Amazon S3 Glacier vs Microsoft Azure File Storage comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Public Cloud Storage Services category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 16.4% mindshare in PCSS, compared to Microsoft’s 10.0% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Amazon S3 Glacier

Read 41 Amazon S3 Glacier reviews

3,352 Views
2,851 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure File Storage

Read 48 Microsoft Azure File Storage reviews

2,623 Views
1,465 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Amazon S3 Glacier

Microsoft Azure File Storage

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 1, 2024

Amazon S3 Glacier and Microsoft Azure File Storage compete in the cloud storage category. Microsoft Azure File Storage has the upper hand in features, which justifies its pricing.

Features: Amazon S3 Glacier is known for long-term storage, durability, and cost-effectiveness for large-scale archival needs. Microsoft Azure File Storage is recognized for seamless integration with existing systems, improved performance in accessing files, and managed file shares in the cloud.

Room for Improvement: Amazon S3 Glacier should enhance retrieval times, optimize user interface, and provide better support for large datasets. Microsoft Azure File Storage could improve synchronization capabilities, expand cross-platform functionality, and offer more comprehensive training resources.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Amazon S3 Glacier offers straightforward deployment but has mixed customer support reviews. Microsoft Azure File Storage integrates seamlessly within the Azure ecosystem, alongside receiving positive feedback for responsive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Amazon S3 Glacier is cost-effective for large-scale archival needs with satisfactory ROI. Microsoft Azure File Storage features competitive pricing with potentially higher ROI due to its robust features and service quality.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon S3 Glacier vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon S3 Glacier vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage

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

Amazon S3 Glacier

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Azure File Storage

Ranking in Public Cloud Storage Services

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Public Cloud Storage Services category, the mindshare of Amazon S3 Glacier is 16.4%, up from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure File Storage is 10.0%, down from 13.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Public Cloud Storage Services

Featured Reviews

ArunDhwaj

Technical Owner at Harman International

Versatile data storage improves security and supports increasing data volumes

Amazon S3 Glacier offers robust security features and practically infinite storage, where we can store all kinds of media swiftly. It supports various data types, including semi-structured and raw formats. These features facilitate log management and data dumping since the service is versatile enough to handle large volumes of data and provide necessary security.

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PrashanthR

Lead Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Seamlessly streamlines document processing with advanced file storage and OCR integration

We need to store data over there. We process documents through Kofax Time is a major benefit, as well as ease of processing. With configuration, it happens quite easily, and we can finish tasks early. File storage is complemented by OCR with Azure Cognitive Service. This enhances the processing…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Data retrieval, security, compliance, and storage archiving are the most valuable features of Amazon S3 Glacier."

"We use the solution for migration."

"We like that the price is cheaper."

"It is the most feature-rich platform."

"The solution is great for storing data you don't usually need access to. It's also well-integrated with Amazon S3."

"The reliability of storage is the main benefit."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"AWS does support the ability for user controlled movement of data between regions for business continuance (BC), high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR)."

More Amazon S3 Glacier pros

"The solution is easy to use."

"The best part is the accessibility to all the files."

"This solution supports all file formats."

"The initial setup is straightforward and takes approximately twenty minutes."

"The biggest advantage of Azure File Storage vis-à-vis other public cloud storage providers, and why we recommend Azure first and foremost, is that many of our customers have partnerships with Microsoft and so they have access to better cloud economics. Compared to AWS, we have found that (from a customer perspective) Azure is much more competitive."

"The most valuable aspect of Azure File Storage is that all the features are available in one place."

"Azure File Storage gives us easy access to cloud solutions at the storage level."

"I like that we can copy and download data using Azure. It's not just for file storage; we can also use it for large data sets or to host static web applications."

More Microsoft Azure File Storage pros

Cons

"The pricing is a bit expensive. There is room for improvement in costs."

"The product is difficult to use."

"They should increase the data limit for the free version or reduce the price."

"I would like to see improved storage capacity and enhanced security features for better protection."

"The product needs to improve cloud security."

"The product takes more time to secure data when the bandwidth is low."

"There is room for improvement in terms of support"

"Technical support needs improvement. Previously, even though we had premium and enterprise support, the response time would be quicker if we ran into issues, but now it is slowed down. The analytical dashboard feature, like the CloudOps dashboard, should be included in the next release of the Amazon S3 Glacier."

More Amazon S3 Glacier cons

"If the file is large, there may be a delay in download time."

