We will discuss the most stable, scalable, and cheap block storage solutions that deliver excellent services, features, and robust infrastructure at affordable prices in this post.
Block-based storage is a technology that controls storage devices and stores files in blocks. It comes into play when you need additional storage space for your server to hold growing data without affecting the server.
The best block storage will be the one that offers enhanced performance, lower latency, and flexibility simultaneously. In addition, it provides a high range of IOPS, which makes it a favorable choice if you are looking for high-performance applications and databases with ease.
Block storage system offers excellent reliability, durability, flexibility, and the quickest data retrieval at a reasonable price.
Top Cheap Block Storage Platforms
1. Kamatera: Our top-ranked choice for great services at lower budget with 24/7 support
2. Vultr: Runner-up choice for highly scalable and cheapest storage servers with intuitive control panel
3. DigitalOcean: One of the best block storage platforms for developers with various third party integration options
Let’s discuss this in detail!
What is Block Storage?
Block storage is a type of cloud storage that stores data on storage area networks (SANs) in the form of blocks of equal size. Each block can store a fixed size of memory which the management system can decide. However, the blocks can only contain a small amount of data. Each file requires multiple blocks to store its entire data. A unique address is assigned for each block used by the server’s operating system to retrieve and assemble data into files.
The operating system automatically distributes the blocks across the storage system for balance and functionality. When the file is requested, the management system detects the required blocks and compiles them into a file.
It offers the highest level of flexibility because it can be formatted by any file system your operating system supports. It also has the ability to use the file operating system, such as NTFS for windows and VMFS for VMware.
It offers the highest efficiency and high input/output operations per second (IOPS), making it an ideal choice for applications requiring lower latency and high IOPS.
As your business grows, you need more space to host your data. Such storage solutions solve this issue because you can add storage volumes easily as your business grows without shutting down the server. It can be attached easily to any server within a few seconds. Moreover, you can use it to transfer data across your servers.
10 Cheap Block Storage Services and Platforms
1. Kamatera – Best Object Storage at Lower Prices
Kamatera offers the most reliable, scalable, cost-effective block storage with excellent features and specifications. These storages are ideal choices for databases and high-performance applications. The company operates 18 data centers worldwide to ensure superior performance and lower latency for its customers.
Kamatera uses a fully redundant and enterprise-grade storage system that runs on high-performance SSD storage drives to provide enhanced processing speed, high reliability and lower latency at the lowest cost per GB everywhere. You can achieve up to 20,000 IOPS per block without any extra charges.
They offer some of the cheapest block storage solutions, starting as low as $0.05/GB per month and are highly scalable and available all the time. So you can scale up or down your storage easily at any time using a user-friendly management console without any downtime. The process can be done in seconds. You can attach and detach the volumes with any instance with a couple of clicks. Moreover, each storage server can be formatted using any file system that your operating system supports.
Kamatera’s storage is ideal if you want to host high-demand, data-centric applications, fast background storage processing, cloud databases, or store offline backups. You can also use it to move data across different cloud servers by attaching and detaching using user friendly console.
The pricing module is very transparent. You can easily calculate the cost of usage using the company’s console. There isn’t any hidden service fee.
The company also offers a 30-day free trial so that you can test their services free of cost. Once you are satisfied with the services, you can upgrade your account and pay for the specification you require for your servers.
Kamatera’s premium support team always remains online to assist its customers. They will answer your queries and help you to solve any issue related to their service.
Key Features
- Fully redundant and enterprise-grade storage system
- SSD storage drives for enhanced performance
- Your server can achieve upto 20,000 IOPS
- Each volume can be formatted using any file system that your server supports
- Transparent pricing module
- A 30-day free trial
- Premium support team
2. Vultr – Cheapest Object Storage Platform
If you are looking for easily expandable and mountable object storage, Vultr is a must-visit hosting provider. It offers block storage solutions with great features at a reasonable price. In addition, it has 32 data centers worldwide to provide higher performance and excellent reliability.
The company uses highly optimized routing and peering infrastructure in all its regions to ensure you experience low latency for IPv4 and IPv6 traffic worldwide. In addition, you can reserve IPv4 and IPv6 address space on your account. With this feature, you can attach any IPs from your reserved pool to any instance.
