Backblaze B2 vs BorgBackup
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Backblaze B2 and BorgBackup.
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
Backblaze B2
0 reviews
4.3/5
BorgBackup
0 reviews
BorgBackup is rated higher (4.3 vs 4.2). Backblaze B2 offers S3-compatible object storage at $6.95/TB/month (raised from $6/TB in May). Free egress up to 3x stored data for all customers, unlimited free egress to partner CDNs/compute. BorgBackup is a free, open source, deduplicating backup program for Linux/macOS with compression, encryption, and deduplication. Pairs with BorgBase for managed repository hosting. Our long-standing pick for self-hosters.
Backblaze B2 S3-compatible object storage at $6.95/TB/month with 3x free egress | BorgBackup Open source deduplicating backup — free self-hosted | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (0 reviews) | 4.3 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | usage-based | free |
| Starting price | From $6.95/mo | Free✓ |
| Best for | Backup targets, snapshot archives, and asset storage where low, predictable cost beats global distribution | Technical users and self-hosters who want deduplicated, encrypted, versioned backups to storage they control, without per-gigabyte vendor fees |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | ["US West (Sacramento, Stockton, Phoenix)", "US East (Reston, VA)", "EU Central (Amsterdam, NL)", "CA East (Toronto, ON)"] | — |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiers3 compatibleus datacenterapi access | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit Backblaze B2 → | Visit BorgBackup → | |
Backblaze B2
Pros
- + $6.95/TB/month storage with no minimum file size or storage duration fees
- + Free egress up to 3x average monthly storage for all customers; unlimited free egress to partner CDNs/compute
- + Genuine S3-compatible API plus native API, with free Class A/B/C transactions
- + 11 nines claimed durability with published Vault math (20 shards across 20 pods)
- + EU data residency via the Amsterdam region; permanent 10 GB free tier
Cons
- - One region per account (fixed at creation); no cross-region buckets or read replicas
- - S3 compatibility is partial: no IAM roles, object tagging, or website hosting; bucket-level ACLs only
- - SLA is thin: 99.9% objective with 5–10% service credits
- - Storage price rose from $6 to $6.95/TB in May — value still strong, but the direction is upward
- - No compute, functions, or database services
BorgBackup
Pros
- + Deduplication plus per-repo compression makes repeated backups far cheaper in storage than full-image schemes
- + Authenticated encryption with a documented untrusted-server model; append-only mode defends backup history against compromise
- + Free BSD-licensed software with a decade-long public track record and detailed on-disk format documentation
- + Runs against any filesystem or SSH target — no lock-in, no required vendor
- + Mature companion ecosystem: Borgmatic for config-driven runs, Vorta for desktop GUI, BorgBase for hosted repos
Cons
- - Command-line only with no official GUI; keyfile and retention semantics take real learning
- - No native S3/object-storage repository mode in 1.4.x — cloud-object workflows need rclone-style workarounds
- - File-level tool: consistent database or VM backups need hooks or snapshots; no bare-metal restore agents
- - Support is community-based unless you pay for consulting or a hosting provider's SLA
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