Azure Blob Storage vs Backblaze B2
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Azure Blob Storage and Backblaze B2 built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Azure Blob Storage if…
Workloads already on Azure, where keeping storage in the same region as the compute avoids the bandwidth charge that dominates an object storage bill.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Backblaze B2 if…
Bulk capacity where egress is predictable — free up to three times what you store each month, which covers most backup and archive patterns comfortably at $6.95 per terabyte.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Azure Blob Storage: Egress is charged beyond the first 100 GB a month, where R2, Wasabi and Tigris charge nothing — and Azure's rates vary by region and redundancy, so a quoted figure only holds for the combination it was read for.
- Backblaze B2: Egress is only free to that 3x ceiling. A bucket read far more often than its size, like a public media library, is the shape this pricing is not built for.
Neither quite fits? Every other option, ranked by iScore: Azure Blob Storage alternatives · Backblaze B2 alternatives
13 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Azure Blob Storage 0
Backblaze B2 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Azure Blob Storage | Backblaze B2 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Kind of free offer | Free credit | Free tier |
| What the free plan includes | $200 of Azure credit for 30 days on a new account. Azure separately lists services that are always free and services free for 12 months to new customers, which is an account-wide programme rather than a Blob Storage allowance. | The first 10 GB of storage is always free, egress is free up to three times average monthly storage, and the first 2,500 Class D transactions each day are free. |
| Egress over allowance | First 100 GB a month free, then $0.087 per GB over Microsoft's global egress meter, falling to $0.083 above 10 TB. | Free up to three times your stored capacity each month on the $6.95/TB tier; unlimited free egress on the $15/TB tier. Egress beyond the 3x allowance is chargeable. |
| Limits | ||
| Storage (entry plan) | None. Azure Blob has no plans and no free storage band: the Hot LRS meter is charged from the first GB. | 10 GB free, permanently — 'First 10GB storage is always free.' The statement is a row-level note on Backblaze's pricing-model table, so it applies to B2 storage rather than to one plan, and it is an ongoing allowance rather than the 'Start Free' trial the page advertises separately. |
| Infrastructure | ||
| Uptime SLA | Not published as a web page. Microsoft consolidated its per-service SLAs into one downloadable document covering Azure, Dynamics 365, Office 365 and Intune; the former azure.microsoft.com SLA URLs now redirect to its licensing viewer. | Credits begin below 99.9% monthly user uptime. The SLA is per user account and covers B2 Cloud Storage and Computer Backup. |
| Storage | ||
| Storage price | $0.0208 per GB-month for Hot LRS in East US, falling to $0.019968 above 50 TB and $0.019136 above 500 TB. | $6.95 per TB per month on B2 Overdrive; $15 per TB per month on the unlimited-egress tier |
| Operations price | $0.05 per 10,000 write operations and $0.004 per 10,000 reads on Hot LRS in East US. | Transactions are not charged on the $6.95/TB tier. Backblaze notes that its published chart uses U.S. West rates and that competitor rates vary by region and volume. |
| Minimum storage duration | None on Hot. Cool carries a 30-day minimum, Cold 90 days and Archive 180 days — the longest early-deletion window of any provider here, and three times S3's 90-day Glacier figure. | None. Backblaze states no minimum file size or storage duration fee on B2 Cloud Storage, so an object deleted an hour after upload is billed only for that hour. |
| Compliance | ||
| SOC 2 | Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service. | SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, audited by an independent third-party firm; the data centers Backblaze operates in are also SOC 2 compliant. |
| ISO 27001 | Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (ISO 27001) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service. | Not a Backblaze organizational certification — Backblaze states it primarily operates in data centers that hold ISO 27001 certificates, a facility-level attestation rather than one covering Backblaze itself. |
| HIPAA | Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (HIPAA) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service. | A Business Associate Agreement is available on request for business customers who are Covered Entities under HIPAA. |
| PCI DSS | Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (PCI DSS) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service. | Card processing is handled through Stripe, which combined with Backblaze's internal security controls contributes to PCI-DSS adherence — not a direct PCI-DSS certification of Backblaze's own storage platform. |
Where they differ.
Free tier
- Azure Blob Storage
- No
- Backblaze B2
- Yes
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure Blob Storage pricing ↗
“Get free cloud services and a $200 credit to explore Azure for 30 days.”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
- Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Pricing ↗
“First 10GB storage is always free.”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
Kind of free offer
- Azure Blob Storage
- Free credit
- Backblaze B2
- Free tier
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure Blob Storage pricing ↗
“Get free cloud services and a $200 credit to explore Azure for 30 days.”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
- Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Pricing ↗
“First 10GB storage is always free.”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
What the free plan includes
- Azure Blob Storage
- $200 of Azure credit for 30 days on a new account. Azure separately lists services that are always free and services free for 12 months to new customers, which is an account-wide programme rather than a Blob Storage allowance.
