Photographer backup cost calculator

Worked example: 50 GB per shoot, four shoots a month, kept for two years. Storage only.

4.8 TB to store · 96,000 files

50 GB per shoot × 4 shoots/month × 24 months + 0 GB already kept.

Lowest normal month

$42.11

Hetzner Object Storage · Object Storage · Falkenstein

Checked on 2026-09-27

Lowest restore month

$46.56

Hetzner Object Storage · Object Storage · Falkenstein

Checked on 2026-09-27 · Last byte: 4.4 days

Restore 4.8 TB over 100 Mbps. The restore month includes the normal bill. Each column picks its own lowest eligible offer; compare both bills for the same provider below.

These prices cover an offsite object-storage copy. You need software to upload and restore your files. Compare object storage with managed backup if you need a desktop backup app.

Price your photo library

Use the size of the files you will keep after culling. Count RAW files, JPEG exports, catalogues and sidecars separately if each is uploaded as one object.

Compare storage and restore bills

Sort offers by

A restore can change the winner

Same offer, two bills. Vertical positions show cost rank within these 3 offers.

Normal monthRestore month

Hetzner Object Storage · Object Storage$42.11

Amazon S3 · S3 Express One Zone$492.34

Google Cloud Storage · Rapid$492.34

Hetzner Object Storage · Object Storage$46.56

Google Cloud Storage · Rapid$495.04

Amazon S3 · S3 Express One Zone$888.36

Lowest normal bill$42.11Hetzner Object Storage · Object Storage

Lowest restore bill$46.56Hetzner Object Storage · Object Storage

Every plotted bill

Offer	Normal month	Restore month
Hetzner Object Storage · Object Storage	$42.11	$46.56
Amazon S3 · S3 Express One Zone	$492.34	$888.36
Google Cloud Storage · Rapid	$492.34	$495.04

Thicker blue lines cross another offer. Thin lines keep their order. The heavier line marks the lowest normal-month bill. Unpublished totals are not drawn.

How much more the restore month costs

Normal month to restore month

normal $42.11worst day $46.56

Worst day: 1.1 times this vendor's quiet month.

Back online: 4.4 daysRetrieval latency: instant

Recovery time, price date, and sourceshow details

Restoring everything costs 1.1 times a quiet month with this vendor. That multiple, not the storage rate, is what a backup decision turns on.

Back online: 4.4 days
Retrieval latency: instant
Updated: 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot

This vendor publishes no downloadable price feed, so every figure here is re-checked by hand. Publishing a price is not permission to collect it automatically.

docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot

Compare every provider

All 18 vendors appear. Ranks refer to all offers, including the storage classes in the disclosure below. Each total is calculated from the provider's listed rates. Ranked offers have a priced normal-month total, a current-enough source and every requirement met. 58 of 61 offers are missing a price, fail a requirement or cannot be verified; their known totals stay visible.