The object storage provided by the company uses NVMe SSD or HDD storage drives, depending on your requirements. You can upscale HDD storage plans upto 40TB while upgrading SSD storage upto 10TB. HDD drives are cheaper than SSD but slower than SSDs. Moreover, the company’s redundant architecture protects your data and delivers superior IO performance.
Vultr’s block storage is easily scalable. You can start with a minimum of 10 GB of disk space for $1/mo. After that, you will have to pay 0.1$/GB. You can use it to replace existing storage space or expand the current one to manage the increasing data.
Each block volume is easily mountable with any instance; you don’t need to modify your cloud instance’s local disk to expand the volume. In addition, each object storage comes up with an API to control the storage usage and plan accordingly to minimize your data consumption and cost.
The main objective of Vultr is to deliver higher data durability and 99.99% availability. Each block volume is stored and replicated across a highly available cluster. It ensures that your data will be online at any cost, even if your desired data location is out of service.
Using Vultur’s control panel, you can manage a team of sub-users with restricted access. For example, you can grant sub-users API access, billing access, or server creation.
The provider’s site has a fully managed knowledge base which consists of FAQs and documentation. It can answer each possible query from the customers. However, you can also contact the expert support team if you encounter any unpleasant situation.
Key Features
- Great network infrastructure
- Easy to use control panel to give restricted access to sub-users
- Automated data replication feature
- Easily mountable object storage
- 99.99% of data availability and durability
- 24/7 expert support team
3. Contabo – Cheap Object Storage with Massive Space
Contabo has offered storage solutions with excellent features at a reasonable price for almost the last two decades. It has served over 130,000 customers worldwide, showing developers trust in the company.
Contabo ensures that you can attach its storage solution with any server setup to avoid vendor lock-in and scale up storage according to your needs. In addition, it allows you to set a limit on the maximum monthly data growth amount to ensure your next bill remains under the budget.
With this storage solution, you don’t need to be worried about data durability and security because they use triple-replication data protection to ensure redundancy and safety. However, you can always access your data even if one of the redundant servers becomes unresponsive. Furthermore, each plan is secured by DDoS protection, which automatically detects and mitigates malicious attacks to ensure that your data is always protected and available.
Each storage plan includes S3-compatible API, which helps you control and manage different server aspects by creating temporary short links and giving sub-users access for a limited time. Moreover, you can migrate your data across S3 storages using API. You have to change the credentials and endpoint in your existing application.
The cheapest block storage plan costs $2.90 per month and comes with 250 GB of disk space, which you can use to store your images, documents, personal files, and essential business data and to manage increasing website data.
The provider manages an extensive FAQ section to answer all possible queries. However, you can also get in touch with the export support team if you need further information or any technical help.
Key Features
- S3-compatible API allows you to manage your data with ease
- DDoS protection is in place to protect your data from malicious attacks
- triple-replication system to provide enhanced security and durability
- Auto-scaling limit to control the data usage
- ACL management access to create temporary short links
- 24/7 support team
4. Hostwinds
Hostwinds also offers highly affordable block storage servers with excellent features at a lower cost. It operates with three data centers across the globe to provide lower latency and disaster recovery options.
Hostwinds hardware infrastructures use SSD storage drives for each block to offer higher performance and enhanced security. It works almost three times faster than regular HDD drives. Moreover, the company uses multiple Tier-1 internet providers to ensure faster uptime and higher website loading speed.
The company doesn’t offer any prepaid plan. You will only be charged on an hourly basis at the rate of $ 0.000042386/GB/mo. If you don’t want to worry about limited storage, this is the right place. It is a cost-effective and convenient way to add storage to your server without hassle. You can easily mount these volumes with your existing server without shutting it down. It is a floating drive that can easily be attached to any server.
Data availability is a crucial factor that should be considered while deciding the hosting services because the non-availability of data affects the traffic heavily. Fortunately, Hostwinds is proved to be more dependable. Moreover, the company uses a data replication feature that automatically replicates data across different locations to ensure your data is online 24/7 without any failure.