- Backblaze B2
- The first 10 GB of storage is always free, egress is free up to three times average monthly storage, and the first 2,500 Class D transactions each day are free.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Free Azure Services ↗
“Some are always free to all Azure customers, and some are free for 12 months to new customers only. [...] 12 months free services is available only to new customers who have not previously had an Azure account or received 12 months of free services.”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
- Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Pricing ↗
“First 10GB storage is always free. [...] Class D transactions cost $0.004 per 10,000 calls plus the first 2,500 calls per day are free.”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
Egress over allowance
- Azure Blob Storage
- First 100 GB a month free, then $0.087 per GB over Microsoft's global egress meter, falling to $0.083 above 10 TB.
- Backblaze B2
- Free up to three times your stored capacity each month on the $6.95/TB tier; unlimited free egress on the $15/TB tier. Egress beyond the 3x allowance is chargeable.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure Retail Prices API — Bandwidth, East US ↗
“{"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.0,"unitPrice":0.0,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2022-05-01T00:00:00Z","meterId":"9995d93a-7d35-4d3f-9c69-7a7fea447ef4","meterName":"Standard Data Transfer Out"," [...] {"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.0,"unitPrice":0.0,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2022-05-01T00:00:00Z","meterId":"9995d93a-7d35-4d3f-9c69-7a7fea447ef4","meterName":"Standard Data Transfer Out","”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
- Cloud Storage Pricing — Backblaze ↗
“Free egress up to 3x storage [...] Free transactions [...] Unlimited free egress [...] B2 includes 750 TB of monthly egress in this scenario.”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing · Report a correction
Storage (entry plan)
- Azure Blob Storage
- None. Azure Blob has no plans and no free storage band: the Hot LRS meter is charged from the first GB.
- Backblaze B2
- 10 GB free, permanently — 'First 10GB storage is always free.' The statement is a row-level note on Backblaze's pricing-model table, so it applies to B2 storage rather than to one plan, and it is an ongoing allowance rather than the 'Start Free' trial the page advertises separately.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure Retail Prices API — Blob Storage Hot LRS, East US ↗
“{"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.0208,"unitPrice":0.0208,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2017-02-03T00:00:00Z","meterId":"272492b3-1c92-4a5f-bee9-52a8e10ca514","meterName":"Hot LRS Data Stored"," [...] {"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.0208,"unitPrice":0.0208,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2017-02-03T00:00:00Z","meterId":"272492b3-1c92-4a5f-bee9-52a8e10ca514","meterName":"Hot LRS Data Stored","”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
- B2 Cloud Storage Pricing | Backblaze ↗
“First 10GB storage is always free.”
Read 2026-09-07 · official pricing · Report a correction
Uptime SLA
- Azure Blob Storage
- Not published as a web page. Microsoft consolidated its per-service SLAs into one downloadable document covering Azure, Dynamics 365, Office 365 and Intune; the former azure.microsoft.com SLA URLs now redirect to its licensing viewer.
- Backblaze B2
- Credits begin below 99.9% monthly user uptime. The SLA is per user account and covers B2 Cloud Storage and Computer Backup.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Service Level Agreements (SLA) for Online Services — Microsoft ↗
“the service level agreements (sla) describe microsoft's commitments for uptime and connectivity for microsoft online services. the current and archived editions of the sla are available for download and they cover azure, dynamics 365, office 365, and intune.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official site · Report a correction
- Backblaze Service Level Agreement ↗
“monthly user uptime percentage user credit percentage >= 99.9% 0%”
Read 2026-09-14 · official site · Report a correction
Storage price
- Azure Blob Storage
- $0.0208 per GB-month for Hot LRS in East US, falling to $0.019968 above 50 TB and $0.019136 above 500 TB.
- Backblaze B2
- $6.95 per TB per month on B2 Overdrive; $15 per TB per month on the unlimited-egress tier
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure Retail Prices API — Blob Storage Hot LRS, East US ↗
“{"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.0208,"unitPrice":0.0208,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2017-02-03T00:00:00Z","meterId":"272492b3-1c92-4a5f-bee9-52a8e10ca514","meterName":"Hot LRS Data Stored"," [...] {"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.0208,"unitPrice":0.0208,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2017-02-03T00:00:00Z","meterId":"272492b3-1c92-4a5f-bee9-52a8e10ca514","meterName":"Hot LRS Data Stored"," [...] {"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.0208,"unitPrice":0.0208,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2017-02-03T00:00:00Z","meterId":"272492b3-1c92-4a5f-bee9-52a8e10ca514","meterName":"Hot LRS Data Stored","”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
- Cloud Storage Pricing — Backblaze ↗
“$6.95 / TB / mo [...] Free egress up to 3x storage [...] $15 / TB / mo [...] Unlimited free egress”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing · Report a correction
Operations price
- Azure Blob Storage
- $0.05 per 10,000 write operations and $0.004 per 10,000 reads on Hot LRS in East US.
