Arq Backup vs Amazon S3
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Arq Backup and Amazon S3.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
Arq Backup
0 reviews
4.1/5
Amazon S3
0 reviews
Amazon S3 is rated higher (4.1 vs 4.0). Arq Backup sends encrypted backups to your own S3, B2, Wasabi, or Google Drive. No subscription to Arq cloud — you own the destination. One-time purchase for macOS and Windows. AWS S3 stores and retrieves unlimited amounts of data via a simple web interface. Built for developers, enterprises, and anyone needing reliable, durable cloud storage with pay-as-you-go pricing.
Arq Backup Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud |  Amazon S3 Scalable object storage for any data size or type | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews) | 4.1 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | one-time purchase + optional subscription (Arq Premium is subscription) | pay-as-you-go (per GB-month + per 1,000 requests + retrieval/transfer) |
| Starting price | From $59.99/mo | From $0.023/mo✓ |
| Best for | Mac and Windows users who want a one-time-purchase backup app sending encrypted, versioned backups to their own cloud or NAS storage | Teams building on AWS who need durable, API-stable object storage for backups, data lakes, static content and archives — and who value tooling compatibility over the lowest per-GB rate |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | 39 AWS regions / 123-124 AZs |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | encryptedself hosted | free tiers3 compatibleapi accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenterterraform provider |
| Visit Arq Backup → | Visit Amazon S3 → | |
Arq Backup
Pros
- + One-time $59.99 per-computer license with an optional, genuinely optional updates subscription
- + Backs up to storage you own — S3, B2, Wasabi, Google Drive, SFTP, NAS and other S3-compatible targets
- + End-to-end encryption with keys that never leave your machine
- + Open, documented backup format — restores do not depend on the vendor existing
Cons
- - macOS and Windows desktops only — no Linux or server agent
- - Destination storage, request and egress costs are separate and ongoing
- - File backup only: no disk imaging or bare-metal recovery
- - Small-company support with no published SLA
Amazon S3
Pros
- + Designed for 11 nines durability with cross-AZ replication by default and strong read-after-write consistency
- + The S3 API is the industry standard — code written in 2006 still works, and third-party compatibility is everywhere
- + 23x cost ladder from Standard down to Glacier Deep Archive at $0.00099/GB-month, with lifecycle automation
- + Deepest storage feature set available: versioning, Object Lock, replication, inventory, event notifications, access management
Cons
- - Egress at $0.09/GB and per-request pricing produce surprise bills for chatty or restore-heavy workloads
- - IA and Glacier classes add retrieval fees and latency — the restore path must be priced separately
- - Policy configuration (bucket policies, IAM, Block Public Access, KMS keys) is complex and historically error-prone
- - SLA (99.9%/99.0%) is far below the durability figure — availability and durability are different promises
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