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Amazon S3 Glacier vs Google Cloud Storage Nearline comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 22, 2025

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 S3 Glacier
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Google Cloud Storage Nearline
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Amazon S3 Glacier is 11.5%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is 6.6%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Amazon S3 Glacier11.5%
Google Cloud Storage Nearline6.6%
Other81.9%
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

ArunDhwaj - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Owner at Harman International
Versatile data storage improves security and supports increasing data volumes
Amazon S3 Glacier offers robust security features and practically infinite storage, where we can store all kinds of media swiftly. It supports various data types, including semi-structured and raw formats. These features facilitate log management and data dumping since the service is versatile enough to handle large volumes of data and provide necessary security.
Seamless integration with cloud services improves workflows but documentation needs enhancement
One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly. The lack of comprehensive walkthrough guides for specific use cases makes it difficult to follow. To enhance the experience, more detailed examples, guides, and tutorials from start to finish would be beneficial. Additionally, the cost compared to other providers like Amazon could be regarded as a downside.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Amazon S3 Glacier is an easy-to-use solution."
"Amazon S3 Glacier is easy to use. The platform is straightforward, and the interfaces are user-friendly and responsive. Even with a limited budget, you can train someone without an AWS certification to use it. With on-the-job training, you can ensure they understand what needs to be done to use the service."
"Amazon S3 Glacier is a scalable and easy-to-manage solution with good read-write capability."
"Amazon S3 Glacier can integrate seamlessly with other AWS services."
"The reliability of storage is the main benefit."
"The biggest advantage of the product is that AWS always copies the tool internally."
"The most valuable feature of Glacier is its storage capability and cost benefit."
"The most valuable feature of Glacier is its storage capability and cost benefit."
"It can isolate files and stop them from corrupting other files."
"The best part of Nearline storage is the ability to take backups at optimal costs and its availability across multiple regions."
"Google is always introducing new features and tends to have a new release every month."
"It provides the necessary support and flexibility to manage data storage effectively, especially during times of variable data flow."
"The capacity and space on offer are excellent."
"Nearline is highly stable."
"The most valuable feature of Nearline is the access. It's helpful to move data that is generated once a month, such as salary information, to Nearline."
"The most valuable aspect of Google Cloud Storage Nearline is its integration with the wider Google Cloud ecosystem."
 

Cons

"The response times could be faster. When you are with Amazon and use Glacier, you expect a response time between four to seven hours to retrieve the data."
"Technical support needs improvement. Previously, even though we had premium and enterprise support, the response time would be quicker if we ran into issues, but now it is slowed down. The analytical dashboard feature, like the CloudOps dashboard, should be included in the next release of the Amazon S3 Glacier."
"Amazon S3 Glacier's data retrieval time is slow compared to other AWS storage services and should be improved."
"The support could be improved by having specialized support staff. When we submit a question, it gets passed between multiple people before finding the right expert."
"The solution’s deployment process is complex and could be improved."
"The cost can be lower."
"They can improve data discovery."
"The cost of retrieval in Glacier is quite high."
"The solution needs to offer better System Information and Event Management (SEIM). I'd like to discover how we could implement something like that within Google's cloud."
"The interface for managing file storage in the buckets could be improved."
"The pricing is quite high."
"They should provide more options or flexibility in terms of pricing."
"One area that needs improvement is the documentation, which I find to be disorganized and not user-friendly."
"The UI could be a little bit more effective."
"They need a better, more visual, user interface for folders and files."
"From a storage standpoint, it would be beneficial if the retrieval cost could be optimized, as it is comparatively higher than storage costs in Nearline."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay a monthly licensing fee for Amazon S3 Glacier."
"The tool is too expensive."
"There is no license, you pay for what you use."
"The price point at which the product is available is pretty good."
"Amazon S3 Glacier is much cheaper than competing products."
"Amazon S3 Glacier is a cost-effective solution for archiving."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"The product is very cheap."
"Right now, for the number of servers and the storage that I have, I would say I'm charged between $125 and $150 per month."
"Google Cloud Storage Nearline is very inexpensive. It costs us less than $50 a month to store our files. We use approximately 10 terabytes. Overall, I would rate the product a five out of five for affordability."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Amazon's S3 Glacier or EBS (Elastic Block Store)?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Amazon's S3 Glacier or Elastic Block Store data storage software was the better fit for us. We decided to go with Amazon's S3 Glacier, whi...
What do you like most about Amazon S3 Glacier?
I like creating buckets where data can be segregated at a high level and then routing the appropriate data to each designated bucket. In terms of value, I would say that the tool gets the job done ...
What needs improvement with Amazon S3 Glacier?
The support could be improved by having specialized support staff. When we submit a question, it gets passed between multiple people before finding the right expert. We typically see the case being...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
The storage and access cost of Nearline are considered optimal compared to other cloud storage solutions, although I lack a clear view of other cloud storage costs.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
From a storage standpoint, it would be beneficial if the retrieval cost could be optimized, as it is comparatively higher than storage costs in Nearline.
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Storage Nearline?
I mostly use Google Cloud Storage Nearline ( /products/google-cloud-storage-nearline-reviews ) for backing up data that is not needed for daily activities. It is ideal for files that need to be sto...
 

Also Known As

Amazon Glacier
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

King Cpunty, Illumina, Backupify, Nearmap.com, Scribd, Baylor College of Medicine, SoundCloud
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon S3 Glacier vs. Google Cloud Storage Nearline and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,954 professionals have used our research since 2012.