Cloud Cost Comparison
Cloud Object Storage Comparison 2025: S3 vs Azure Blob vs GCS vs OCI Object Storage
Object Storage: The Foundation of Cloud
Object storage is often the first cloud service organisations adopt and the source of many surprise bills. Understanding the full pricing model — not just per-GB storage — is critical.
Standard Tier Pricing (per GB/month)
| Provider | Service | $/GB/month | Egress/GB | Free Egress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | S3 Standard | $0.023 | $0.090 | 1 GB/mo |
| Azure | Blob Hot (LRS) | $0.018 | $0.087 | 5 GB/mo |
| GCP | Cloud Storage Std | $0.020 | $0.080 | 1 GB/mo |
| OCI | Object Storage | $0.0255 | $0.0085 | 10,240 GB/mo |
Infrequent Access / Cool Tier
| Provider | Service | $/GB/month | Retrieval Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | S3 Standard-IA | $0.0125 | $0.01/GB |
| Azure | Blob Cool | $0.010 | $0.01/GB |
| GCP | Nearline Storage | $0.010 | $0.01/GB |
| OCI | Object Storage Std | $0.0255 | None |
Archive Tier (Deep Cold Storage)
| Provider | Service | $/GB/month | Minimum Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | Glacier Deep Archive | $0.00099 | 180 days |
| Azure | Blob Archive | $0.00099 | 180 days |
| GCP | Archive Storage | $0.0012 | 365 days |
| OCI | Archive Storage | $0.0026 | 90 days |
Total Cost Example: 100TB Storage + 10TB Monthly Egress
| Provider | Storage/Month | Egress/Month | Total/Month | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | $2,300 | $899 | $3,199 | $38,388 |
| Azure | $1,800 | $869 | $2,669 | $32,028 |
| GCP | $2,000 | $799 | $2,799 | $33,588 |
| OCI | $2,550 | $0 (10TB free!) | $2,550 | $30,600 |
OCI's egress advantage is most powerful for high-transfer scenarios. Azure wins on pure storage cost for the standard tier.
S3-Compatible APIs
All four providers offer S3-compatible APIs, making migration between them technically straightforward. Tools like rclone can copy data between any two providers — the main barrier is egress costs, not technical complexity.
Model your specific egress volume to find your optimal storage provider. For data-heavy applications, OCI's free egress often makes it cheapest despite slightly higher storage rates.
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