Backblaze Pricing Calculator
Estimate your monthly and annual costs for Cloud Storage and Computer Backup
$720.00
$60.00
$0.00
Cost Comparison: 12-Month Projection
Visual representation of cumulative costs over one year.
Pricing Breakdown Table
| Metric | Unit Rate | Monthly Usage | Monthly Total |
|---|
Calculations based on standard Backblaze B2 rates ($6/TB storage, free egress up to 3x monthly average storage).
Mastering Your Cloud Expenses with the Backblaze Pricing Calculator
Choosing a cloud storage provider is often a balancing act between reliability and cost. The backblaze pricing calculator is an essential tool for businesses and individuals seeking to demystify their monthly invoices. Backblaze has disrupted the market with a simple, transparent pricing model, but understanding how storage volume, egress fees, and computer counts interact requires a bit of math. This guide provides a deep dive into how to use the backblaze pricing calculator effectively.
What is the Backblaze Pricing Calculator?
The backblaze pricing calculator is a financial estimation tool designed to project the costs associated with using Backblaze’s two main services: B2 Cloud Storage and Computer Backup. Unlike complex enterprise solutions that hide fees behind tiers and “API call” quotas, the backblaze pricing calculator focuses on the primary drivers of cost: capacity and data movement.
Who should use it?
- IT Managers: Comparing cloud storage costs against AWS S3 or Azure.
- Photographers/Videographers: Estimating the cost of archiving TBs of raw footage via the backblaze pricing calculator.
- Small Businesses: Calculating the ROI of moving from on-premise hardware to offsite backup costs.
Backblaze Pricing Calculator Formula and Mathematical Explanation
The math behind the backblaze pricing calculator differs based on the service selected. For B2 Cloud Storage, the model is consumption-based, whereas Computer Backup is a flat-rate model.
The B2 Cloud Storage Formula
The formula for B2 monthly costs is:
Total Cost = (Storage TB × $6.00) + (Billable Egress TB × $10.00)
Note on Egress: Backblaze provides a generous “Free Egress” policy. You get free downloads up to 3 times your average monthly storage volume. Any data downloaded beyond that is charged at $0.01 per GB ($10 per TB).
| Variable | Meaning | Unit | Typical Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage TB | Amount of data kept in B2 | Terabytes (TB) | 1 TB – 10 PB |
| Egress TB | Data downloaded to local devices | Terabytes (TB) | 0 – 5x Storage |
| Computer Count | Active devices for Backup | Integer | 1 – 500 |
Practical Examples (Real-World Use Cases)
To better understand the backblaze pricing calculator, let’s look at two common scenarios.
Example 1: The Media Studio (B2 Cloud Storage)
A video production house stores 50 TB of archive footage. In a busy month, they download 10 TB for a project.
- Inputs: 50 TB Storage, 10 TB Egress.
- Storage Cost: 50 * $6 = $300.
- Free Egress Allowance: 50 * 3 = 150 TB.
- Billable Egress: 0 (Since 10 TB < 150 TB).
- Total Monthly: $300.00.
By using the backblaze pricing calculator, they realize they are well within the free egress limit, saving them hundreds compared to data egress fees at Amazon S3.
Example 2: Small Office Backup
A firm has 5 workstations they want to back up. They choose the yearly plan to save money.
- Inputs: 5 Computers, Yearly Billing.
- Cost: 5 * $99 = $495 per year.
- Monthly Average: $41.25.
Related Resources
- B2 vs S3 Pricing Comparison: A deep dive into how Backblaze compares to industry giants.
- Enterprise Cloud Storage Guide: Scaling your data storage for large organizations.
- Advanced B2 Calculator: Tools for calculating API transaction costs.
How to Use This Backblaze Pricing Calculator
- Choose Your Service: Select “B2 Cloud Storage” if you need object storage for apps or manual archives. Select “Computer Backup” for automated, unlimited backup of a PC or Mac.
- Enter Storage Volume: For B2, input the total TB you plan to store. Be sure to account for growth over time.
- Estimate Egress: Determine how much data you will download each month. The backblaze pricing calculator automatically applies the “3x free” rule.
- Review Results: Look at the large primary result for your monthly budget and the annual projection to plan your yearly finances.
- Analyze the Chart: Use the chart to see how costs accumulate over time.
Key Factors That Affect Backblaze Pricing Results
Several variables can influence your final bill beyond what a basic backblaze pricing calculator might show:
- Data Retention Settings: Keeping multiple versions of files in B2 increases storage usage and therefore monthly costs.
- Egress Ratio: If your download-to-storage ratio exceeds 3:1, your costs will rise significantly due to cloud storage costs associated with bandwidth.
- Billing Cycle: For Personal Backup, committing to a 2-year plan can reduce your effective monthly rate by over 12%.
- API Class Transactions: While small, Class B and C transactions (like “List” or “Download by Name”) can add pennies or dollars to a B2 bill if your software is very active.
- Data Caps: Setting alerts and caps within the Backblaze dashboard can prevent accidental overages not predicted by the backblaze pricing calculator.
- B2 Reserve: For users with over 100TB, Backblaze Reserve offers a different flat-fee structure that includes support and more egress.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Yes, Backblaze B2 offers the first 10 GB of storage for free. The backblaze pricing calculator reflects costs for usage above this threshold.
It is free up to 3x your average monthly storage. If you store 1 TB, you can download 3 TB per month for free. This is a key feature of the backblaze pricing calculator logic.
Yes, for the Personal and Business Backup service, there is no cap on the amount of data you can back up from a single computer.
No, Personal Backup does not support NAS devices. You must use B2 Cloud Storage and pay the per-TB rate calculated by the backblaze pricing calculator.
These are API calls. Class A (uploads) are free. Classes B and C have very small costs per 10,000 operations. Most users find these costs negligible.
Generally, Backblaze B2 is 1/4th or 1/5th the price of S3 Standard, particularly when data egress fees are factored in.
Unlike some “Cold Storage” competitors, Backblaze does not charge minimum storage durations or deletion fees.
Currently, Backblaze primarily accepts credit cards and pre-paid credits. Check their official site for the latest payment updates.