Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Amazon S3 comparison

The compared Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) and Amazon S3 solutions aren't in the same category. Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is ranked #4 in CS , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 8.7% mindshare in the category. Amazon S3 is ranked #1 in PCSS , with an average rating of 8.7, and holds a 11.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Amazon S3 users who would recommend it.

Amazon EFS (Elastic File Sy...

Read 15 Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) reviews

1,325 Views
1,161 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Amazon S3

Read 79 Amazon S3 reviews

5,961 Views
3,153 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Amazon EFS (Elastic File Sy...

Amazon S3

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) and Amazon S3 based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Cloud Storage solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Amazon S3 Report (Updated: March 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Amazon S3

March 2024

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Helped 837,501 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Amazon EFS (Elastic File Sy...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Storage (4th), File and Object Storage (8th)

Amazon S3

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Public Cloud Storage Services (1st)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Cloud Services solutions, they serve different purposes. Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is designed for Cloud Storage and holds a mindshare of 8.7%, down 10.4% compared to last year.
Amazon S3, on the other hand, focuses on Public Cloud Storage Services, holds 11.7% mindshare, down 14.5% since last year.

Cloud Storage

Public Cloud Storage Services

Q&A Highlights

Jitendra Patel

Technology Lead, Global Database Services at Johnson & Johnson

Mar 31, 2022

What is the true cost of storing database backup to Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Amazon S3?

It depends on the storage capacity you are looking for and expected data growth. You would need to ascertain these numbers before looking at backup volumes, and potential costs.

See all answers

Featured Reviews

MuhammadAzhar Khan

Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group

Auto-scaling capabilities enhance file management while reducing downtime

The most valuable feature of Amazon EFS is its auto-scaling capability. It's really easy to configure EFS by just creating it and running a command to directly configure it with my servers. It supports unlimited use, and charges are applied based on the file usage at the end of the month. The solution offers reduced downtime and increased durability through its auto-scaling features.

Read full review

Vagner Martins

Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Enhanced data security with seamless integration and static website capabilities

S3 is a great service offering numerous possibilities. It allows for storing objects and files of various types. I appreciate its capability to create static websites and integrate with services like CloudFront, EC2, and DynamoDB. Despite being focused on security, I leverage features such as cryptography and integration with CloudTrail.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution is scalable."

"Amazon EFS offers the flexibility of scaling as needed without requiring pre-provisioned storage."

"Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is secure as it is used under VPC."

"Amazon EFS is extremely stable, as it is managed by AWS."

"The platform is highly scalable."

"The most beneficial feature of the product for data storage stems from the fact that it serves as a shared file storage."

"The first valuable thing is it is scalable."

"Amazon EFS offers the flexibility of scaling as needed without requiring pre-provisioned storage."

More Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) pros

"Amazon S3 is reliable."

"The most valuable features of the Amazon S3 are its ease of use and integration"

"Great for storing all types of data."

"The scalability of Amazon S3 is good."

"The integration with Cloudfront helps in fetching the static phase and default phases in case our actual service is down."

"The solution is good and includes all the features we expect."

"Feature-wise, Amazon S3 is the cheapest and it's reliable."

"The product is easy to use."

More Amazon S3 pros

Cons

"Elastic File Systems can be expensive due to the nature of data transfer costs, using services like SSTP, and potentially being costly in a rate-shift context."

"The lack of transparency in the costs attached to the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"Around 80 percent of the features of Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) are available on Linux and not in Windows, making it a major drawback of the product."

"Its deployment process could be faster while installing the Python package directly into the environment."

"Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS."

"The product's stability has some shortcomings where improvements are required."

"There are challenges related to AWS, such as ensuring proper security measures with IMS code and encryption."

"The deployment is definitely not an easy process."

More Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) cons

"They could always increase object storage ability."

"We have cold storage here, and I think that's useful. When it comes to commercialization, it's cheaper to put data that you won't be using into the data storage. You only use a little bit of the data needed each day for your transition, so you pay less."

"The solution requires you to buy and use Amazon services."

"The console could be improved - it's not very user friendly for non-technical guys."

"The solution's pricing should be modified to automatically expand storage based on prior usage."

"Amazon S3 can improve by decreasing the overall costs."

"We would like to see improvement in the ability to moves files within this solution. At present the process is not straightforward, and requires us to download files to our micro service service before then uploading into the solution. In addition, the transfer bit rate for the process is very slow."

"There's a lot of complexity."

More Amazon S3 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has flexible pricing. You are charged based on your storage."

"The product charges are based on the amount of data stored."

"I would rate the pricing 7 out of 10."

"The product's price depends on the services and the size and capacity at which it is used in a business environment."