1Hetzner Object StorageObject Storage, fsn1Normal$42.11Restore$46.56instant 4.4 days
$0$492.34
2Amazon S3S3 Express One Zone, us-east-1, +14 more offersNormal$492.34Restore$888.36instant 4.4 days
$0$492.34
3Google Cloud StorageRapid, us-east1, +4 more offersNormal$492.34Restore$495.04instant 4.4 days
$0$492.34
not ranked·Akamai Cloud Object StorageObject Storage, us-eastNormalUnknownknown so far $96.00RestoreUnknownknown so far $115.00instant 4.4 days
not ranked·Azure Blob StorageHot LRS, eastus, +7 more offersNormalUnknownknown so far $99.86RestoreUnknownknown so far $508.80instant 4.4 days
not ranked·Backblaze B2B2 Cloud Storage, us-west-004NormalUnknownknown so far $33.29RestoreUnknownknown so far $33.29instant 4.4 days
not ranked·Cloudflare R2Standard, global, +1 more offerNormalUnknownknown so far $72.00RestoreUnknownknown so far $72.00latency unknown recovery time incomplete
not ranked·DigitalOcean SpacesSpaces Standard Storage, nyc3, +1 more offerNormalUnknownknown so far $89.41RestoreUnknownknown so far $123.87latency unknown recovery time incomplete
not ranked·FilebaseObject Storage, globalNormalUnknownknown so far $67.06RestoreUnknownknown so far $67.06instant 4.4 days
not ranked·IDrive e2IDrive e2, us-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $28.80RestoreUnknownknown so far $28.80instant 4.4 days
not ranked·Oracle OCI Object StorageStandard, us-ashburn-1, +2 more offersNormalUnknownknown so far $122.15RestoreUnknownknown so far $122.16instant 4.4 days
not ranked·OVHcloud Object StorageHigh Performance, GRA, +4 more offersNormalUnknownknown so far $90.66RestoreUnknownknown so far $90.66instant 4.4 days
not ranked·Scaleway Object StorageStandard Multi-AZ, fr-par, +2 more offersNormalUnknownnothing priced yetRestoreUnknownnothing priced yetinstant 4.4 days
not ranked·StorjStandard, globalNormalUnknownknown so far $33.60RestoreUnknownknown so far $67.20instant 4.4 days
not ranked·Telnyx Cloud StorageRegular Storage, eu-central-1, +1 more offerNormalUnknownknown so far $111.79RestoreUnknownknown so far $111.83instant 4.4 days
not ranked·TigrisStandard, global, +3 more offersNormalUnknownknown so far $89.41RestoreUnknownknown so far $89.41instant 4.4 days
not ranked·Vultr Object StorageAccelerated, ewr, +4 more offersNormalUnknownknown so far $480.00RestoreUnknownknown so far $518.00instant 4.4 days
not ranked·WasabiHot Cloud Storage, us-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $37.45RestoreUnknownknown so far $37.45instant 4.4 days

Every offer, including each storage class and region43 more

Ranked offers first. An unranked offer keeps its place and names its missing price or unmet requirement.

