Free Object Storage and File Upload Services
Which S3-compatible storage and file upload services a startup can store and serve files with for free today, how much storage and traffic the free tier covers, what downloads cost, whether a card is needed and what paid storage costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Storage providers change their free tiers from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you store production files there.
Object storage and file upload services a startup can use for free today include Cloudflare R2 (10 GB storage a month, free egress), UploadThing (2 GB storage, $0 a month), Backblaze B2 (10 GB storage, always free), Cloudinary (25 credits a month, 3 users), and Tigris (5 GB storage a month, standard). Each of the 13 free tiers below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, what downloads cost, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Every product ends up storing files: user uploads, images, backups, model weights, exports. S3-compatible storage and upload services all have a free tier, and for an early product the free gigabytes often last a long time.
The headline rarely tells you the whole cost. Free storage can come with fees for downloads (egress) or operations, a cap on file size, or a trial that ends after a few weeks. Each service below shows what is free, its main limit, what downloads cost, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which services we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the services'. Some of these services pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which services are listed or where.
S3-compatible object storage with a free tier
Buckets that speak the S3 API, with free storage and operations every month.
- 1
Cloudflare R2
Stored files served to users with no egress bill
R2's free tier gives 10 GB of storage a month, 1 million Class A and 10 million Class B operations, and free egress to the internet. Storage costs $0.015 per GB-month after that.
- Downloads (egress)
- Free egress to the internet (source: developers.cloudflare.com)
- First paid plan
- $0.015 per GB a month (source: developers.cloudflare.com)
Start free at CloudflareTerms read on developers.cloudflare.com on Cloudflare R2: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Backblaze B2
Cheap always-hot storage with a free 10 GB to start
The first 10GB of B2 storage is always free, and egress is free up to 3x your monthly storage. Storage starts at $6.95 per TB a month.
- Downloads (egress)
- Free up to 3x your storage a month (source: backblaze.com)
- First paid plan
- From $6.95 per TB a month (source: backblaze.com)
- 3
Tigris
Storage that is read often, with free egress
Tigris's free tier gives 5 GB of data storage per month and 10,000 PUT, COPY, POST and LIST requests per month, with no card to start. Egress is free: nothing per gigabyte out.
- Downloads (egress)
- Free: nothing per GB out (source: tigrisdata.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: tigrisdata.com)
- First paid plan
- $0.02 per GB a month, standard (source: tigrisdata.com)
- 4
Scaleway Object Storage
Object storage that serves downloads at no cost
Scaleway's Object Storage includes 75GB of egress free every month, then charges for egress per GB.
- Downloads (egress)
- 75 GB free a month, then billed (source: scaleway.com)
Start free at ScalewayTerms read on scaleway.com on Scaleway Object Storage: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Filebase
Testing S3 or IPFS storage at no cost
Filebase's Free plan is $0 a month for testing and learning, with 5 GB of storage shared with IPFS and free object egress. The Pro plan is $7.50 a month.
- Downloads (egress)
- Object egress free (IPFS 10 GB) (source: filebase.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $7.50 a month (source: filebase.com)
- 6
Wasabi
Evaluating storage for 30 days with no card
A company email domain gets 100 GB for 30 days, and a freemail address gets 10 GB for 14 days, with no credit card required to get started. Its flat rate starts at $7.99 per TB a month.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: wasabi.com)
- First paid plan
- From $7.99 per TB a month (source: wasabi.com)
- 7
IDrive e2
Trying S3-compatible storage before any commitment
IDrive e2 lets you try 10GB free, and its egress policy gives downloads up to three times your total storage for free. Pay-as-you-go storage is $6 per month per TB.
- What's free
- 10 GB free to try (source: idrive.com)
- Downloads (egress)
- Free up to 3x your storage a month (source: idrive.com)
- First paid plan
- $6 per TB a month, pay as you go (source: idrive.com)
Start free at IDrive Inc.Referral linkTerms read on idrive.com on IDrive e2: the free allowance and how to start IDrive e2 Startup Program: what startups get
File upload and media services with a free plan
Upload widgets, image and video delivery, with a free monthly allowance.
