Cloudflare R2 vs MinIO
Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial
Cloudflare R2
Cloudflare's S3-compatible object storage with no egress fees and a monthly free tier.
MinIO
S3-compatible object storage you run on your own servers, now sold as MinIO AIStor.
The short answer
Cloudflare R2 suits developers who want managed S3-compatible storage with no egress fees and a free tier, especially for serving files or building on Cloudflare Workers. MinIO suits organisations that must keep S3-compatible storage on their own servers or Kubernetes. The biggest difference is hosting: R2 is a managed service on Cloudflare's network, while MinIO is software you deploy and operate.
Cloudflare R2 or MinIO: our take
Both speak the S3 API, so existing tools and SDKs work with either. Cloudflare R2 is a managed service: there are no servers to run, and it adds a native API for Cloudflare Workers so serverless code can read and write buckets without managing keys. Its main draw is that egress is free for every storage class, so serving images, files or datasets to the internet doesn't create bandwidth bills. Built-in migration tools can copy data from other S3-style providers in bulk or as objects are requested.
MinIO runs wherever you put it: Linux servers, containers, Kubernetes, on-premises or in another cloud. That makes it the option when data must stay on your own hardware, or when you need a local S3 endpoint for development. The commercial product, AIStor, adds erasure coding, replication, encryption, immutability and Iceberg catalog support. The original AGPL-3.0 repository has been archived, so new self-hosters should consider whether the commercial tiers fit before committing.
On cost, R2 charges for storage and operations. Standard storage is $0.015 per GB-month and Infrequent Access is $0.01 per GB-month, with retrieval fees on the latter. Class A operations cost $4.50 per million requests on Standard, which is higher than some rivals for write-heavy apps. The free tier covers 10 GB storage per month plus a set number of operations. MinIO's free tier allows single-node deployments; multi-node clusters need a paid Enterprise Lite or Enterprise subscription, each with a 60-day trial, and you pay for the hardware and the time to run it.
Pick Cloudflare R2 if you serve public assets, build on Workers, or want storage without operations work or egress bills. Pick MinIO if regulations, latency or existing infrastructure require storage you host yourself, and you have the people to manage it.
Which should you pick?
Choose Cloudflare R2 if…
- Developers serving files to the web who want to avoid egress fees, especially on Cloudflare Workers
- You need Web, which MinIO doesn't list
- No egress charges for any storage class
- Free tier of 10 GB storage and millions of operations a month
Choose MinIO if…
- Organisations that need S3-compatible storage on their own hardware, with enterprise support
- You need to host it on your own servers
- You need Self-hosted and Linux, which Cloudflare R2 doesn't list
- Drop-in S3 API compatibility for existing tools and SDKs
- Runs on-premises, at the edge or in any cloud
About each app
What is Cloudflare R2?
Cloudflare R2 is an object storage service on Cloudflare's developer platform. It exposes an S3-compatible API, so existing S3 tools and SDKs work after switching the endpoint, and it also has a native API for Cloudflare Workers, which lets serverless code read and write buckets without managing keys. The main draw is that R2 charges nothing for egress, so serving files, images or datasets to the internet doesn't add bandwidth bills. You pay for stored data and for two classes of operations, with a Standard class and a cheaper Infrequent Access class that adds retrieval fees. A free tier covers 10 GB of Standard storage plus a set number of reads and writes each month. Migration tools can copy data from other S3-style providers, either in bulk or gradually as objects are requested. It runs entirely in Cloudflare's network and is managed from the dashboard, API or CLI. It suits developers serving public assets or building apps on Cloudflare.
What is MinIO?
MinIO is object storage software that speaks the Amazon S3 API, so applications written for S3 can store data on hardware or clouds an organisation controls. For years its server was open source under the AGPLv3 and widely used for self-hosted backups, data lakes, Kubernetes storage and local S3 testing. MinIO, Inc. now focuses on a commercial product, AIStor, aimed at analytics and AI workloads, with erasure coding, replication, encryption, an admin console, S3 Express and Iceberg catalog support. AIStor has a free tier limited to single-node deployments with community support, and paid Enterprise Lite and Enterprise subscriptions for multi-node clusters with vendor support, each with a 60-day trial. The original open-source GitHub repository has been archived, which has led many self-hosters to look at other S3-compatible servers. It runs on Linux servers and in containers and Kubernetes.
