# Amazon S3 vs IBM Cloud Object Storage

| Attribute | Amazon S3 | IBM Cloud Object Storage |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 59.5 (73% (medium)) | 61.6 (32% (low)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Amazon S3 is a distributed cloud storage platform that allows organizations to store, retrieve, and manage any volume of data. It offers multiple storage classes optimized for different access patterns and use cases, along with built-in analytics, compliance controls, and security features. It is indexed under File Storage.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/?loc=ft","question":"What is Amazon S3?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Amazon S3 offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $0.03. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/?loc=ft","question":"Is Amazon S3 free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Amazon S3 supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/?loc=ft","question":"What platforms does Amazon S3 support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Amazon S3, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/?nc2=h_pr_hub","question":"Can Amazon S3 be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 19 integrations for Amazon S3, including Apache Iceberg, Dremio, DuckDB, HighByte Intelligence Hub, Ryft, AWS CloudFront, AWS Lambda and AWS API Gateway, plus 11 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/?loc=ft","question":"What does Amazon S3 integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed HIPAA and GDPR for Amazon S3. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Amazon S3 not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://aws.amazon.com/trust-center/?nc1=f_cc","question":"What security certifications does Amazon S3 have?","confidence":0.7}]` | `[{"answer":"Enterprise cloud storage service with built-in encryption, multi-region resiliency, and high-performance data transfer, optimized for AI, data lakehouses, and cloud-native applications. It is indexed under Object Storage.","source":"https://www.ibm.com/cloud/object-storage","question":"What is IBM Cloud Object Storage?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"IBM Cloud Object Storage offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.ibm.com/cloud/object-storage","question":"Is IBM Cloud Object Storage free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for IBM Cloud Object Storage, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.ibm.com/cloud/object-storage","question":"Can IBM Cloud Object Storage be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR for IBM Cloud Object Storage. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as IBM Cloud Object Storage not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.ibm.com/cloud/object-storage","question":"What security certifications does IBM Cloud Object Storage have?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"IBM Cloud Object Storage is available in Australia, Canada, India, Japan and Spain. Its primary markets are Australia, Canada, India, Japan and Spain.","source":"https://www.ibm.com/cloud/object-storage","question":"Where is IBM Cloud Object Storage available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Amazon S3 is a distributed cloud storage platform that allows organizations to store, retrieve, and manage any volume of data. It offers multiple storage classes optimized for different access patterns and use cases, along with built-in analytics, compliance controls, and security features. | Enterprise cloud storage service with built-in encryption, multi-region resiliency, and high-performance data transfer, optimized for AI, data lakehouses, and cloud-native applications. |
| features.capabilities | `{"versioning":true,"storage_tiering":true,"object_lock_worm":true,"object_versioning":true,"s3_api_compatible":true,"encryption_at_rest":true,"lifecycle_policies":true,"event_notifications":true,"customer_managed_keys":true,"cross_region_replication":true,"multi_region_replication":true,"object_lock_immutability":true,"free_or_discounted_egress":true}` | `{"cross_region_replication":true}` |
| integrations.count | 19 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Apache Iceberg"},{"name":"Dremio"},{"name":"DuckDB"},{"name":"HighByte Intelligence Hub"},{"name":"Ryft"},{"name":"AWS CloudFront"},{"name":"AWS Lambda"},{"name":"AWS API Gateway"},{"name":"AWS Analytics Services"},{"name":"AWS Bedrock"},{"name":"Asana"},{"name":"Brave Search API"},{"name":"Pokee AI"},{"name":"Tailscale"},{"name":"TrendAI Vision One"},{"name":"Orca Security"},{"name":"Cast AI"},{"name":"LucidLink"},{"name":"Vanta"}]` | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["AU","CA","IN","JP","ES"],"availabilityScope":"regional","availableCountries":["AU","CA","IN","JP","ES"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | - |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"S3 Standard","features":["Full availability and durability guarantees"],"description":"General-purpose storage with frequent access","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"S3 Intelligent-Tiering","features":["Automatic tiering between access tiers","No retrieval charges","Up to 80% cost reduction"],"description":"Automatic cost optimization through access pattern monitoring","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"S3 Tables","features":["Native Apache Iceberg support","Automatic table compaction","Higher transaction throughput"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gb"},"kind":"metered","note":"first 50 TB per month","amount":0.0265,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Optimized for Apache Iceberg analytics","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval","features":["Cost-effective archival storage"],"description":"Long-term archival with retrieval fees","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"S3 Glacier Deep Archive","features":["Deep archival for compliance and long-term retention"],"description":"Lowest-cost archival storage with longer retrieval times","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"S3 Express One Zone","features":["Fastest cloud object storage","Single availability zone"],"description":"Highest-performance storage class","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Management & Insights"},{"name":"Data Transfer"},{"name":"API Requests"}],"summary":"Usage-based pricing with metered storage (per GB), request charges (per 1,000 operations), and data transfer costs. Free tier includes $200 in AWS Free Tier credits for 6 months.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/?loc=ft","retrievedAt":"2026-08-19T09:05:23.304Z","startingPrice":{"unit":"gb","amount":0.0265,"currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"One-Rate","summary":"All-inclusive with no hidden charges","description":"All-inclusive pricing covering storage, egress, API calls, and retrieval","contactSales":false}],"freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.ibm.com/cloud/object-storage","retrievedAt":"2026-08-25T15:48:50.268Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":0.0265,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/?nc2=h_dsc_aa_cmp | - |

## Capabilities (Object Storage)

| Capability | Amazon S3 | IBM Cloud Object Storage |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Lifecycle policies | ✓ | - |
| Versioning | ✓ | - |
| Object lock worm | ✓ | - |
| Cross region replication | ✓ | ✓ |
| Erasure coding | - | - |
| Event notifications | ✓ | - |
| Open source | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T18:28:58.456Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*