# IDrive e2 vs Backblaze B2

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/idrive-e2-vs-backblaze-b2/

Every value below is read from IDrive e2's and Backblaze B2's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | IDrive e2 | Backblaze B2 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Egress over allowance | Free up to three times your active storage volume each month — the same shape as Backblaze B2's allowance rather than the unconditional free egress R2 and Wasabi advertise. | 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) | None on a paid account. IDrive e2 bills a minimum of $6 per TB charged per whole terabyte, so storing under 1 TB still costs a full terabyte — a floor on the bill rather than storage you are given. A 10 GB free trial is offered separately. | 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. |
| Storage price | $0.006 per GB per month, or $6 per TB, tierless — the cheapest published rate here. SSD storage is $0.01 per GB per month. | $6.95 per TB per month on B2 Overdrive; $15 per TB per month on the unlimited-egress tier |
| Operations price | None. IDrive e2 states no additional charges for API transactions across class A, B and C. | 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. IDrive e2 states no minimum data retention restriction, unlike Wasabi's 90 days and the S3 infrequent-access classes' 30 to 180. | 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. |
| S3-compatible API | Supported | Supported |

## Where they differ

### Egress over allowance

- IDrive e2: Free up to three times your active storage volume each month — the same shape as Backblaze B2's allowance rather than the unconditional free egress R2 and Wasabi advertise. ([source](https://www.idrive.com/e2/pricing))
- 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. ([source](https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-storage/pricing))

### Storage (entry plan)

- IDrive e2: None on a paid account. IDrive e2 bills a minimum of $6 per TB charged per whole terabyte, so storing under 1 TB still costs a full terabyte — a floor on the bill rather than storage you are given. A 10 GB free trial is offered separately. ([source](https://www.idrive.com/e2/pricing))
- 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. ([source](https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-storage/pricing))

### Storage price

- IDrive e2: $0.006 per GB per month, or $6 per TB, tierless — the cheapest published rate here. SSD storage is $0.01 per GB per month. ([source](https://www.idrive.com/e2/pricing))
- Backblaze B2: $6.95 per TB per month on B2 Overdrive; $15 per TB per month on the unlimited-egress tier ([source](https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-storage/pricing))

### Operations price

- IDrive e2: None. IDrive e2 states no additional charges for API transactions across class A, B and C. ([source](https://www.idrive.com/e2/pricing))
- 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. ([source](https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-storage/pricing))

### Minimum storage duration

- IDrive e2: None. IDrive e2 states no minimum data retention restriction, unlike Wasabi's 90 days and the S3 infrequent-access classes' 30 to 180. ([source](https://www.idrive.com/e2/pricing))
- Backblaze B2: 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. ([source](https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-storage/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick IDrive e2 if Bulk storage where the per-GB rate dominates — $6 per TB is roughly a quarter of S3's and well under Wasabi's, with no API fees and no minimum retention period.

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.

Consider something else: IDrive e2 — The minimum charge is billed per whole terabyte, so a 100 GB workload pays for 1 TB, and egress is only free up to three times what you store.

Consider something else: 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.

## Documented by only one

- Free tier: Backblaze B2: Yes

## Questions this comparison answers

**Egress over allowance: IDrive e2 or Backblaze B2?**

IDrive e2: Free up to three times your active storage volume each month — the same shape as Backblaze B2's allowance rather than the unconditional free egress R2 and Wasabi advertise.
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): IDrive e2 or Backblaze B2?**

IDrive e2: None on a paid account. IDrive e2 bills a minimum of $6 per TB charged per whole terabyte, so storing under 1 TB still costs a full terabyte — a floor on the bill rather than storage you are given. A 10 GB free trial is offered separately.
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 IDrive e2 or Backblaze B2?**

Pick IDrive e2 if Bulk storage where the per-GB rate dominates — $6 per TB is roughly a quarter of S3's and well under Wasabi's, with no API fees and no minimum retention period.
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.