The provider manages a community section comprising FAQS, product documentation, and blogs. This section helps the clients understand the basic terms of their services. However, an expert support team is also available 24/7 to assist its clients in case of any problem.
Key Features
- Highly scalable and easily mountable block storage
- Data availability is maximized
- Data replication feature to replicate your data across multiple locations
- Vast knowledge base
- 24/7 customer support team
5. DreamHost
DreamHost is a must-visit place if you are looking for highly secure storage services at the lowest rate. It offers fully scalable storage services with excellent features at cheap prices. You can use these storage solutions to store a large amount of data, backups, and web app development projects.
DreamHost’s highly optimized servers run on top-class hardware infrastructure comprising the latest power-efficient processors and SSD storage drives, ensuring you get the highest performance and blazing-fast speed. Moreover, the network infrastructure uses multiple Tier-1 internet providers to fulfill its promise of 99.99% uptime and availability of the servers.
Once the signup process is done, you must choose the pre-paid plan that matches your business requirements through the control panel. It will cost only $0.95 for 40 GB of storage for the first time. After that, you will be charged 2.5 cents per GB per month for additional storage usage. The control panel allows the developers to scale up or down the storage space easily. You can attach and detach these storage solutions to any of your servers without much technical knowledge,
All their block storage plans are powered by open source, allowing you to modify the source code to enhance your storage and obtain the maximum server output. Open-source makes these storage systems very flexible for the developers since they can see how the code works and modify it for the highest efficiency and flexibility. Moreover, open-source software is cost-effective and lets you enhance the security of the storage plan by revising the security patches.
The storage solutions are S3-compatible, which allows you to integrate them with your S3-compatible, enabled application by modifying the source code. Moreover, you can use popular apps like Retrospect, Cloudberry, etc., to store your personal and business data like videos, images, backups, etc.
One of the fantastic features of DreamHost is their Deamobject plugin connection, which allows the developers to automate WordPress site backups, upload images, and display images using Shortcake.
Another good thing about the company is that it offers a 60-day free trial of its services so that customers can test the services and purchase the plans if they are satisfied.
Like other hosting companies, DreamHost also manages an extensive knowledge base, which is enough to answer customers’ queries. However, if you are still looking for the answers, you can contact the customer support team, which remains available 24/7 for its customers.
Key Feature
- Storage solutions powered by an open source to enhance security and performance
- Reliable and redundant servers that offer better speed, availability, and reliability
- S3-compatible storage plans
- Unlimited API requests
- Highly scalable solutions
- Automated daily backups
- A 60-day free trial of services
- Customer service remains available. 24/7
6. DigitalOcean
Digitalocean is a well-known brand in the cloud hosting market that offers reliable and scalable block storage at a low price.
You can subscribe to the basic pre-paid plan, which grants you 100GB for $10. For each additional GB usage, you will be charged at the rate of $ 0.1/GB per month. The pricing module is very transparent, and you can easily predict the monthly bill according to your usage.
To ensure the fastest data processing speed and higher performance, the company utilizes NVMe SSD storage drives which are way faster than standard SSD or HDD drives. In addition, these drives offer three times more read and write speed.
All storage instances provided by the company are highly reliable and scaleable. The company uses a multi-replication feature that automatically creates copies of your data in multiple places to ensure that your data remains available even when an unpleasant situation occurs.
Each server includes a robust API that helps you deploy and manage your storage programmatic. You can expand droplet storage space and manage storage using conventional HTTP requests. You can expand your storage space upto 16 TB.
Data security is one of the essential factors that you must consider before choosing hosting services. Keeping that in mind, Digitalocean develops a system that automatically encrypts your data as soon as you upload it to their servers. After the encryption process is completed, only you will have access to the data by using the encryption key. Moreover, the company uses multi-layer DDoS protection to protect your valuable data from malicious attacks.
The company manages a vast knowledge base comprising product documentation, FAQs and community tutorials to ensure that their clients can get all the valuable information about the product they are intended to use. Besides that, Digitalocean also has an expert support team that remains online 24/7 to assist clients.
