Pricing drivers, comparisons and 2026 rules
Cloud storage tiers, backups and snapshots: what they cost and how to keep them in check
How block, object and archive storage, IOPS tiers, snapshots and backup retention are priced in cloud and VPS hosting, with illustrative CAD examples.
Storage is billed mainly per GB per month, with the rate depending on the type (block disks attached to servers, object storage for files, archive storage for rarely used data) and the performance tier (standard, SSD, provisioned IOPS). Backups and snapshots are usually charged as more storage, sometimes with a per-server fee, and retrieval from cold tiers can add a per-GB charge. Storage rarely looks expensive on day one; it becomes expensive because it accumulates. A retention policy, set before you go live, is the main control.
This guide is part of the pricing overview. All rates below are illustrative.
The main storage types
| Type | What it is | How it is priced | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block storage (SSD) | A virtual disk attached to one server | Per GB-month provisioned, sometimes plus IOPS or throughput | Operating system disks, databases |
| Block storage (HDD / throughput) | Cheaper, slower disk | Per GB-month provisioned | Large sequential data, logs |
| Object storage, standard | Files in buckets, accessed over HTTPS | Per GB-month stored, per request, per GB out | Website assets, documents, backups |
| Object storage, infrequent access | Same, lower storage rate | Lower GB-month, retrieval fee, minimum storage time | Backups kept for months |
| Archive storage | Very cheap, slow to retrieve | Lowest GB-month; retrieval fee and delay; minimum storage time | Records kept for years |
| File storage (shared drives) | Network file system shared by servers | Per GB-month, often higher than block | Shared application files |
Two pricing details trip people up:
- Provisioned, not used. Block disks are usually billed on the size you allocate, not the data written. A 500 GB disk holding 80 GB still costs 500 GB.
- Minimum storage duration and retrieval fees on cold tiers. Deleting or reading data early can cost more than leaving it in the standard tier.
Snapshots and backups
A snapshot captures a disk at a moment in time. Many platforms store snapshots incrementally (only changed blocks after the first), so ten daily snapshots of a 200 GB disk do not cost ten times 200 GB, but they grow with the rate of change. A backup service adds scheduling, retention and restore tools, and may charge per protected server on top of storage.
Illustrative retention maths. A 200 GB database disk changes about 5% a day (10 GB).
- First snapshot: 200 GB
- Each later daily snapshot: about 10 GB
- Keeping 30 daily snapshots: 200 + 29 × 10 = 490 GB stored
- At an illustrative $0.07 per GB-month: 490 × $0.07 = $34.30 a month
- Keeping 365 daily snapshots instead: 200 + 364 × 10 = 3,840 GB, or $268.80 a month
A sensible policy, such as 14 daily, 8 weekly and 12 monthly copies, keeps restore points for a year at a fraction of the cost of keeping every daily copy.
Off-site copies, egress and location
Copying backups to another region or another provider protects you better, but it adds data transfer charges and sometimes cross-region replication fees. Copying 500 GB a month out at an illustrative $0.10 per GB adds $50 a month. See egress and data transfer.
Location also matters for privacy: if the live data is in a Canadian region for a reason, backups and replicas should usually be in Canada too. See data residency and Canadian regions.
Records you must keep
Canadian tax law requires businesses to keep books and records, generally for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, and the Canada Revenue Agency expects electronic records to be readable and accessible. If your accounting data or invoices live on a hosted server, your backup and archive policy must cover that period, and you must be able to produce the records in Canada when asked. Check the CRA's guidance on keeping records and ask your accountant if your records are held outside Canada.
Controlling storage costs
- Size disks to need and grow them later; most platforms let you enlarge a disk without rebuilding.
- Set lifecycle rules that move old objects to cheaper tiers and delete them after the retention period.
- Clean up orphans: disks left behind when servers are deleted, old machine images, unused snapshots.
- Separate tiers by purpose: hot data on SSD, logs on cheaper storage, records in archive.
- Review monthly with a cost report grouped by storage type; see cost control with budgets and tagging.
FAQ
Is object storage cheaper than a bigger disk?
Per GB it is usually cheaper, and you pay only for what you store. But applications must be written to use it, and frequent requests or downloads add per-request and egress charges.
How long should a small business keep backups?
It depends on your recovery needs and legal duties. Many keep short-term daily copies for a few weeks and monthly copies for a year or more, and archive tax records for at least the period the CRA requires. Ask your accountant and, for regulated data, your adviser.
Do shared hosting plans include backups?
Some include basic backups with limited retention; others sell them as an add-on. Check how many restore points are kept, whether restores cost extra, and keep your own copy.
Sources
- Canada Revenue Agency — keeping records, including electronic records and records outside Canada
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security — backup guidance in the baseline controls for small and medium organisations
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — safeguards and retention of personal information
