# Amazon S3 Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about Amazon S3 Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Cloud Storage products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/174285/Amazon-S3 --- # Amazon S3 Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on April 15, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. Independent research methodology Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. 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[Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/) [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Users](#users)[Pros and Cons](#pros-cons)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Amazon S3 ## What is Amazon S3? Amazon S3 is cloud object storage from Amazon Web Services that offers scalable storage for any type of data in the cloud. The service provides low-latency access through a simple web services interface to store and retrieve any amount of data from anywhere on the web. S3 offers industry-leading durability, availability, security, and performance. ## What is Amazon S3 used for? [Cloud Storage](https://www.capterra.com/cloud-storage-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 1,114 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 97% Neutral 2% Negative 1% Pros & cons Reliable and configurable data protection Seamless connections with platforms Complex and unfriendly navigation Inconsistent transfer and access speeds Contact vendor for pricing Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Amazon S3?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://aws.amazon.com/&name=Amazon S3) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Amazon S3 4.7 (1,114) VS. [4.6 (1,200)](https://www.capterra.com/p/171884/IDrive/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.3 (1,114) Ease Of Use 4.5 (28,320) Value For Money 4.5 (839) Value For Money 4.7 (20,467) Customer Service 4.4 (766) Customer Service 4.5 (18,467) ## Amazon S3 alternatives [4.6 (95)](https://www.capterra.com/p/145411/Zoho/reviews/) Starting price $3.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars Highest Rated [Google Drive](https://www.capterra.com/p/161425/Drive/) [4.8 (28,444)](https://www.capterra.com/p/161425/Drive/reviews/) Starting price $7.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/161425/Drive/) [OneDrive](https://www.capterra.com/p/161304/OneDrive/) [4.5 (12,652)](https://www.capterra.com/p/161304/OneDrive/reviews/) Starting price $1.99 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 90% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/161304/OneDrive/) [Google Workspace](https://www.capterra.com/p/247901/Google-Workspace/) [4.7 (17,508)](https://www.capterra.com/p/247901/Google-Workspace/reviews/) Starting price $7.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/247901/Google-Workspace/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/174285/Amazon-S3/alternatives/) ## Who uses Amazon S3? Based on Capterra reviews from the past 3 years ## Pros and Cons Reliable and configurable data protection 96% positive reviews out of 55 Most reviewers indicate secure storage offers robust encryption, flexible permissions, and dependable cloud-based data safety. Aldwin L Software Engineer, 2 - 10 employees. "Amazon S3 stands out as a reliable, scalable, and secure cloud storage solution." Complex and unfriendly navigation 40% negative reviews out of 85 Some reviewers report user interface is confusing, outdated, and challenging for non-technical or new users. Seamless connections with platforms 96% positive reviews out of 48 Most reviewers find integrations straightforward, with extensive support for AWS products and third-party applications. Inconsistent transfer and access speeds 36% negative reviews out of 70 Some users say performance and speed can lag, especially during large data transfers or high server loads. Comprehensive developer integration options 97% positive reviews out of 31 Most reviewers describe API as versatile, well-documented, and easy to integrate with various applications. ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. Access Controls/Permissions 4.6 (176) 68.18% of 176 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important It gives you granular control over who can access your data using IAM policies, bucket policies, and object-level permissions. Reviewers appreciate the flexibility to customize permissions, though some say the setup can be complex initially but becomes powerful once understood. Encryption 4.6 (167) 65.27% of 167 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Amazon S3 offers robust encryption options, including automatic default encryption and the ability to use custom keys. Reviewers appreciate how easy it is to enable encryption for data at rest and in transit, and they feel confident in the high level of security provided. Data Migration 4.5 (160) 61.25% of 160 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important With S3, you benefit from multiple secure and fast data migration methods, including tools like Snowball and integration with Redshift. Some reviewers find migration seamless for large datasets and appreciate the straightforward, user-friendly transfer and backup process. Version Control 4.4 (152) 55.92% of 152 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important With this capability, you can track, restore, and manage multiple versions of your files. Some reviewers find version control valuable for recovering deleted or overwritten data, and they like the ability to access previous versions for investigation or backup. Data Storage Management 4.7 (142) 72.54% of 142 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important S3 helps you organize, store, and access large amounts of data efficiently using buckets and custom folder structures. Users think the system is secure, scalable, and cost-effective, making it easy to manage, back up, and retrieve files as needs grow. File Transfer 4.5 (136) 64.71% of 136 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Move files across different systems or networks Amazon S3 12 features It gives you granular control over who can access your data using IAM policies, bucket policies, and object-level permissions. Reviewers appreciate the flexibility to customize permissions, though some say the setup can be complex initially but becomes powerful once understood. Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases Verify the identity of users/devices to enable secure access Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier With S3, you benefit from multiple secure and fast data migration methods, including tools like Snowball and integration with Redshift. Some reviewers find migration seamless for large datasets and appreciate the straightforward, user-friendly transfer and backup process. Process of copying and storing data in more than one site or node S3 helps you organize, store, and access large amounts of data efficiently using buckets and custom folder structures. Users think the system is secure, scalable, and cost-effective, making it easy to manage, back up, and retrieve files as needs grow. Amazon S3 offers robust encryption options, including automatic default encryption and the ability to use custom keys. Reviewers appreciate how easy it is to enable encryption for data at rest and in transit, and they feel confident in the high level of security provided. Public or private sharing of digital files such as documents, audio/video, images, and more Move files across different systems or networks Observe and track the demand, usage, progress or quality of a system, product, or user With this capability, you can track, restore, and manage multiple versions of your files. Some reviewers find version control valuable for recovering deleted or overwritten data, and they like the ability to access previous versions for investigation or backup. Features 4.6 (1,114) 4.6 Based on 1,114 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.5 (839) ### Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Free trial available Value for money 4.5 (839) 4.5 Based on 839 reviews ## Integrations [ AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)](https://www.capterra.com/p/234343/AWS-Identity-and-Access-Management-IAM/)[ Amazon VPC](https://www.capterra.com/p/234662/Amazon-VPC/) ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.4 (766) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.4 (766) 4.4 Based on 766 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.7 Based on 1,114 reviews Filter by rating 5(813) 4(268) 3(25) 2(7) 1(1) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent CQ Connor Q. IT Team Lead Media Production ### "Powerful and versatile, perhaps not so "Simple" Storage Solution" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 April 9, 2026 As with all AWS; the learning curve is more of a wall than a gentle gradient. And, following suit on the above statement - spending 100 hours on the platform configuring and setting up absolutely doesn't guarantee that you'll be setting things up best practice first thing moving forward - there are always new updates; subtle changes and new ways of working that will have you frustrated and realising you "should've/could've/woud've" ; but now it's live and in production you can't! For all of it's miseries and hair pulling from a configuration standpoint however, the platform absolutely works seemlessly once it's set up properly and never seems to have issues with downtime, latency, or general availability. This extends from our personal experience where we have all manner of different interfaces accessing and managing the objects within S3; from end users using file connect clients to access and download/upload objects; to third party solutions accessing via API and interpreting objects in all manner of formats for automations and project managers to interface with. Pros A powerful file sharing solution included in the AWS suite of services and tools. It provides a platform that, using extended functionality (APIs, SSH, web console, etc) provides a plethora of various mediums for interfacing with files (or, 'objects') in this respect. Being part of the AWS platform means that there is almost infinite redundancy, functionality for global regional accessibility, and many more other admin settings/configs that can expand on the baseline service. Cons As with all AWS services; nothing is as straight forward as they would have you believe from the name ("Simple" storage solution is perhaps an exaggeration). Dependencies can/do include additional configurations such as region locking (Unless you want to get fancy with advanced settings and integrating other services); IAM permissions and access keys for access (How you configure this really is use case dependent); etc - Also worth mentioning that unless you are already familiar with AWS and their suite, expect to spend a good few hours going through and navigating the platform to understand the interconnectivity between functions and services. A final note to mention that trying to specifically find an easy readable guide on best practices is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack - difficult and likely to be difficult to extrapolate for your use case (especially when integrating it with more AWS solutions). Switched from [IBM Aspera](https://www.capterra.com/p/235275/IBM-Aspera-on-Cloud/) A lot of partners, clients and suppliers have started to leverage S3 and it ultimately made more sense from an admin perspective to simply follow suit and have native interactions rather than constantly interfacing with AWS using 3rd party solutions Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Senior Product Manager Biotechnology ### "Industry Standard Cloud Storage" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 April 8, 2026 Overall, it is a key cloud storage platform for our company. It is durable, secure, and an industry standard. It's great for storing, sharing and dumping large and datasets, which is vital for our workflow. Pros It is perfect for our cloud storage needs, it is scalable, and we only pay for what we use. It is also easy to set up S3 buckets for our clients to deliver them large datasets. We use Amazon athena and other apps which mean that everything is linked together well. It is a backbone service for our company. Cons There is a bit of a learning curve for non-developers, when I first started I wasn't too sure how to access files etc, and was scared to make big changes as didn't want to mess something else! Also, sometimesI'm not too keen to be locked into the Amazon ecosystem, as we are at the mercy of their pricing models. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Software engineer Financial Services ### "Reliable, Scalable, and Easy-to-Integrate Object Storage" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 March 30, 2026 Amazon S3 has been a core part of our infrastructure for storing and retrieving data at scale. It’s highly dependable and integrates well across the AWS ecosystem. Once you understand the pricing model and set up proper governance, it becomes an incredibly powerful and cost-effective solution. Pros Amazon S3 is extremely reliable and scalable. It handles large volumes of data effortlessly, and the durability (11 9’s) gives strong confidence for long-term storage. Integration with other AWS services like Lambda, CloudFront, and Athena is seamless, which makes building data pipelines and serverless architectures much easier. The API is straightforward, and SDK support across languages is excellent. Features like versioning, lifecycle policies, and fine-grained IAM permissions add a lot of flexibility. Cons Pricing can become confusing, especially with multiple tiers (standard, infrequent access, glacier) and data transfer costs. Without proper lifecycle policies, costs can grow unexpectedly. Also, managing permissions via IAM policies can be complex for beginners and may lead to misconfigurations if not handled carefully. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DG Damian G. CEO CTO Information Technology and Services ### "Smashed Potato" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 February 28, 2026 Pros Very vercitile and easy to use storage system, which become small standard in the industry. With very easy way to implement it inside applications. Cons I think overall pricing, comparing to other providers which implemented same "s3 compatible" storage system Switched from [Microsoft Azure](https://www.capterra.com/p/16365/Azure/) Azure storage was very pain to implement from Dev perspective Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JR James R. Cloud Engineer Information Technology and Services ### "Reliable, Scalable Storage with a Learning Curve" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 24, 2026 My overall experience with Amazon S3 has been very positive due to its reliability and scalability. While the pricing and configuration can be complex at times, it consistently delivers strong performance and seamless integration within Amazon Web Services. Pros What I like most about Amazon S3 is its virtually unlimited scalability and high durability, which make it reliable for storing massive amounts of data. Its simple object storage model and RESTful API make it easy to integrate with applications and workflows. Cons One of the main drawbacks of Amazon S3 is its pricing complexity, especially with variable costs for storage classes, requests, and data transfer that can be hard to predict. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User TWI West Music ### "Amazon gives you the ability to redeem amazon gift cards and it's alright " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 February 6, 2026 I tend to think that are fee are high and they been shutting quit accounts lately mine and everyone which I haven't liked Pros My Amazon Review for the customer and everyone websites to go on to buy everything and get it shipped to their house Cons I don't like when I used amazon gift card it's not easy and they restricted my account and everyone's account Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DE Denissa E. Official Business Supplies and Equipment ### "Amazing AmaZon" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 2/10 December 23, 2025 Happy contented, nothing that beats the amazing mazon web search, their services is truly an excitement Pros Easy of use, very familiar with the following list of instructions and features. Easy to navigate, nothing to lose a perfect amazon Cons Some sort of stuff is not suitable of some of the things that I really want to explore.sometimes there's also an error Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RA Ramit A. Review Architecture & Planning ### "Reliable and Scalable Cloud Storage Solution" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 3/10 December 22, 2025 Overall, my experience with Amazon S3 has been positive. It’s reliable, scalable, and easy to use for storing and managing data. Pros What I liked most about Amazon S3 is how simple and reliable it is. It makes storing and accessing data really easy without worrying about infrastructure or maintenance. The scalability is a big plus—you can start small and grow without changing anything—and it consistently feels secure and dependable for both backups and day-to-day use. Cons What I liked least about Amazon S3 is that its pricing can be confusing and sometimes unpredictable. While storage itself is relatively affordable, the additional costs for data transfer, API requests, and retrieval can add up quickly if you’re not careful. It also requires a good understanding of AWS permissions and policies, which can be overwhelming for beginners. Setting up proper access control and lifecycle rules takes time and experience. Without close monitoring, it’s easy to incur higher costs or misconfigure security settings, especially in larger or more complex projects. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Cassandra J. Content creator Education Management ### "Super service " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 3, 2025 My overall experience was great it's so easy to browse and work with I found a platform where I can engage on perfectly Pros The network and fast easy service to use I would recommend it to anyone what I like most is the time and how fast it operates Cons Nothing least this service is a A+ this service is awesome I just think it can be pricey but it's worth it Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Yozet Rafael B. Engineer Business Supplies and Equipment ### "Amazon Web S3 product" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 22, 2025 It is easy to use, the file management it is ok. And all the documentation it is there to all the workers . Pros We have all of our database in amazonweb service and it is a great product so far. It is secure, we never had a problem. Cons It can be a bit more expensive compare to google but it is value for money. The customer support is fantastic and help a lot Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/174285/Amazon-S3/reviews/) Popular comparisons [Google Drive vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/161425-174285/Drive-vs-Amazon-S3)[OneDrive vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/161304-174285/OneDrive-vs-Amazon-S3)[Google Workspace vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-247901/Amazon-S3-vs-Google-Workspace)[iCloud vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-204717/Amazon-S3-vs-iCloud)[Dropbox Business vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/143068-174285/Dropbox-Business-vs-Amazon-S3)[Google Cloud Storage vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-253631/Amazon-S3-vs-Google-Cloud-Storage)[Google Cloud vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-268690/Amazon-S3-vs-Google-Cloud-Platform)[IDrive vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/171884-174285/IDrive-vs-Amazon-S3) [Box vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/148766-174285/Box-vs-Amazon-S3)[WeTransfer vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-176600/Amazon-S3-vs-WeTransfer)[Google Photos vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-253103/Amazon-S3-vs-Google-Photos)[5centsCDN vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/167190-174285/Content-Delivery-Network-vs-Amazon-S3)[MEGA vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-232384/Amazon-S3-vs-MEGA)[pCloud Business vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/161573-174285/pCloud-Business-vs-Amazon-S3)[Progress ShareFile vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/174285-10007380/Amazon-S3-vs-ShareFile)[Tresorit vs Amazon S3](https://www.capterra.com/compare/150689-174285/Tresorit-vs-Amazon-S3)  Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider's website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/)