"They should make the solution more user-friendly."

"Some of the procedures are a bit more complex in Azure than in other providers."

"The tool needs to add more controls and enhance Power BI. For instance, I'm just suggesting the visualization layer. Power BI can increase visualization as much as possible, and the product can add more controls to the data flows."

"The way retention policies are applied could be more optimized."

"Importing and exporting data needs to have a bit more documentation."

"It's not very intuitive."

"The product’s pricing could be better."

More Microsoft Azure File Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is average and reasonable. It varies depending on the region."

"The product is very cheap."

"Amazon S3 Glacier is not an expensive solution, and it has a pay-as-you-go pricing model."

"Amazon S3 Glacier is a cost-effective solution for archiving."

"The solution is cost-effective."

"Amazon S3 Glacier is very cheap, but the cost becomes a concern when you have a very large amount of data."

"I've operated with Amazon S3 Glacier in two modes. Firstly, there's the trial mode, where I experimented with the platform, learned its functionalities, and applied it to my work. Secondly, there's the corporate account mode, where my team handles the operations, and I receive billing reports."

"We pay a monthly licensing fee for Amazon S3 Glacier."

More Amazon S3 Glacier pricing and cost advice

"The product must improve its price."

"The price of the solution is reasonable. The pricing model is based on usage."

"One needs to pay according to the storage they plan to use in the solution. The payments are to be made yearly. It is usually monthly, but we opted for yearly subscriptions in our company."

"The solution is a bit pricey compared to AWS and Google."

"Microsoft Azure File Storage has a reasonable price."

"We have Microsoft Azure File Storage's enterprise license."

"Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive."

"The price of Microsoft Azure File Storage is expensive, we do not know exactly how the price is calculated."

More Microsoft Azure File Storage pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Amazon's S3 Glacier or EBS (Elastic Block Store)?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Amazon's S3 Glacier or Elastic Block Store data storage software was the better fit for us. We decided to go with Amazon's S3 Glacier, whi...

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What do you like most about Amazon S3 Glacier?

I like creating buckets where data can be segregated at a high level and then routing the appropriate data to each designated bucket. In terms of value, I would say that the tool gets the job done ...

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What needs improvement with Amazon S3 Glacier?

The cost of retrieval in Glacier is quite high. It would be excellent if Amazon could work on reducing retrieval costs. Another improvement is making Glacier available in all regions.

See all answers

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 petabytes and deliver consistent low latencies and high levels of throughput. This...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure File Storage?

The product is a reliable cloud solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure File Storage?

The pricing for Microsoft Azure File Storage is five out of ten, not so expensive and not so low.

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Cloud Storage Nearline vs Amazon S3 Glacier

Compared 56% of the time

Google Cloud Storage vs Amazon S3 Glacier

Compared 12% of the time

Wasabi vs Amazon S3 Glacier

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Amazon S3 Glacier

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle Cloud Archive Storage vs Amazon S3 Glacier

Compared 5% of the time

More Amazon S3 Glacier Competitors

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

Compared 47% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 21% of the time

Wasabi vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 16% of the time

Amazon S3 vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 7% of the time

Google Cloud Storage vs Microsoft Azure File Storage

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Azure File Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon S3 Glacier

July 2025

Download Amazon S3 Glacier product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure File Storage

June 2025

Download Microsoft Azure File Storage product report

Also Known As

Amazon Glacier

MS Azure File Storage

Overview

Amazon Glacier is a secure, durable, and extremely low-cost cloud storage service for data archiving and long-term backup. Customers can reliably store large or small amounts of data for as little as $0.007 per gigabyte per month, a significant savings compared to on-premises solutions. To keep costs low, Amazon Glacier is optimized for infrequently accessed data where a retrieval time of several hours is suitable.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Fully managed file shares that use the standard SMB 3.0 protocol

Key scenarios:

Share data across on-premises and cloud servers
Migrate file share-based applications to the cloud with no code changes
Integrate modern applications with File storage
Simplify hosting for high availability workload data

Microsoft

Sample Customers

King Cpunty, Illumina, Backupify, Nearmap.com, Scribd, Baylor College of Medicine, SoundCloud

Talon, Camden

Buyer's Guide

Amazon S3 Glacier vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage

June 2025

Free Report: Amazon S3 Glacier vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon S3 Glacier vs. Microsoft Azure File Storage and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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