Key Features
- NVMe SSD storage drives are used to enhance the performance and security
- Multi-replication feature to secure and replicate your data across multiple locations
- Highly reliable and secure servers
- Robust API, which helps you to manage different aspects of storage
- Data encrypting system to secure your data from any malicious attack
- 24/7 customer support
7. Akamai (Linode)
Akamai offers highly available and scalable yet affordable block storage solutions. They allow you to increase your Linode’s cloud instances storage capacity by attaching additional volumes that are scalable upto 10 TB each.
Akamai charges you according to your usage on an hourly basis at $0.1/GB. All the storage solutions use NVMe SSD storage drives to ensure you can experience lightning-fast processing speed and higher security. In addition, these storage plans are highly scalable: you can quickly scale up or down your storage space using the company’s API.
Akamai’s volumes are independently managed, so even if you delete your instance, the company will secure your data on its servers. The storage is like a floating drive that can be attached and detached with any instance without rebooting the system. It allows you to move the volumes between different cases within seconds. You can mount only eight volumes with a single server.
Their storage volumes are highly Resilient and Fault Tolerant. All the volumes have built-in data replication features that automatically replicate the data across different data centers to keep your data secure and available all the time, even if any unpleasant situation occurs at your desired data centers.
Each server includes cloud management or Linode API that provides all the essential features required to monitor and manage the volumes. In addition, you can scale up or down your storage space using it.
The company manages a vast customer knowledge base, including docs, guides, blogs, and a brief FAQ section. Moreover, their expert customer support team is also available 24/7 to assist the developers in any problem. You can reach them through live chat, call, tickets, or email.
Key Features
- NVMe SSD storage drives are used to provide superior speed, enhanced security and higher performance
- Volumes are managed independently, which makes them act like floating drives
- Automated data replication feature to ensure high availability of your data
- Linode’s API allows remote management
- Easily mountable storage
- 24/7 expert support team
8. Upcloud
Upcloud is a cutting-edge cheap block storage platform that offers storage services with outstanding performance and reliability. All servers use MaxIOPS technology, ensuring you can experience industry-leading performance and higher reliability.
To ensure maximum throughput and minimum latency between compute and storage systems, the company uses InfiniBand networking which has been used as an interconnecting network in supercomputers since 2014.
The provider offers highly optimized cloud servers that provide fast, efficient, and reliable data systems for minimal latency and higher performance. A high performance storage solution is only useful if it is reliable. Keeping that in mind, they use state-of-the-art infrastructure to ensure that you can simultaneously experience increased performance and reliability.
Upcloud’s block storage infrastructure acts like a floating drive. You can quickly transfer it between the servers using the control panel. Moreover, the control panel or API allows you to scale up or down your volume according to your needs. Each server can be upscaled up to 4TB only. However, you can attach eight volumes with a single server if you still need more storage space.
MaxIOPS storage is the best choice for high performance applications and servers. MaxIOPS is an in-house developed technology by the company that enables read performance of over 100k IOPS at 4k block size. It provides the same performance regardless of storage size or plan pricing. In addition, MaxIOPS is built on enterprise-grade SSD storage drives to offer 2x times higher performance than industry-standard cloud servers.
The platform offers two tiers of plans for storing your data in blocks. One includes MaxIOPS storage technology, while the other uses HDD storage drives. If you need storage to host high performance servers and applications, then the MaxIOPS storage solution is best for you. It will cost only $0.22/GB/mo. However, if you need high-capacity data storage, HDD storage solutions are the best choice, costing only $0.056/GB/mo. A maximum of 8 block storage can be attached to a single cloud server.
The company also established a data extensive knowledge base that includes FAQs, documentation, and tutorials to help its customers. However, it also manages an expert support team that remains available 24/7 to resolve any issues and help its customers.
Key Features
- Industry-leading performance and high reliability
- Supercomputer standard networking system for lower latency and fastest speed
- MaxIOPS storage technology that offers 2x time more performance and security
- Highly optimized servers that deliver the most rapid, most efficient data system and better performance
- Upcloud’s API to manage your storage volumes
- 24/7 expert support team
9. Scaleway
Scaleway offers flexible and efficient storage solutions at an affordable price. Each storage server is built on the SSD drive to offer enhanced performance, higher security, and faster processing speed. Furthermore, Scaleways has a triple replication feature that automatically replicates data across three different data drives, ensuring that your data is always available. It also offers enhanced security, reliability, and durability of data.