not ranked·Amazon S3 Standardus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $102.84RestoreUnknownknown so far $496.21
not ranked·Amazon S3 Standard-IAus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $55.92RestoreUnknownknown so far $494.05
not ranked·Amazon S3 One Zone-IAus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $44.74RestoreUnknownknown so far $482.87
not ranked·Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrievalus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $17.96RestoreUnknownknown so far $546.36
not ranked·Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrievalus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $16.24RestoreUnknownknown so far $483.10
not ranked·Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archiveus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $4.65RestoreUnknownknown so far $521.01
not ranked·Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tieringus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $103.08RestoreUnknownknown so far $520.44
not ranked·Amazon S3 Standardeu-central-1NormalUnknownknown so far $109.55RestoreUnknownknown so far $502.92
not ranked·Amazon S3 Standard-IAeu-central-1NormalUnknownknown so far $60.39RestoreUnknownknown so far $498.52
not ranked·Amazon S3 One Zone-IAeu-central-1NormalUnknownknown so far $48.32RestoreUnknownknown so far $486.45
not ranked·Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrievaleu-central-1NormalUnknownknown so far $22.43RestoreUnknownknown so far $550.83
not ranked·Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrievaleu-central-1NormalUnknownknown so far $18.28RestoreUnknownknown so far $496.61
not ranked·Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archiveeu-central-1NormalUnknownknown so far $8.31RestoreUnknownknown so far $546.05
not ranked·Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tieringeu-central-1NormalUnknownknown so far $109.79RestoreUnknownknown so far $528.71
not ranked·Azure Blob Storage Cool LRSeastusNormalUnknownknown so far $73.00RestoreUnknownknown so far $530.00
not ranked·Azure Blob Storage Cold LRSeastusNormalUnknownknown so far $17.35RestoreUnknownknown so far $571.21
not ranked·Azure Blob Storage Archive LRSeastusNormalUnknownknown so far $4.79RestoreUnknownknown so far $629.47
not ranked·Azure Blob Storage Hot LRSwesteuropeNormalUnknownknown so far $94.10RestoreUnknownknown so far $503.04
not ranked·Azure Blob Storage Cool LRSwesteuropeNormalUnknownknown so far $48.04RestoreUnknownknown so far $505.04
not ranked·Azure Blob Storage Cold LRSwesteuropeNormalUnknownknown so far $21.67RestoreUnknownknown so far $575.53
not ranked·Azure Blob Storage Archive LRSwesteuropeNormalUnknownknown so far $8.69RestoreUnknownknown so far $670.46
not ranked·Google Cloud Storage Standardus-east1NormalUnknownknown so far $89.41RestoreUnknownknown so far $613.87
not ranked·Google Cloud Storage Nearlineus-east1NormalUnknownknown so far $44.70RestoreUnknownknown so far $613.89
not ranked·Google Cloud Storage Coldlineus-east1NormalUnknownknown so far $17.88RestoreUnknownknown so far $632.19
not ranked·Google Cloud Storage Archiveus-east1NormalUnknownknown so far $5.36RestoreUnknownknown so far $755.62
not ranked·Cloudflare R2 Infrequent AccessglobalNormalUnknownknown so far $48.04RestoreUnknownknown so far $96.12
not ranked·DigitalOcean Spaces Cold Storagenyc3NormalUnknownknown so far $36.29RestoreUnknownknown so far $70.76
not ranked·Scaleway Object Storage Standard One Zonefr-parNormalUnknownnothing priced yetRestoreUnknownnothing priced yet
not ranked·Scaleway Object Storage Glacierfr-parNormalUnknownnothing priced yetRestoreUnknownnothing priced yet
not ranked·OVHcloud Object Storage Standard 3-AZEU-WEST-PARNormalUnknownknown so far $70.23RestoreUnknownknown so far $70.23
not ranked·OVHcloud Object Storage Infrequent AccessGRANormalUnknownknown so far $19.48RestoreUnknownknown so far $38.97
not ranked·OVHcloud Object Storage Active ArchiveEU-WEST-PARNormalUnknownknown so far $23.79RestoreUnknownknown so far $118.56
not ranked·OVHcloud Object Storage Cold ArchiveEU-WEST-PARNormalUnknownknown so far $8.81RestoreUnknownknown so far $72.67
not ranked·Vultr Object Storage StandardewrNormalUnknownknown so far $86.40RestoreUnknownknown so far $124.40
not ranked·Vultr Object Storage PremiumewrNormalUnknownknown so far $172.80RestoreUnknownknown so far $210.80
not ranked·Vultr Object Storage PerformanceewrNormalUnknownknown so far $240.00RestoreUnknownknown so far $278.00
not ranked·Vultr Object Storage ArchiveewrNormalUnknownknown so far $28.80RestoreUnknownknown so far $68.96
not ranked·Oracle OCI Object Storage Infrequent Accessus-ashburn-1NormalUnknownknown so far $47.90RestoreUnknownknown so far $95.82
not ranked·Oracle OCI Object Storage Archiveus-ashburn-1NormalUnknownknown so far $12.45RestoreUnknownknown so far $40.38
not ranked·Tigris Infrequent AccessglobalNormalUnknownknown so far $44.70RestoreUnknownknown so far $89.41
not ranked·Tigris ArchiveglobalNormalUnknownknown so far $17.88RestoreUnknownknown so far $38.74
not ranked·Tigris Archive Instant RetrievalglobalNormalUnknownknown so far $17.88RestoreUnknownknown so far $151.99
not ranked·Telnyx Cloud Storage Regular Storageus-east-1NormalUnknownknown so far $26.76RestoreUnknownknown so far $26.76

Hetzner Object Storage line by line

Normal-month bill, line by lineHetzner Object Storage Falkenstein, priced per GB, normal month

Storage $34.12Requests $0.00Egress $0.00Retrieval and restored copy $0.00Fixed fees $7.99