- Backblaze B2
- Transactions are not charged on the $6.95/TB tier. Backblaze notes that its published chart uses U.S. West rates and that competitor rates vary by region and volume.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure Retail Prices API — Blob Storage Hot LRS, East US ↗
“{"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.05,"unitPrice":0.05,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2016-11-01T00:00:00Z","meterId":"14854f12-8d37-4299-842a-b0f2df82a305","meterName":"Hot LRS Write Operations"," [...] {"currencyCode":"USD","tierMinimumUnits":0.0,"retailPrice":0.004,"unitPrice":0.004,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2016-11-01T00:00:00Z","meterId":"c5248cf8-ecba-4807-9304-6a8f14b5805a","meterName":"Hot Read Operations","”
Read 2026-09-13 · official pricing · Report a correction
- Cloud Storage Pricing — Backblaze ↗
“Free transactions [...] This chart features published rates for the U.S. West region. Backblaze competitors' rates can vary by region, amount stored, and other factors.”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing · Report a correction
Minimum storage duration
None on Hot. Cool carries a 30-day minimum, Cold 90 days and Archive 180 days — the longest early-deletion window of any provider here, and three times S3's 90-day Glacier figure.
None. Backblaze states no minimum file size or storage duration fee on B2 Cloud Storage, so an object deleted an hour after upload is billed only for that hour.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Access tiers for blob data — Microsoft Learn ↗
“Data in the cool tier should be stored for a minimum of 30 days. [...] Data in the cold tier should be stored for a minimum of 90 days. [...] Data in the archive tier should be stored for a minimum of 180 days.”
Read 2026-09-07 · official docs · Report a correction
- Pricing — Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage ↗
“$6.95 / TB / mo [...] No minimum file size or storage duration fees Free egress up to 3x storage Free transactions”
Read 2026-09-07 · official pricing · Report a correction
SOC 2
- Azure Blob Storage
- Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service.
- Backblaze B2
- SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, audited by an independent third-party firm; the data centers Backblaze operates in are also SOC 2 compliant.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure compliance documentation — Microsoft Learn ↗
“Compliance offerings [...] SOC 1 SOC 2 SOC 3”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
- Cloud Regulatory Compliance — Backblaze B2 ↗
“Backblaze has achieved Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type 2 compliance by an independent third-party firm. Backblaze operates in data centers that are also SOC 2 compliant.”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
ISO 27001
- Azure Blob Storage
- Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (ISO 27001) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service.
- Backblaze B2
- Not a Backblaze organizational certification — Backblaze states it primarily operates in data centers that hold ISO 27001 certificates, a facility-level attestation rather than one covering Backblaze itself.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure compliance documentation — Microsoft Learn ↗
“Compliance offerings [...] ISO 27001 ISO 27017 ISO 27018”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
- Cloud Regulatory Compliance — Backblaze B2 ↗
“Backblaze operates primarily in data centers that hold International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 certificates, which can be accessed via Whistic.”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
HIPAA
- Azure Blob Storage
- Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (HIPAA) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service.
- Backblaze B2
- A Business Associate Agreement is available on request for business customers who are Covered Entities under HIPAA.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure compliance documentation — Microsoft Learn ↗
“Healthcare and life sciences [...] HIPAA (US)”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
- Cloud Regulatory Compliance — Backblaze B2 ↗
“Backblaze can provide a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) upon request for business customers who are Covered Entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
PCI DSS
- Azure Blob Storage
- Listed among Azure's compliance offerings (PCI DSS) on Microsoft's own compliance documentation — a platform-wide list, not scoped to this specific service.
- Backblaze B2
- Card processing is handled through Stripe, which combined with Backblaze's internal security controls contributes to PCI-DSS adherence — not a direct PCI-DSS certification of Backblaze's own storage platform.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Azure compliance documentation — Microsoft Learn ↗
“Financial services [...] PCI 3DS PCI DSS”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
- Cloud Regulatory Compliance — Backblaze B2 ↗
“Backblaze utilizes Stripe to store and process card information, which, combined with internal security controls, contributes to Backblaze's adherence to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) requirements.”
Read 2026-09-12 · official site · Report a correction
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.
Questions this comparison answers.
Free tier: Azure Blob Storage or Backblaze B2?
Azure Blob Storage: No
Backblaze B2: Yes
Egress over allowance: Azure Blob Storage or Backblaze B2?
Azure Blob Storage: First 100 GB a month free, then $0.087 per GB over Microsoft's global egress meter, falling to $0.083 above 10 TB.
Backblaze B2: Free up to three times your stored capacity each month on the $6.95/TB tier; unlimited free egress on the $15/TB tier. Egress beyond the 3x allowance is chargeable.
Storage (entry plan): Azure Blob Storage or Backblaze B2?
Azure Blob Storage: None. Azure Blob has no plans and no free storage band: the Hot LRS meter is charged from the first GB.
Backblaze B2: 10 GB free, permanently — 'First 10GB storage is always free.' The statement is a row-level note on Backblaze's pricing-model table, so it applies to B2 storage rather than to one plan, and it is an ongoing allowance rather than the 'Start Free' trial the page advertises separately.
Should I choose Azure Blob Storage or Backblaze B2?
Pick Azure Blob Storage if Workloads already on Azure, where keeping storage in the same region as the compute avoids the bandwidth charge that dominates an object storage bill.
Pick Backblaze B2 if Bulk capacity where egress is predictable — free up to three times what you store each month, which covers most backup and archive patterns comfortably at $6.95 per terabyte.
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