techiny.com Amazon S3 provides scalable object storage ideal for storing and retrieving any amount of data from anywhere on the web, making it perfect for backup, archival, and big data analytics. In contrast, Amazon EBS offers persistent block storage designed for use with Amazon EC2 instances, delivering low-latency performance for applications requiring high IOPS and consistent throughput. Choosing between S3 and EBS depends on the need for either object-based storage with high durability or block storage optimized for active, transactional workloads.
Table of Comparison
| Feature | Amazon S3 | Amazon EBS |
|---|---|---|
| Storage Type | Object storage | Block storage |
| Use Case | Unstructured data, backups, archives, static content hosting | Primary storage for EC2 instances, databases, file systems |
| Durability | 99.999999999% (11 nines) | 99.999% (5 nines) |
| Availability | 99.99% | 99.9% per volume |
| Scalability | Virtually unlimited | Limited to volume size (up to 16 TiB) |
| Access Protocol | HTTP/HTTPS via REST API | Attached to EC2 via block device |
| Performance | Designed for high throughput, variable latency | Consistent low-latency, high IOPS |
| Cost Model | Pay per GB stored and requests | Pay per provisioned GB and IOPS |
| Encryption | Server-side encryption (SSE-S3, SSE-KMS) | Encryption at rest with AWS KMS |
| Snapshot Support | Not applicable | Supports snapshots for backup and recovery |
Overview of S3 and EBS
Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) provides scalable object storage designed for durability, high availability, and massive data volumes, ideal for storing unstructured data like backups, archives, and multimedia files. Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) offers persistent block storage volumes optimized for low-latency, high-performance workloads such as databases and file systems requiring consistent, single-digit millisecond latency. While S3 supports data access via HTTP-based protocols with virtually unlimited scalability, EBS attaches to EC2 instances for direct block-level storage with configurable performance tiers.
Core Architecture Differences
Amazon S3 is an object storage service designed for scalable, durable, and highly available data storage, using a flat namespace architecture that allows easy access to unstructured data. Amazon EBS provides block-level storage volumes for use with Amazon EC2 instances, featuring a traditional file system architecture optimized for low-latency, high-performance transactional workloads. While S3 offers virtually unlimited storage for static assets and backups, EBS delivers persistent, high-throughput storage essential for running databases and applications requiring rapid data access.
Storage Types: Object vs Block
Amazon S3 is an object storage service designed for storing and retrieving large amounts of unstructured data, providing scalability, durability, and easy access via APIs. In contrast, Amazon EBS offers block storage optimized for use with Amazon EC2 instances, delivering low-latency performance for databases and transactional workloads. Object storage in S3 organizes data as discrete units with metadata, while EBS block storage manages raw storage volumes formatted at the file system level, enabling fine-grained control over data access and performance.
Performance and Throughput Comparison
Amazon S3 offers scalable object storage with high throughput ideal for large-scale data retrieval and analytics, supporting up to thousands of concurrent requests with low latency. In contrast, Amazon EBS provides block-level storage optimized for high IOPS and consistent low-latency performance suitable for transactional workloads like databases and boot volumes. EBS delivers throughput up to 1,000 MB/s per volume with provisioned IOPS reaching 64,000, while S3 throughput can scale virtually unlimited depending on request patterns and bucket design.
Durability and Data Protection
Amazon S3 provides 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability by automatically replicating data across multiple geographically separated Availability Zones, ensuring protection against hardware failures and data corruption. In contrast, Amazon EBS offers 99.999% durability within a single Availability Zone with automated snapshots and replication features to guard against hardware failures and data loss. While S3 is optimal for long-term persistent storage with higher durability, EBS is best suited for block storage requiring low-latency access and strong consistency within a specific zone.
Scalability and Flexibility
Amazon S3 offers virtually unlimited scalability for storing and retrieving any amount of data from anywhere on the web, making it ideal for unstructured data and backup purposes. Amazon EBS provides scalable block storage volumes for EC2 instances with consistent low-latency performance, optimized for transactional workloads requiring persistent storage. S3 flexibility supports diverse data access patterns with object-level storage, while EBS allows fine-tuned volume configurations and snapshots suited for database and application hosting.
Cost Structure and Pricing
Amazon S3 pricing is based on object storage, with costs calculated per GB stored per month, data retrieval, and data transfer out to the internet, making it ideal for scalable, infrequently accessed data. Amazon EBS pricing is determined by the provisioned storage size (per GB-month), IOPS for provisioned IOPS volumes, and snapshot storage, optimized for low-latency block storage attached to EC2 instances. While S3 offers flexible, pay-as-you-go storage for large datasets with variable access patterns, EBS is costlier but provides consistent performance for transactional data requiring high IOPS.
Use Cases: When to Choose S3 vs EBS
Amazon S3 is ideal for storing and retrieving vast amounts of unstructured data such as backups, media files, and data lakes, offering high durability and scalability for object storage. Amazon EBS provides low-latency, block-level storage optimized for running databases, file systems, and applications requiring consistent and high-performance storage attached to EC2 instances. Choose S3 for archiving and large-scale data distribution, while EBS suits transactional workloads demanding fast, persistent storage.
Security and Compliance Features
Amazon S3 provides robust security through features like server-side encryption (SSE) with AWS KMS integration, fine-grained access control via IAM policies, and compliance with standards such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR. EBS offers data-at-rest encryption using AWS KMS, supports snapshot encryption for backups, and enforces access control through security groups and IAM roles. Both services maintain comprehensive audit logging with AWS CloudTrail, enabling stringent security monitoring and compliance adherence across AWS environments.
Integration with AWS Services
Amazon S3 offers seamless integration with a wide array of AWS services such as AWS Lambda, Amazon CloudFront, and Amazon Athena for scalable data analytics, making it ideal for object storage and serverless architectures. Amazon EBS integrates tightly with Amazon EC2, providing block storage optimized for low-latency access to persistent data by virtual machines, essential for database and transactional applications. Both services support AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for secure access control but target different use cases within the AWS ecosystem.
S3 vs EBS (Amazon-specific) Infographic