You can easily set up storage volumes using the company’s control panel, CLI, API, or Terraform provider. You can use these volumes to transfer data from one instance to another without any downtime. It acts like floating drives, ensuring that your data is safe even after the deletion of the cluster or the instance.
Scaleways block storage can be used as high-performance databases since the company offers a guaranteed 5,000 IOPS that can be upgraded to 10,000 IOPS soon. Each server comes up with a snapshot feature that can be used to back up your data. It secures data in the form of snapshots.
The cheapest block storage subscription by Scaleway costs €0.06 per GB per month. You will have to pay for the amount of storage you use. You can upgrade each volume upto 10TB as your business grows. However, you can attach 15 storage volumes with each instance to handle a larger-scale business. The company’s console will help you to manage the volume. You can connect, disconnect or scale up the volume using it.
The company’s knowledge base consists of FAQs, documentation sections and blogs. You can get all the valuable information from there. However, if you need more assistance, you can contact the technical support team, which remains available 24/7. They answer all customer questions and assist them in any unpleasant situation.
Key Features
- SSD storage drives are used to offer enhanced performance, security and processing speed
- Triple data replication feature to increase the availability and durability of your data
- Easy setup via the company’s exclusive console panel
- Guaranteed 5000 IOPS which make these volumes suitable for high-load websites and application
- Data can be transferred easily from one instance to other
- Snapshots feature for backup
- 24/7 technical support team
10. OVHCloud
OVHCloud is another company in the hosting ocean that offers secure and flexible storage volumes at a reasonable price. In addition, the company’s cloud infrastructures and services are ISO/IEC certified.
The provider offers multiple ranges in the block storage category. The basic one is named “Standard” volume, which is very useful if you want to store a large amount of data without any performance requirements. 200 IOPS are guaranteed with this range of volume. It will cost you only US$ 0.048 ex. GST/month.
However, if your server or applications require high read and write performance, “High Speed” is a perfect choice. Upto 3000 IOPS are guaranteed with this range. The company will charge it at the rate of US$ 0.095 ex. GST/month/GB The last one is named “High Speed Gen2” which can deliver superior performance in terms of IOPS and bandwidth. Your server can reach upto 20,000 IOPS in this range.
Each volume has triple replication enabled, which automatically clones your data on three different drives to increase its availability and durability. If one storage drive is out of order, the other will provide the data to ensure that your data remains online all the time.
OVH’s servers are empowered with Ceph, which is an open-source technology. Open-source technology helps you to reach the source code and modify it to get the best possible output according to your needs. In addition, it helps to enhance the performance and security of the volume.
OVH block storage is easily scaleable. You can start at a small level and scale up your storage as your business grows. You can attach multiple volumes with a single instance to handle large-scale growth. The storage volumes can be bound or unbound these volumes easily without any downtime. That will help you migrate your data from one instance to another as quickly as possible. Moreover, the company allows you to recover your volume using standard tools such as OpenStack’s CLI.
Data backups are also available in the form of snapshots. You can take snaps of your data to make it secure. Then, it can be retrieved anytime, anywhere you want.
Apart from a vast knowledge base, the expert support team also remains online 24/7 to assist you in case of a problem.
Key Features
- ISO/ICE-certified cloud platform
- Easily scaleable and moveable volumes
- Triple data replication
- Each storage volume is powered with Cpeh, an open-source technology
- Data backups in the form of snapshots
- 24/7 customer support
Conclusion
We have reviewed some of the most reliable, trusted, and stable companies for your needs.
You can go with Kamatera (Best Money-Value Choice), Vultr (Cheapest Block Storage), or DigitalOcean (Also Good) for highly scalable and cheap block storage services, as all of these maintain advanced and cutting-edge cloud based infrastructure to ensure the fastest speeds, uptime, and central consoles.
It is your turn to pick the most suitable provider according to your budget, storage capacity, or project requirements.