Side by side
| Attribute | Cloudflare R2 | MinIO |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan + paid | Free plan + paid |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web | Self-hosted, Linux |
| Best for | Developers serving files to the web who want to avoid egress fees, especially on Cloudflare Workers | Organisations that need S3-compatible storage on their own hardware, with enterprise support |
| Status | Active | Active |
Verified facts, compared
Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.
Cloudflare R2 vs MinIO pricing
Cloudflare R2: free plan + paid
Cloudflare R2 pricing pageMinIO: free plan + paid
- Free plan: Single-node deployments source
- Free trial: 60 days (Enterprise tiers) source
- Open-source license: AGPL-3.0 source
Platforms
| Platform | Cloudflare R2 | MinIO |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ||
| Linux | ||
| Self-hosted |
Cloudflare R2 facts
6 of 6 verified- Egress fees
- None
- Checked Nov 8, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Egress (data transfer to Internet) Free”
- Free tier
- 10 GB storage per month
- Checked Nov 8, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Free Storage 10 GB-month”
- S3 compatible
- Yes
- Checked Nov 8, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “S3-compatible APIs R2 exposes S3 compatible APIs: use your existing tools without a rewrite.”
- Standard storage price
- $0.015 per GB-month
- Checked Nov 8, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Storage $0.015 / GB-month”
- Infrequent Access storage
- $0.01 per GB-month
- Checked Nov 8, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “$0.015 / GB-month $0.01 / GB-month”
- Class A operations
- $4.50 per million requests (Standard)
- Checked Nov 8, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Class A Operations $4.50 / million requests”
MinIO facts
5 of 5 verified- Free plan
- Single-node deployments
- Checked Nov 8, 2026min.io(opens source in a new tab)
- “Single-node deployment architecture Self-service community Slack and documentation support Free of charge”
- Free trial
- 60 days (Enterprise tiers)
- Checked Nov 8, 2026min.io(opens source in a new tab)
- “Start 60-day Free Trial”
- S3 compatible
- Yes
- Checked Nov 8, 2026min.io(opens source in a new tab)
- “fully-S3-compatible object storage deployable anywhere across edge, core, and cloud environments.”
- Open-source license
- AGPL-3.0
- Checked Nov 3, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “License: AGPL-3.0 (GNU Affero General Public License v3.0).”
Pros and cons of Cloudflare R2
- No egress charges for any storage class
- Free tier of 10 GB storage and millions of operations a month
- Native Workers API alongside S3 compatibility
- Built-in tools to migrate data from other providers
- Write operations cost more per million than on some rivals
- Infrequent Access class has retrieval fees and no free tier
- Fewer storage tiers and data management features than Amazon S3
Pros and cons of MinIO
- Drop-in S3 API compatibility for existing tools and SDKs
- Runs on-premises, at the edge or in any cloud
- Enterprise features such as replication, encryption and immutability
- Open-source repository is archived and no longer developed
- Free tier is limited to single-node deployments
- Multi-node clusters need a paid subscription
Other apps to consider
Backblaze B2Instead of Cloudflare R2
Lower per-terabyte storage price, with free egress up to three times what you store.
- WaWasabi
Instead of Cloudflare R2
Flat per-terabyte billing with no request fees, suited to large backup and archive sets.
Amazon S3Instead of Cloudflare R2
Deeper feature set, archive tiers and AWS integrations if egress cost matters less than features.
Google Cloud StorageInstead of MinIO
Managed object storage on Google Cloud, with no cluster to run, upgrade or repair yourself.
Cloudflare R2 vs MinIO: common questions
Is Cloudflare R2 better than MinIO?
Cloudflare R2 suits developers who want managed S3-compatible storage with no egress fees and a free tier, especially for serving files or building on Cloudflare Workers. MinIO suits organisations that must keep S3-compatible storage on their own servers or Kubernetes. The biggest difference is hosting: R2 is a managed service on Cloudflare's network, while MinIO is software you deploy and operate.
Is Cloudflare R2 free?
Cloudflare R2 has a free plan, with paid plans for more features. See its verified pricing facts above for current limits.
Is MinIO free?
MinIO has a free plan, with paid plans for more features. See its verified pricing facts above for current limits.
Is Cloudflare R2 or MinIO open source?
Neither is open source.
Which platforms do Cloudflare R2 and MinIO support?
Cloudflare R2: Web. MinIO: Self-hosted and Linux.