What’s the Most Cost-Effective Way to Backup Large Amounts of S3 Data?

A lot of folks usually skip AWS Backup for S3 unless they have a very specific reason to need it. What exactly are you trying to achieve that the built-in S3 features like Glacier, object lock, or versioning can't handle? That could give you some perspective on your backup strategy.

Many people don’t go for S3 for a huge dataset like that. They often opt for off-site backups using their hardware instead. You might want to reach out to Amazon; they can connect you with an account manager who might help you find a cost-effective solution.

Pro tip: Use S3 to backup S3 itself! It's what I do. Just create another bucket to copy everything over. Saves a bunch and avoids those high AWS Backup fees.

I think S3 is reliable enough on its own—11 nines of durability, right? But if you need actual backup, you might end up facing those high costs. Look into the cheapest ways to copy buckets if you're going that route.

If you’re planning a reliable backup, consider using Glacier Deep Archive. At $0.00099 per GB, it’s way cheaper—around $2,000 a month for 2PB of data. Check their pricing page for more details!