)
| Storage Provider | Monthly Cost (1 TB) | Egress (Download) Fee | Minimum Retention | S3 API Compatible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backblaze B2 | $6.00 / month | Free (up to 3x stored data) | No minimum | Yes |
| Wasabi Hot Storage | $6.99 / month | $0 (Zero Egress Fees) | 90 Days | Yes |
| Amazon S3 Standard | $23.00 / month | $90.00 / TB | No minimum | Native |
| Cloudflare R2 | $15.00 / month | $0 (Zero Egress Fees) | No minimum | Yes |
1. Backblaze B2: The Undisputed Value Leader
For standard website daily backups (WordPress, Ghost, Docker database dumps):
- $0.006/GB/Month: Storing 500 GB of compressed backups costs just $3.00 per month.
- Free Egress Bandwidth: Backblaze provides free downloads up to three times your average monthly stored data volume. If you store 1 TB, you can download 3 TB of backups during a disaster recovery drill without paying a cent.
- Ransomware Protection: Supports S3 Object Lock in compliance and governance modes, ensuring backup archives cannot be deleted during a malicious takeover.
2. Wasabi: Flat-Rate Predictability for Media Heavy Sites
If your backups consist of massive WooCommerce product image archives or video files:
- Zero API Fees: Unlike AWS S3, which charges for
PUT,LIST, andGETrequests, Wasabi charges zero API call fees. - Zero Egress Fees: You can restore entire 5TB backups without calculating bandwidth transit penalties.
- The Caveat: Wasabi enforces a 90-day minimum retention policy. If you upload daily backups and delete them after 7 days, you are still billed for the full 90-day storage period.
3. Amazon S3: Enterprise Ecosystem with Hidden Costs
While AWS S3 is the industry pioneer:
- Standard S3 storage costs 3.8x more than Backblaze B2 ($23/TB vs $6/TB).
- Egress fees of $0.09 per GB mean restoring a 1 TB backup from AWS S3 will trigger an unexpected $90 bandwidth fee on your AWS invoice.
- Unless you already maintain private VPC peering connections inside AWS, S3 is needlessly expensive for generic off-site server backups.
Recommended Backup Architecture
- Configure your backup tool (UpdraftPlus, Restic, or BorgBackup) to generate daily encrypted
.tar.gzsnapshots. - Output directly to a Backblaze B2 S3-compatible bucket.
- Enable a Lifecycle Rule on the bucket to automatically delete snapshots older than 30 days.
- Enable Object Lock for 14 days to create an immutable ransomware shield.
Frequently Asked Questions
Backblaze B2 is the most cost-effective at $0.006 per GB/month ($6/TB) with 3x free download egress bandwidth every month.
No. Wasabi has zero egress fees and zero API request fees, charging a flat $6.99/TB per month (with a 90-day minimum retention policy per object).
Object Lock prevents stored backup files from being deleted or modified by anyone—even an attacker with admin credentials—protecting your disaster recovery files from ransomware attacks.
Yes! Both Backblaze B2 and Wasabi feature 100% S3-compatible APIs, allowing seamless integration with UpdraftPlus, Duplicator, Restic, and CyberPanel.
Alex Morgan is the founder and lead editor of RemoGrid. With over six years of hands-on experience in remote operations, cross-border freelance workflows, and AI tool benchmarking, Alex independently tests and audits software platforms to help modern digital workers build sustainable online income streams. He regularly reviews international payment systems (Wise, Stripe, Payoneer, local mobile wallets) and conducts real-world usability benchmarks across AI productivity tools.
