Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Qumulo comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Qumulo are both solutions in the File and Object Storage category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.0, while Qumulo is ranked #21. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 0.8% mindshare in FaOS, compared to Qumulo’s 4.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Qumulo users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Qumulo and Amazon EFS are competing file systems, with Qumulo excelling in on-premises flexibility and Amazon EFS having a stronger capability in AWS integrations.

Features: Qumulo excels in providing real-time analytics, meaningful insights into data operations, multi-cloud integration options, and superior data protection algorithms. Amazon EFS offers seamless AWS integration, allows for automatic scaling, and is free from size limitations on storage, making it ideal for cloud environments.

Room for Improvement: Qumulo could enhance failover capabilities and disaster recovery features. It may improve integration with backup solutions and optimize deployment processes. For Amazon EFS, improvements could focus on offering more flexibility outside AWS ecosystems, reducing potential hidden costs, and simplifying the complexity of setup in diverse IT environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Amazon EFS benefits from its tight AWS integrations, simplifying deployment but limiting flexibility. Its customer service is robust due to AWS's extensive network. Qumulo, offering diverse configuration options and strong multi-cloud support, facilitates ease of use and is noted for excellent customer service, which aids implementation across different environments.

Pricing and ROI: Qumulo's pricing model is transparent, providing clear costs that often lead to a favorable ROI in hybrid setups. Amazon EFS, with a scalable pay-as-you-go model, is cost-effective within AWS, but mismanagement could lead to increased expenses. Qumulo's consistent pricing contrasts with the variability of Amazon EFS in AWS-only deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Qumulo Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Qumulo

June 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 5.8%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qumulo is 4.0%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File and Object Storage

Featured Reviews

Eric Black

Solutions Architect at Recovery Point Systems

The ability to leverage multi-tenancy along with immutability is a huge benefit for us

The only thing I feel FlashBlade is missing is the SOS API. If it had SOS API, that would put it well over the top. Veeam Backup specifically has started to streamline their API, and they are doing that with SOS API. They have optimized it. Any of the S3 devices out there that support this SOS API can have far more API calls at once. On our side, that translates to better restoration. With SOS API, it can leverage far more restorations at a single given time or read from the device in simple terms. That results in maximizing the output and throughput from the device itself.

Read full review

MuhammadAzhar Khan

Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group

Auto-scaling capabilities enhance file management while reducing downtime

The most valuable feature of Amazon EFS is its auto-scaling capability. It's really easy to configure EFS by just creating it and running a command to directly configure it with my servers. It supports unlimited use, and charges are applied based on the file usage at the end of the month. The solution offers reduced downtime and increased durability through its auto-scaling features.

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VinceVitro

Senior Storage Architect at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Useful data sharing, simple cluster scaling, and excellent support

One aspect of Qumulo that I hoped to see improved was its software upgrade process, which did see significant progress during my usage. Initially, upgrading the software resulted in several minutes of system downtime. However, by the time I departed last summer, the downtime had reduced to mere ten seconds. Although I am unsure if Qumulo has yet achieved a completely outage-free upgrade, I simply performed the upgrades early in the morning before the marketing department began its workday, so any downtime was inconsequential.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It's very easy-to-use."

"I would rate Pure Storage FlashBlade a ten out of ten."

"The initial setup is pretty easy and simple."

"It performs well and it is also very fast."

"The performance of FlashBlade is excellent. It does not necessarily leverage the SOS API that some of the newer products leverage, but I found its speed pretty much on par and comparable. It is fast, and it does what it is supposed to do."

"The product is scalable and easy to expand."

"The most valuable features of FlashBlade include its replication capabilities, reports, and easy allocation. Everything is user-friendly."

"Speed and ease of use are the two most valuable features."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"Elastic File Systems allow me to share data, provision, and manage capacity and performance in AWS."

"Amazon EFS offers the flexibility of scaling as needed without requiring pre-provisioned storage."

"There are huge money savings, as we can save more than half of our costs."

"Its elasticity and flexible pricing are the most valuable. For Amazon EFS, you are charged based on the storage. It is also very fast and stable with a very simple and intuitive interface."

"We are not that big of a cloud user. We just use it for the storage of our bytes. The most valuable aspect is the storage."

"The product's initial setup phase is easy, as per the configurations."

"We can run code and deploy it whenever we want."

"The first valuable thing is it is scalable."

More Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) pros

"The most valuable features of Qumulo are the ease of management and special permissions that are quick to enable. The overall performance of the solution is good."

"The most valuable feature of Qumulo is the ability to share files and reliability."

"It is a very stable product. I never faced any issues."

"The data protection algorithm to protect the data between the nodes has been the most valuable feature. The integration with backup platforms such as Veeam and Veritas has also been valuable."

"The most valuable feature is real-time analytics."

"The feature that I like most is the analytics part of the file system."

"The ratio of total operational cost to complexity versus feature set is very good."

"The most valuable features of Qumulo are its rolling updates and all-day availability."

Cons

"In the realm of micro-services, I think that Pure Storage can do well if they start getting in there and making their arrays more micro-services ready."

"The speed could be improved."

"I would like to have Snapshots and Snapmail in the next release. People who came from a NetApp background, especially expect these features."

"It's on the expensive side, as expected for a niche product."

"Pure Storage FlashBlade should improve on more cloud integration."

"The solution is expensive."

"We initially encountered challenges with the assembly process due to issues with the documentation required during setup, an area where Pure Storage needs improvement."

"There could be improvements in public cloud integration."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"It should be simplified. There are people who don't have cloud experience. It should be storage that we are able to just connect to."

