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Amazon S3 Glacier vs Microsoft Azure File Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

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
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure File Storage
Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Amazon S3 Glacier is 17.4%, up from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure File Storage is 11.6%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

ArunDhwaj - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
PrashanthR - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamlessly streamlines document processing with advanced file storage and OCR integration
We need to store data over there. We process documents through Kofax Time is a major benefit, as well as ease of processing. With configuration, it happens quite easily, and we can finish tasks early. File storage is complemented by OCR with Azure Cognitive Service. This enhances the processing…

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 stable."
"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 in a simpler manner."
"The main advantage of Glacier is its low cost. It is incredibly cheaper than other storage options, especially for objects you don't access frequently. Glacier would add value if you have a staging area for objects you only need to access occasionally. Since we have data in terabytes between S3 buckets, we can significantly reduce our storage and cost footprint by using Glacier."
"In terms of features, no other cloud solutions or private installations come close to its capabilities."
"It is the most feature-rich platform."
"The solution is secure."
"We like that the price is cheaper."
"I like the price. If you compare Glacier to others, the prices in terms of what you store beyond retention are much lower."
"It is a good service for file storage."
"Azure File Storage gives us easy access to cloud solutions at the storage level."
"The initial setup is straightforward and takes approximately twenty minutes."
"Implementing Microsoft Azure has meant that we are using the same solution as our customers who use Azure Public Cloud. This allows us to integrate our application, as well as provide the solution to them."
"I like that we can copy and download data using Azure. It's not just for file storage; we can also use it for large data sets or to host static web applications."
"It is a very scalable solution. I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten."
"The solution is user-friendly and integrates easily with web apps."
"The solution is easy to use."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in terms of support"
"The product takes more time to secure data when the bandwidth is low."
"The solution’s deployment process is complex and could be improved."
"The user experience must be improved."
"The solution's pricing is too expensive and could be improved."
"I would like to see improved storage capacity and enhanced security features for better protection."
"The learning curve is very high."
"The solution's cost optimization could be improved."
"Importing and exporting data needs to have a bit more documentation."
"The pricing and technical support could be better."
"It would be good if they added some features that make the solution easier to access for everyone."
"Considering the enterprise licensing required for the solution, the cost of the solution is an area where the product needs improvement."
"They should make the solution more user-friendly."
"Maybe Microsoft can make it more economical because it is a costly affair."
"In our use cases, we see the weakness in mobile internet connectivity."
"Microsoft's technical support could be improved. Their response time is usually high, and it takes considerable time to get a response."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is cost-effective."
"The product is cheap."
"Amazon S3 Glacier is a cost-effective solution for archiving."
"The pricing is average and reasonable. It varies depending on the region."
"The product is very cheap."
"There is no license, you pay for what you use."
"Customers prefer Amazon S3 Glacier because it is a cheap and pay-as-you-go solution."
"Amazon S3 Glacier has good pricing."
"The price of the solution is reasonable. The pricing model is based on usage."
"Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive."
"We have Microsoft Azure File Storage's enterprise license."
"The price is comparable to other competitive solutions."
"For one terabyte of data, we are spending about 150 Euro every month."
"We pay for both yearly and monthly licenses. The yearly one is cheaper than the monthly one."
"I think the pricing of the product can be reduced."
"The price of Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive, we do not know exactly how the price is calculated."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 cost of retrieval in Glacier is quite high. It would be excellent if Amazon could work on reducing retrieval costs. Another improvement is making Glacier available in all regions.
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure File Storage?
The price is almost the same as the competition. I would rate it three or three and a half out of ten on the pricing scale.
 

Also Known As

Amazon Glacier
MS Azure File Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

King Cpunty, Illumina, Backupify, Nearmap.com, Scribd, Baylor College of Medicine, SoundCloud
Talon, Camden
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon S3 Glacier vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,194 professionals have used our research since 2012.