Cold and Nearline Cloud Storage Comparison
Choosing the right cold or nearline storage provider means balancing cost, data accessibility, and long-term resilience. Below, we compare popular options across key features that directly impact total cost, operational flexibility, and security.
Why These Features Matter
Vendor Tie-in: Determines if you can move data between clouds or are locked into a single provider.
Egress & Retrieval Fees: Directly affect the true cost of accessing your archived data.
API Fees & Minimum Storage duration: Hidden costs that can add up for infrequently accessed data.
Retrieval SLA: Defines how fast you can get your data in an emergency.
Air Gap, Data Export, & Encryption: Enhance security against ransomware, and accidental deletion; compliance, and recovery assurance.
Dedicated Media: Improves read performance, data sovereignty, and isolation for critical workloads.
| Provider | Vendor Tie-in | Egress Fees | Retrieval Fees | API Fees | Min Storage | Free Trial | Dedicated Media | Retrieval SLA | Air Gap | Data Export | Data Encryption |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CloudColdStorage | Vendor Neutral ✅ | None 🆓 | None 🆓 | None 🆓 | None ✅ | Yes 🆓 | Yes ✅ | Minutes ✅ | Yes ✅ | Full ✅ | End-to-end ✅ |
| AWS S3 Glacier Flex | AWS only ☑️ | High $ ☑️ | High $ ☑️ | Applies ☑️ | 90 days ☑️ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | No ❌ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| AWS S3 Glacier Deep Archive | AWS only ☑️ | High $ ☑️ | Very High $ ☑️ | Applies ☑️ | 180 days ☑️ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | No ❌ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| GCP Nearline | GCP only ☑️ | Moderate $ ☑️ | Moderate $ ☑️ | Applies ☑️ | 30 days ☑️ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | No ❌ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| GCP Coldline | GCP only ☑️ | Moderate $ ☑️ | Moderate $ ☑️ | Applies ☑️ | 90 days ☑️ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | No ❌ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| Azure Blob Nearline | Azure only ☑️ | Moderate $ ☑️ | Moderate $ ☑️ | Applies ☑️ | 30 days ☑️ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | No ❌ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| Azure Blob Archive | Azure only ☑️ | High $ ☑️ | High $ ☑️ | Applies ☑️ | 180 days ☑️ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | No ❌ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| Backblaze B2 | Vendor Neutral ✅ | Low $ ☑️ | Low $ ☑️ | None 🆓 | 30 days ☑️ | Yes 🆓 | No ❌ | Minutes ✅ | Optional ☑️ | Full ✅ | Client-side optional ✅ |
| OVH Cloud Archive | OVH only ☑️ | Low $ ☑️ | Low $ ☑️ | None ✅ | None ✅ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | Optional ☑️ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| OVH Cold Archive | OVH only ☑️ | Low $ ☑️ | Low $ ☑️ | None 🆓 | None ✅ | No ❌ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | Yes ✅ | Limited ☑️ | Server-side ☑️ |
| 11:11 Systems | Vendor Neutral ✅ | Low $ ☑️ | Moderate $ ☑️ | None 🆓 | None ✅ | No ❌ | Yes ✅ | Minutes ✅ | Yes ✅ | Full ✅ | End-to-end ✅ |
| Scaleway | Vendor Neutral ✅ | Low $ ✅ | Moderate $ ☑️ | None ✅ | 30 days ☑️ | Yes ✅ | No ❌ | Hours ☑️ | Optional ☑️ | Full ✅ | Client-side optional ✅ |
Summary: CloudColdStorage provides full vendor neutrality, no egress and retrieval fees, air gapped dedicated media, and complete export/encryption capabilities — making it the best choice for organisations that prioritise long-term resilience, cost control, and operational flexibility.