- 1
UploadThing
File uploads in a small app, free to start
UploadThing's 2GB App plan is $0 a month with 2GB of storage shared between all apps, and uploads and downloads are unlimited. The 100GB App is $10 a month.
- Downloads (egress)
- Unlimited uploads and downloads (source: uploadthing.com)
- First paid plan
- $10 a month for 100 GB (source: uploadthing.com)
Start free at UploadThingTerms read on uploadthing.com on UploadThing: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Cloudinary
Image and video handling for a small site
Cloudinary's free plan has 25 monthly credits, 3 users and 1 account, and no credit card is required. The next plan is $99 a month on monthly billing for 225 credits.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: cloudinary.com)
- First paid plan
- Plus: $99 a month, 225 credits (source: cloudinary.com)
Start free at CloudinaryTerms read on cloudinary.com on Cloudinary: the free allowance and how to start Cloudinary for Startups: what startups get - 3
ImageKit
Low-traffic sites serving images and video
ImageKit's Forever free plan is $0 a month with 20 GB of bandwidth a month and 3 GB of DAM storage. The Lite plan is $9 a month, then pay as you go.
- Downloads (egress)
- 20 GB bandwidth a month (source: imagekit.io)
- First paid plan
- Lite: $9 a month, then pay as you go (source: imagekit.io)
Start free at ImageKitTerms read on imagekit.io on ImageKit: the free allowance and how to start ImageKit Startup Program: what startups get - 4
Uploadcare
Side projects and simple websites
Uploadcare's Free plan is $0 and includes 1,000 operations and 5 GB of traffic a month, with files up to 500 MB. Pro is from $66 a month.
- Downloads (egress)
- 5 GB of traffic a month (source: uploadcare.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: from $66 a month (source: uploadcare.com)
Start free at UploadcareTerms read on uploadcare.com on Uploadcare: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Filestack
Testing file uploads before a paid plan
Filestack's free plan is $0 forever with 1GB of bandwidth and 500 uploads. The next tier is $69 a month, billed monthly.
- What's free
- Free forever at $0 (source: filestack.com)
- First paid plan
- $69 a month, billed monthly (source: filestack.com)
Start free at FilestackTerms read on filestack.com on Filestack: the free allowance and how to start - 6
Transloadit
Trying file processing at a small volume
Transloadit's Community plan is free forever, with a 5 GB allowance that replenishes every month and a 0.5 GB file size limit. Lite is $29 a month for 15 GB.
- First paid plan
- Lite: $29 a month, 15 GB (source: transloadit.com)
Start free at TransloaditTerms read on transloadit.com on Transloadit: the free allowance and how to start
Storage startup programs
Programs from storage and media companies that give startups credits on paid plans.
Also useful for cloud and hosting
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers object storage and file upload services a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each service's terms. Every term comes from the service's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. Egress fees and operation caps can matter more than the free gigabytes, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these services pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a service appears, and no service pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free object storage?
It depends on what you store and serve. By the terms each provider states, Cloudflare R2 includes 10 GB of storage a month with free egress, Backblaze B2 10 GB always free, Tigris 5 GB a month, and Filebase 5 GB on its $0 plan.
Is Cloudflare R2 free?
Up to a point. Cloudflare R2 includes 10 GB of storage a month, 1M Class A and 10M Class B operations a month, and free egress to the internet. Storage beyond that costs $0.015 per GB a month.
Which object storage has free egress?
Cloudflare R2 and Tigris charge nothing for egress, while Backblaze B2 and IDrive e2 give free egress up to 3x your stored data a month and Scaleway 75 GB a month.
What about file uploads and images?
On their free plans, UploadThing gives 2 GB of storage with unlimited uploads and downloads, Cloudinary 25 credits a month for 3 users, ImageKit 20 GB of bandwidth a month and Transloadit 5 GB a month.
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