Cloud Storage Options Comparison Cheat Sheet
Compares object, block, and file storage across AWS, Azure, and GCP, with guidance on when to use each storage class or type.
2 PagesBeginnerFeb 10, 2026
Storage Types
The three fundamental categories of cloud storage.
- Object Storage- Flat namespace of key/value blobs with HTTP access; e.g. S3, Azure Blob, GCS. Best for unstructured data
- Block Storage- Raw storage volumes attached to a VM; e.g. EBS, Azure Managed Disks. Best for databases, boot volumes
- File Storage- Shared filesystem accessed via NFS/SMB; e.g. EFS, Azure Files. Best for shared app data across instances
AWS S3 Storage Classes
Object storage tiers trading cost against access latency/frequency.
- S3 Standard- Frequently accessed data, millisecond access, highest cost per GB
- S3 Intelligent-Tiering- Automatically moves objects between tiers based on access patterns
- S3 Standard-IA- Infrequent access, lower storage cost but has a retrieval fee
- S3 One Zone-IA- Like Standard-IA but stored in a single AZ, cheaper, less durable
- S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval- Archive tier with millisecond retrieval, for rarely accessed data
- S3 Glacier Deep Archive- Lowest cost tier, retrieval takes hours, for long-term compliance archives
Common S3 CLI Commands
Uploading, syncing, and changing storage class via the AWS CLI.
bash
aws s3 cp file.txt s3://my-bucket/ # upload a fileaws s3 sync ./local-dir s3://my-bucket/dir/ # sync a directoryaws s3 ls s3://my-bucket/ # list objectsaws s3 cp s3://my-bucket/file.txt . \ --storage-class GLACIER # change storage class on copy
Pro Tip
Use S3 Lifecycle rules to automatically transition objects to cheaper tiers over time (e.g. Standard -> IA after 30 days -> Glacier after 90) instead of manually managing storage classes.
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