Storage$34.12
How Storage was calculated
Component Quantity Rate Amount
Storage above hourly included quota 2,774 TB-hour 0.0123 $34.12
4,800 GB-month after published object and capacity rules.
- docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot
- docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-07-29, 70d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot
Upload$0.00
How Upload was calculated
Component Quantity Rate Amount
Uploaded data 200 GB 0.00 $0.00
Uploaded data.
- docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot
Internet egress$0.00
0 GB internet egress is within the published allowance.
- docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot
Class A and Class B operations$0.00
How Class A and Class B operations was calculated
Component Quantity Rate Amount
Class A operations 4 blocks of 1,000 operations 0.00 $0.00
Class B operations 0 blocks of 1,000 operations 0.00 $0.00
Class A and Class B operations after published allowances.
- docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot
Retrieval$0.00
No data retrieval in this scenario.
- docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot
Fixed fees$7.99
How Fixed fees was calculated
Component Quantity Rate Amount
Object Storage base price 1 730 active hours 7.99 $7.99
Published fixed monthly fees.
- website-price-api.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot

How Storage was calculated
Component	Quantity	Rate	Amount
Storage above hourly included quota	2,774 TB-hour	0.0123	$34.12

How Upload was calculated
Component	Quantity	Rate	Amount
Uploaded data	200 GB	0.00	$0.00

How Class A and Class B operations was calculated
Component	Quantity	Rate	Amount
Class A operations	4 blocks of 1,000 operations	0.00	$0.00
Class B operations	0 blocks of 1,000 operations	0.00	$0.00

How Fixed fees was calculated
Component	Quantity	Rate	Amount
Object Storage base price	1 730 active hours	7.99	$7.99

Normal month total$42.11

Calculated from the provider's listed rates.

Preparation and transfer

106.67 h to 106.67 hLast-byte lower-bound range

Provider preparation0 h to 0 h

Transfer lower bound106.67 h

The verified class is directly readable with no restore tier or temporary-copy step; transfer at 100 Mbps is the remaining clock.

Time values and limits

Preparation minimum	0 h
Preparation maximum	0 h
Transfer lower bound	106.67 h
Last byte lower-bound range	106.67 h to 106.67 h

Hatching shows the published preparation window; ember shows transfer at your receiving speed. Dashed parts cannot be estimated. Actual recovery can take longer.

Time to recovery

4.4 days before the last byte has landed, using the published default tier

04.4 days

Vendor makes it readable: immediate
Transfer at your bandwidth: 4.4 days

The verified class is directly readable with no restore tier or temporary-copy step; transfer at 100 Mbps is the remaining clock.

docs.hetzner.comupdated 2026-09-27, 9d old at the 2026-10-07 snapshot

What this budget includes

The stored total is your existing archive plus the shoots in the retention window. It prices a month at that full size, held throughout the month, rather than averaging the months while your library grows. The existing archive stays in the total.

New uploads are one month's shoots. Fractional shoot averages are allowed; calculated file and upload-request counts round up to a whole file. Each file creates one upload request; a restore reads a proportional share of the file count. Multipart uploads, extra listing requests and repeated versions can cost more. Use the main storage calculator for those request counts.

The normal month has no downloads or archive retrievals. A restore goes to your computer over the public internet, keeps a readable archive copy for seven days where charged, and includes provider preparation plus transfer time. Transfer time is a lower bound, not a promised delivery time.

One shoot uses the average file size of the full library. Prices exclude backup software, local drives, taxes, extra cloud copies, and charges for deleting or replacing files before a provider's minimum duration. Retention sizes the library; it does not simulate deletion charges. No optional free tier is applied.

GB and TB are decimal: 1 TB = 1,000 GB. No compression or deduplication saving is assumed. See versioned backup capacity, minimum storage duration, and restore timing for those decisions.

Price sources and checked dates · Other storage budgets