R2 vs DO Spaces
Cloud object storage pricing comparison. For a mid-size SaaS workload, R2 is cheaper.
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Personal site, small app, or hobby project: 10GB storage, 50GB egress, 10,000 writes, 100,000 reads per month.
| Cost Component | R2 | DO Spaces |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | $0.15 | $0.20 |
| Egress | $0.00 | $0.50 |
| API Requests | $0.08 | $0.00 |
| Monthly Total | $0.23 | $0.70 |
| Annual Total | $3 | $8 |
R2 is 67% cheaper for this scenario, saving $0.47/mo ($6/year).
Feature Comparison
| Feature | R2 | DO Spaces |
|---|---|---|
| S3 Compatible | Yes | Yes |
| Zero Egress Cost | Yes | No |
| Free Tier | Yes | No |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA | No | No |
| SOC 2 | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption at Rest | Yes | Yes |
| Customer-Managed Keys | No | No |
| Sensitive Data | limited | limited |
| Data Residency | US, EU, AP | US, EU, AP |
| CDN Integration | cloudflare | built-in, cloudflare |
Strengths & Weaknesses
R2
Pros
- +Zero egress fees
- +S3-compatible API
- +Generous free tier (no expiry)
- +Simple flat-rate pricing
Cons
- −No lifecycle policies
- −Limited region control
- −No HIPAA support
- −Smaller ecosystem than AWS
DO Spaces
Pros
- +Built-in CDN included
- +Simple $5/mo base (250GB storage + 1TB egress)
- +S3-compatible API
- +Developer-friendly dashboard
Cons
- −No free tier
- −No HIPAA
- −No customer-managed encryption keys
- −Fewer regions than hyperscalers
When to Choose Which
Choose R2 if you need:
- High-egress workloads
- Static site assets
- CDN origin storage
- Budget-conscious projects
Choose DO Spaces if you need:
- Small to mid-size projects needing built-in CDN
- DigitalOcean Droplet users
- Simple static asset hosting