Side by side

Amazon S3 vs LINBIT DRBD

Both stand on storage replication software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Amazon S3

Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+4

Amazon S3 combines elastic object storage with versioning, replication, analytics integrations, and security controls. A Free Tier is available, but costs depend on usage and some archived objects carry minimum storage periods.

Visit Amazon S3

LINBIT DRBD

Free plan LinuxSelf-hostedWindows

DRBD provides replicated block storage with local read handling, multiple transport options, and a standalone command-line interface. The free community version and paid subscriptions differ in updates, support, and device limits.

Visit LINBIT DRBD

The facts

	Amazon S3	LINBIT DRBD
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	No	Not published
Runs on	Android, API, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows	Linux, Self-hosted, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	LINBIT Starter: $1,000 a year
Plans published	3	5
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	aws.amazon.com	linbit.com
On storage replication software	#1 of 24	#3 of 24

Amazon S3: what it does well

Storage capacity adjusts as objects change.
Versioning preserves object versions.
Replication can span AWS Regions.
Supports SQL queries through Athena and Redshift Spectrum.
Includes encryption and Block Public Access controls.

What to know first

Usage charges vary across storage and other features.
Some archive classes require 90- or 180-day storage.
Early archive deletion incurs a prorated charge.

LINBIT DRBD: what it does well

Open-source community version is free
Supports synchronous and other replication modes
Reads can run locally without network traffic
Supports TCP/IP and RDMA/Verbs transports

What to know first

Starter begins at $1,000 a year
Basic support is limited to five tickets yearly
Basic device size is limited to 8TB

Alternatives to Amazon S3 Alternatives to LINBIT DRBD The whole list