# AWS ## S3 ### Storage Classes S3 offers 8 storage classes optimized for different access patterns, from sub-millisecond hot data to long-term archival. #### Quick Reference | Storage Class | Use Case | Retrieval | AZs | Min Duration | Min Size | Storage $/GB/mo | |--------------|----------|-----------|-----|-------------|----------|----------------| | **S3 Express One Zone** | Lowest latency, most frequently accessed | Single-digit ms | 1 | — | — | $0.160 | | **S3 Standard** | General-purpose, frequently accessed | ms | ≥ 3 | — | — | $0.023 | | **S3 Intelligent-Tiering** | Unknown or changing access patterns | ms | ≥ 3 | — | — | $0.023–0.00099 | | **S3 Standard-IA** | Infrequent (monthly), ms retrieval needed | ms | ≥ 3 | 30 days | 128 KB | $0.0125 | | **S3 One Zone-IA** | Recreatable, infrequently accessed | ms | 1 | 30 days | 128 KB | $0.010 | | **S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval** | Archive, quarterly access | ms | ≥ 3 | 90 days | 128 KB | $0.004 | | **S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval** | Archive, annual access | Minutes to hours | ≥ 3 | 90 days | — | $0.0036 | | **S3 Glacier Deep Archive** | Long-term archive, rare access | 12–48 hours | ≥ 3 | 180 days | — | $0.00099 | Pricing is US East (N. Virginia) for the first 50 TB tier — [check current rates](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/). All classes: **99.999999999% (11 nines) <span class="def" data-def="Probability your data won't be lost or corrupted. 11 nines means if you store 10 million objects, you'd expect to lose one every 10,000 years. The same across all storage classes." data-link="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/DataDurability.html">durability</span>**. #### Key Trade-offs - **Access frequency vs cost**: Storage cost decreases down the table; retrieval cost increases - **Retrieval speed vs cost**: Millisecond access costs more than waiting hours - **AZ resilience**: One Zone classes are cheaper but data is lost if the AZ is destroyed - **Minimum duration**: Glacier classes charge for the minimum even if you delete early - **Intelligent-Tiering**: No retrieval fees, but charges a small monitoring fee per object — best when you can't predict access patterns #### <span class="def" data-def="How often you can successfully access your data. Varies by class — e.g., Standard is 99.99% (~53 min downtime/year), One Zone-IA is 99.5% (~1.8 days/year). Not to be confused with durability, which is about data loss." data-link="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/DataDurability.html">Availability</span> | Storage Class | Designed for | |--------------|-------------| | S3 Express One Zone | 99.95% | | S3 Standard | 99.99% | | S3 Intelligent-Tiering | 99.9% | | S3 Standard-IA | 99.9% | | S3 One Zone-IA | 99.5% | | S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval | 99.9% | | S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval | 99.99% (after restore) | | S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 99.99% (after restore) | #### Sources - [AWS S3 Storage Classes overview](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/storage-classes/) - [S3 Storage Classes Infographic (PDF)](https://d1.awsstatic.com/reInvent/reinvent-2023/s3/S3-Storage-Classes-Infographic-2023.pdf) - [AWS Docs — Using S3 storage classes](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/storage-class-intro.html) - [S3 Pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/)