Quick answer
Cloudflare R2 is cheaper than Amazon S3 at all three usage levels Playxoft priced. For 1 TB stored, 10 million writes, 100 million reads and 1 TB downloaded in US East, it costs $88.11 a month against $196.71, and it is cheaper in all 12 regions covered. The biggest difference is data sent to users: $83.16 a month on S3 against $0 on R2. Playxoft's comparison uses official list prices checked October 14, 2026, with the always-free allowances applied.
- Official list prices
- 3 usage levels
- 12 regions
- Feature comparison
- Free calculator
How to compare Amazon S3 and Cloudflare R2 costs
- 1Pick a usage level (100 GB stored, 1 TB stored, 20 TB stored), then change the numbers or add more items with the + buttons.
- 2Choose the Region where your users are. Prices differ by region.
- 3Adjust the numbers in each card. Every field has an i tip explaining it.
- 4Compare the two monthly totals, then open Cost breakdown to see exactly how Amazon S3 and Cloudflare R2 bill each line.
Which is cheaper, Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2?
Monthly list prices in US East with the always-free allowances applied:
| Usage per month | Amazon S3 | Cloudflare R2 | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 GB stored: 1M writes, 10M reads, 100 GB downloaded | $11.30 | $1.35 | Cloudflare R2 by $9.95 |
| 1 TB stored: 10M writes, 100M reads, 1 TB downloaded | $196.71 | $88.11 | Cloudflare R2 by $108.60 |
| 20 TB stored: 50M writes, 500M reads, 10 TB downloaded | $1,833.64 | $703.95 | Cloudflare R2 by $1,129.69 |
Cloudflare R2 is cheaper for 1 TB stored and downloaded in all 12 regions the calculator covers. Downloads are counted as data transfer out; R2 does not charge for them.
What are the S3 and R2 unit prices?
List prices in AWS us-east-1 (N. Virginia) and Cloudflare (one global price), read on October 14, 2026:
| Price (US East, on-demand) | AWS | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| Object storage, per GB-month | $0.023 | $0.015 |
| Object writes, per million | $5.00 | $4.50 |
| Object reads, per million | $0.40 | $0.36 |
| Internet egress, per GB | $0.09 | $0 |
Is Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2 cheaper in your region?
1 TB stored, 10 million writes, 100 million reads and 1 TB downloaded, priced in each of the 12 regions the calculator covers:
| Region | Amazon S3 | Cloudflare R2 | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| US East | $196.71 | $88.11 | R2 |
| US West | $196.71 | $88.11 | R2 |
| Canada | $207.76 | $88.11 | R2 |
| Brazil (São Paulo) | $306.07 | $88.11 | R2 |
| Ireland | $196.71 | $88.11 | R2 |
| UK (London) | $202.74 | $88.11 | R2 |
| Germany (Frankfurt) | $205.25 | $88.11 | R2 |
| India | $216.59 | $88.11 | R2 |
| Singapore | $226.48 | $88.11 | R2 |
| Japan (Tokyo) | $214.94 | $88.11 | R2 |
| South Korea (Seoul) | $222.02 | $88.11 | R2 |
| Australia (Sydney) | $229.94 | $88.11 | R2 |
How do Amazon S3 and Cloudflare R2 compare on features?
| Amazon S3 | Cloudflare R2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Durability | 99.999999999% (11 nines) | 99.999999999% (11 nines) |
| Availability SLA | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Largest object | 50 TB | About 5 TiB |
| Consistency | Strong read-after-write | Strong, global |
| S3 API | Native | Yes (most operations) |
| Egress to the internet | Charged; 100 GB a month free account-wide | Free |
| Always-free storage | None | 10 GB a month |
Facts from each provider's own documentation, checked October 14, 2026.
What are the key differences between Amazon S3 and Cloudflare R2?
- Egress. R2 charges nothing for downloads. S3 charges per GB sent to the internet after 100 GB a month across the account.
- API. R2 implements the S3 API (most operations), so most S3 tools and SDKs work by changing the endpoint.
- Durability and SLA. Both are designed for 11 nines of durability with a 99.9% availability SLA.
- Limits. S3 objects can reach 50 TB; R2 objects about 5 TiB.
- Free tier. R2 includes 10 GB, 1 million writes and 10 million reads a month; S3 Standard has no always-free storage.
Should you choose Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2?
Choose Amazon S3 if
- your data is processed by other AWS services in the same region
- you need objects larger than 5 TiB or S3-only features
- downloads are a small share of your usage
Choose Cloudflare R2 if
- users or other clouds download your data often
- you want predictable bills without egress charges
- you serve files through Workers or the Cloudflare CDN
More comparisons: AWS vs Cloudflare · AWS Lambda vs Cloudflare Workers · Amazon S3 vs Google Cloud Storage · Amazon S3 vs Azure Blob Storage · Google Cloud Storage vs Cloudflare R2 · Amazon CloudFront vs Cloudflare CDN.
Where do these prices come from?
Both sides use the provider's own published price list, read on October 14, 2026, for the same region, with the always-free allowances applied.
- AWS: Amazon S3 pricing · EC2 data transfer pricing
- Cloudflare: R2 pricing · Workers pricing
Prices are in US dollars, on-demand, for Linux, with no commitments. Every figure on this page is generated from the same price snapshot as the calculator, and automated tests check each claim whenever the prices change. A month is 730 hours and 1 TB is 1,024 GB. Providers change prices from time to time, so for a purchase decision confirm the final figure in the provider's console.
Moving between Amazon S3 and Cloudflare R2?
Playxoft builds and runs production backends on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure and Cloudflare, and plans migrations between them with no surprise downtime, including white-label work for agencies. Send us your architecture or last month's invoice and we will tell you, free, which side is cheaper for your real usage. Get a free cloud cost review.
Frequently asked questions
Last updated by the Playxoft engineering team.