"Elastic File Systems can be expensive due to the nature of data transfer costs, using services like SSTP, and potentially being costly in a rate-shift context."

"The initial setup requires prior experience and technical skills."

"Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS."

"Their response was not prompt, and it took them a while to figure out solutions. While the time to respond was good, the time to resolve was not optimal, as it took more than a week."

"Its deployment process could be faster while installing the Python package directly into the environment."

"It could be better in connecting with Windows Server instances."

"EFS could be improved by including a one-click setup."

More Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) cons

"The support for iMac and protocols should be improved, not all features are available."

"Qumulo should continue to expand automation and orchestration capabilities."

"One aspect of Qumulo that I hoped to see improved was its software upgrade process, which did see significant progress during my usage. Initially, upgrading the software resulted in several minutes of system downtime. However, by the time I departed last summer, the downtime had reduced to mere ten seconds. Although I am unsure if Qumulo has yet achieved a completely outage-free upgrade, I simply performed the upgrades early in the morning before the marketing department began its workday, so any downtime was inconsequential."

"In the future, I would like to see non-disruptive updates."

"Some anti-theft permissions do not transfer well to Qumulo."

"The solution could improve availability and improve data protection or data services such as compression of deduplication. In a future release, we'd like to have more cloud API integrations."

"The price of the software is a bit expensive, so a reduction in cost would make it more competitive."

"In the next release, I would like to see the ability to have more control at a terminal level of the file system."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our customers have seen a reduction in TCO."

"I feel that the price could always be lowered."

"It's a costly solution, but Pure Storage FlashBlade doesn't require additional licenses. All of the software is combined into one bundle."

"The price could be cheaper."

"Pure Storage FlashBlade is a hardware appliance, and it's very expensive if you compare its price with other solutions. You can get the same features and benefits from its competitor, VAST Data, but for half the price of Pure Storage FlashBlade."

"The product is very expensive."

"The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate."

"The price of this solution could be made more affordable."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"The product's price depends on the services and the size and capacity at which it is used in a business environment."

"Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) offers a pay-as-you-go model, so whenever you use its services, you need to pay."

"The main challenge with EFS is its cost, which is slightly higher compared to EBS or S3. For one GB or ten GB of data, S3 is much cheaper. EFS could cost around $30 to $50 per month for similar usage."

"The solution's price is mid-ranged."

"It has flexible pricing. You are charged based on your storage."

"The product charges are based on the amount of data stored."

"I would rate the pricing 7 out of 10."

"The price of Qumulo is reasonable."

"The price of the solution is in the middle range compared to others. We look at the price per terabyte."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The pricing of Pure Storage FlashBlade is expensive compared to other products I used from other companies in the pas...

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What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

I believe there is not much improvement needed because they have everything we need, but the interface is a little bi...

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Which file storage system is better - Amazon EFS (elastic file storage) or Azure File Storage?

Amazon EFS is easy to set up: you can use the AWS management console, API, or command-line. Amazon EFS can grow to pe...

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What do you like most about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?

The product's initial setup phase is easy, as per the configurations.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?

Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS.

See all answers

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Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 20% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 11% of the time

MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 11% of the time

VAST Data vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 10% of the time

Pure FlashArray X NVMe vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 3% of the time

More Pure Storage FlashBlade Competitors

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 56% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 9% of the time

Google Cloud Storage vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon S3 Glacier vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 6% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

Compared 6% of the time

More Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) Competitors

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Qumulo

Compared 24% of the time

VAST Data vs Qumulo

Compared 14% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Qumulo

Compared 10% of the time

Scality RING vs Qumulo

Compared 9% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Qumulo

Compared 5% of the time

More Qumulo Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

June 2025

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)

July 2025

Download Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) product report

Buyer's Guide

NAS

July 2025

Download Qumulo product report

Overview

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage

Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) provides simple, scalable file storage for use with Amazon EC2 instances in the AWS Cloud. Amazon EFS is easy to use and offers a simple interface that allows you to create and configure file systems quickly and easily. With Amazon EFS, storage capacity is elastic, growing and shrinking automatically as you add and remove files, so your applications have the storage they need, when they need it.

When mounted to Amazon EC2 instances, an Amazon EFS file system provides a standard file system interface and file system access semantics, allowing you to seamlessly integrate Amazon EFS with your existing applications and tools. Multiple Amazon EC2 instances can access an Amazon EFS file system at the same time, allowing Amazon EFS to provide a common data source for workloads and applications running on more than one Amazon EC2 instance.

It’s designed for high availability and durability, and provides performance for a broad spectrum of workloads and applications, including Big Data and analytics, media processing workflows, content management, web serving, and home directories.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Qumulo is a data storage and management platform that promotes object-based storage for users, backup archives, and surveillance. Its primary use case is to provide a cost-effective and feature-rich solution for managing large data.

Qumulo's data protection algorithm ensures the safety of node data, while its integration with backup platforms like Veeam and Veritas makes it easy to manage backups. The platform offers a good balance between operational cost and complexity versus feature set, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.

Qumulo

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

Arcesium, Atlassian, Seeking Alpha, Zend

County of Riverside Sheriff Department, Hyundai Mobis Automotive North America, University of Arizona, UCSD - San Diego Supercomputer Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Sinclair Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, Kaiser Permanente, Deluxe Creative, Vexcel Imaging, University of Florida, The Madison Square Garden Company, Arizona State University, Cinesite, San Diego Padres Baseball, Johns Hopkins University - School of Medicine, IHME, EllieMae, Washington State University.

Buyer's Guide

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Qumulo

June 2025

Free Report: Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Qumulo

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Qumulo and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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