"The main challenge with EFS is its cost, which is slightly higher compared to EBS or S3. For one GB or ten GB of data, S3 is much cheaper. EFS could cost around $30 to $50 per month for similar usage."

"Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) offers a pay-as-you-go model, so whenever you use its services, you need to pay."

"The solution's price is mid-ranged."

"It's worth the price considering its functionality."

"The cost is based on the amount of storage required and if we exceed the data transfer rate across regions."

"The price is okay."

"The license of Amazon S3 is based on volume, capacity, and time. The overall price of the solution could improve. The support has to be added if you want it at an additional cost."

"With S3 Standard, there is not a charge for deletion of objects."

"I know it is very inexpensive compared to other solutions."

"The price of Amazon S3 could be less expensive."

"The price of Amazon S3 should be reduced."

More Amazon S3 pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

Jitendra Patel

Technology Lead, Global Database Services at Johnson & Johnson

Mar 31, 2022

What is the true cost of storing database backup to Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Amazon S3?

Hi @Vipin Garg, @Oscar Mejia , @Shaban AL-Ahmad , @Nibrask Alambilat Kaniyat , @Marcelo Lucas and @Krishna Rao , Do you possibly have any answers to assist @Jitendra Patel with this question?

See 2 answers

goforitandy

IT Consultant at Woohoogeeks

Mar 22, 2022

It depends on the storage capacity you are looking for and expected data growth. You would need to ascertain these numbers before looking at backup volumes, and potential costs.

Read full answer

Evgeny Belenky

Director of Community at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)

Mar 31, 2022

Hi @Vipin Garg, @Oscar Mejia , @Shaban AL-Ahmad , @Nibrask Alambilat Kaniyat , @Marcelo Lucas and @Krishna Rao , Do you possibly have any answers to assist @Jitendra Patel with this question?

Read full answer

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

19%

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

78%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which file storage system is better - Amazon EFS (elastic file storage) or Azure File Storage?

Amazon EFS is easy to set up: you can use the AWS management console, API, or command-line. Amazon EFS can grow to petabytes and deliver consistent low latencies and high levels of throughput. This...

See all answers

What do you like most about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?

The product's initial setup phase is easy, as per the configurations.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?

The main challenge with EFS is its cost, which is slightly higher compared to EBS or S3. For one GB or ten GB of data, S3 is much cheaper. EFS could cost around $30 to $50 per month for similar usage.

See all answers

What do you like most about Amazon S3?

We can easily connect to the AWS resources.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon S3?

S3 offers multiple classes, allowing you to move data to cheaper classes for cost savings. AWS provides solutions to monitor your budget.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Amazon S3?

In terms of security, I struggled with setting permissions and access control initially.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 57% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 11% of the time

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 9% of the time

Google Cloud Storage vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 8% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 5% of the time

More Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) Competitors

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs Amazon S3

Compared 20% of the time

Oracle Cloud Object Storage vs Amazon S3

Compared 18% of the time

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Amazon S3

Compared 13% of the time

Google Cloud Storage vs Amazon S3

Compared 11% of the time

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Amazon S3

Compared 6% of the time

More Amazon S3 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

February 2025

Download Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) product report

Buyer's Guide

Amazon S3

February 2025

Download Amazon S3 product report

Also Known As

No data available

S3, Simple Storage Service

Overview

Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) provides simple, scalable file storage for use with Amazon EC2 instances in the AWS Cloud. Amazon EFS is easy to use and offers a simple interface that allows you to create and configure file systems quickly and easily. With Amazon EFS, storage capacity is elastic, growing and shrinking automatically as you add and remove files, so your applications have the storage they need, when they need it.

When mounted to Amazon EC2 instances, an Amazon EFS file system provides a standard file system interface and file system access semantics, allowing you to seamlessly integrate Amazon EFS with your existing applications and tools. Multiple Amazon EC2 instances can access an Amazon EFS file system at the same time, allowing Amazon EFS to provide a common data source for workloads and applications running on more than one Amazon EC2 instance.

It’s designed for high availability and durability, and provides performance for a broad spectrum of workloads and applications, including Big Data and analytics, media processing workflows, content management, web serving, and home directories.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Simple Storage Service is storage for the Internet. It is designed to make web-scale computing easier for developers.

Amazon S3 has a simple web services interface that you can use to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web. It gives any developer access to the same highly scalable, reliable, fast, inexpensive data storage infrastructure that Amazon uses to run its own global network of web sites. The service aims to maximize benefits of scale and to pass those benefits on to developers.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Sample Customers

Arcesium, Atlassian, Seeking Alpha, Zend

Netflix, Airbnb, Thomson Reuters, Zillow, Alert Logic

Buyer's Guide

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Amazon S3

March 2024

Free Report: Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Amazon S3

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Amazon S3 and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.

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