Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total monthly cost
$230.04
Storage cost
$230.00
Retrieval cost
$0.00
Request cost
$0.04
Blended cost per stored GB
$0.0230
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How to use this
- 1Enter total data stored (GB).
- 2Enter storage rate for this tier ($/GB-mo).
- 3Enter data retrieved per month (GB).
- 4Enter retrieval rate for this tier ($/GB).
- 5Enter get requests per month.
- 6Enter request cost ($/1000 req).
- 7Read your total monthly cost on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Object storage services like S3, GCS, and Azure Blob offer multiple storage classes with dramatically different price points and access costs. Standard/hot storage costs more per GB but has no retrieval fee; infrequent-access tiers cost less per GB but charge a per-GB retrieval fee; archive tiers (Glacier, Archive) cost the least per GB but charge the highest retrieval fees and have retrieval delays measured in hours. This calculator computes blended monthly cost for a given data volume across a chosen tier, factoring in both storage and expected retrieval volume, so you can see the break-even point where moving data to a colder tier stops being worth it. As a rule of thumb, data accessed less than once a month belongs in infrequent-access, and data accessed less than once a quarter belongs in archive — but the exact crossover depends on your retrieval rate, which is what this tool solves for.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Total data stored: 10000 GB
- Storage rate for this tier: 0.023 $/GB-mo
- Data retrieved per month: 500 GB
- Retrieval rate for this tier: 0 $/GB
- GET requests per month: 100000
- Request cost: 0.0004 $/1000 req
Results
- Total monthly cost: $230.04
- Storage cost: $230.00
- Retrieval cost: $0.00
- Request cost: $0.04
- Blended cost per stored GB: $0.023
What each field means
Inputs
- Total data stored (GB)
- The total data stored used in the calculation, measured in GB. Starts at 10000 GB so you have a working example on load.
- Storage rate for this tier ($/GB-mo)
- The storage rate for this tier used in the calculation, measured in $/GB-mo. Starts at 0.023 $/GB-mo so you have a working example on load.
- Data retrieved per month (GB)
- The data retrieved per month used in the calculation, measured in GB. Starts at 500 GB so you have a working example on load.
- Retrieval rate for this tier ($/GB)
- The retrieval rate for this tier used in the calculation, measured in $/GB. Starts at 0 $/GB so you have a working example on load.
- GET requests per month
- The get requests per month used in the calculation. Starts at 100000 so you have a working example on load.
- Request cost ($/1000 req)
- The request cost used in the calculation, measured in $/1000 req. Starts at 0.0004 $/1000 req so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Total monthly cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Storage cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Retrieval cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Request cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Blended cost per stored GB
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
When does archive storage stop being cheaper?
Run this calculator once with Standard rates (no retrieval fee) and once with Archive rates (low storage, high retrieval) at your real monthly retrieval volume. If retrieval fees plus the lower storage cost exceed Standard's flat storage cost, the data is being accessed too often for archive tiers and should move back up.
Do lifecycle policies really save money automatically?
Yes, if configured correctly. A lifecycle rule that moves objects to infrequent-access after 30 days and archive after 90 days can cut storage cost 40-70% for typical log or backup data where 90% of access happens in the first month, but it adds retrieval fees if you're wrong about access patterns, so audit actual retrieval logs before setting the transition windows.
Are minimum storage duration charges included?
No. Infrequent-access and archive tiers typically enforce a minimum storage duration (30-180 days) — deleting or transitioning an object before that window still bills as if it stayed the full minimum. Factor that in separately for data with high churn or short retention needs, since it can erase the savings this calculator shows.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
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Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). S3-Style Storage Tiering Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/s3-storage-tiering-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/s3-storage-tiering-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">S3-Style Storage Tiering Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [S3-Style Storage Tiering Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/s3-storage-tiering-cost) (2026).