Overview

Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage is an object storage service introduced in 2017, focusing on providing high-performance, cost-effective cloud storage. Its architecture is S3-compatible, allowing developers and organizations familiar with Amazon S3 to integrate existing tools and workflows with minimal modification. This compatibility extends to the use of AWS SDKs across various programming languages, simplifying migration and development effort.

The service is designed for applications requiring frequent access to data, differentiating itself from cold storage tiers by offering immediate data availability. Wasabi positions itself as a solution for use cases such as backup and disaster recovery, long-term archiving, and media and entertainment workflows where large datasets need to be stored and retrieved without incurring variable egress or API request charges. The pricing model, which charges a flat rate per terabyte per month for storage and includes egress, is a key feature aimed at simplifying cost predictability for users. The service offers both pay-as-you-go and reserved capacity options to accommodate different usage patterns and budget requirements.

Wasabi instances are deployed across multiple geographical regions globally, including North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, to support latency-sensitive applications and data residency requirements. The company emphasizes its focus on storage, aiming to provide a specialized, high-performance, and secure infrastructure. The platform includes support for various compliance standards such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2 Type II, and ISO 27001, which are important for regulated industries. For comparison, while Amazon S3 offers a tiered pricing model that includes charges for data transfer out and requests, Wasabi's model aims to simplify this by bundling these costs, which can be advantageous for applications with high egress needs, as noted in analyses by firms like Andreessen Horowitz regarding cloud egress fees.

Key features

  • S3 Compatibility: Wasabi's API is compatible with the Amazon S3 API, allowing existing S3 tools, applications, and SDKs to connect without modification.
  • No Egress Fees: Data transfer out of Wasabi storage is included in the monthly storage rate, eliminating variable egress charges.
  • No API Request Fees: There are no additional charges for API requests (GET, PUT, LIST, DELETE), simplifying cost calculations for applications with high transaction volumes.
  • Hot Cloud Storage: All stored data is immediately accessible with low latency, suitable for primary storage use cases, not just archival.
  • Immutable Buckets: Supports object immutability (Write Once, Read Many - WORM) for regulatory compliance and ransomware protection, configurable per bucket.
  • Object Versioning: Maintains multiple versions of an object, allowing recovery from accidental deletions or overwrites.
  • Data Durability: Designed for 99.999999999% (11 nines) data durability, achieved through data replication across multiple storage devices within a region.
  • Compliance Certifications: Adheres to industry standards including SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, HDS, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and GDPR for data security and privacy.
  • Global Regions: Offers storage regions in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific to support data residency requirements and reduce latency.

Pricing

Wasabi's pricing is primarily based on a flat rate per terabyte per month, with no additional charges for egress or API requests. This model is intended to provide predictable costs.

Tier Description Storage Cost (per TB/month) Included Egress Included API Requests Minimum Storage Duration Effective Date
Wasabi Pay-As-You-Go Standard pricing for flexible usage. $6.99 Unlimited Unlimited 90 days for objects under 90 days old 2026-05-07
Reserved Capacity Storage Pre-purchased storage capacity for 1, 3, or 5 years at a discounted rate. Varies by term/capacity Unlimited Unlimited N/A 2026-05-07

For detailed and up-to-date pricing, including reserved capacity options and discounts for higher volumes, consult the official Wasabi Cloud Storage Pricing page.

Common integrations

Alternatives

  • Amazon S3: A widely used object storage service from AWS, offering various storage classes, including S3 Standard, S3 Intelligent-Tiering, S3 Glacier, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive, with tiered pricing based on storage, requests, and data transfer.
  • Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage: Provides S3-compatible object storage with a focus on cost-effectiveness, offering free egress up to three times the stored data for many use cases and a simplified pricing structure.
  • Google Cloud Storage: Google's object storage service, offering multiple storage classes like Standard, Nearline, Coldline, and Archive, with global infrastructure and integration with other Google Cloud services.
  • Azure Blob Storage: Microsoft Azure's object storage solution for unstructured data, with different access tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive) and robust integration with other Azure services.

Getting started

To interact with Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage, you can use the AWS SDKs due to its S3-compatible API. The following Python example demonstrates how to create a bucket, upload a file, and list objects using the boto3 library.

import boto3
from botocore.exceptions import ClientError
import os

# Configure Wasabi endpoint and credentials
WASABI_ENDPOINT = 'https://s3.us-east-1.wasabisys.com' # Example endpoint, change as needed
WASABI_ACCESS_KEY = os.environ.get('WASABI_ACCESS_KEY')
WASABI_SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('WASABI_SECRET_KEY')

# Initialize a session with Wasabi
s3 = boto3.client(
    's3',
    endpoint_url=WASABI_ENDPOINT,
    aws_access_key_id=WASABI_ACCESS_KEY,
    aws_secret_access_key=WASABI_SECRET_KEY
)

def create_bucket(bucket_name, region='us-east-1'):
    """Create an S3 bucket in a specified region."""
    try:
        s3.create_bucket(Bucket=bucket_name, CreateBucketConfiguration={'LocationConstraint': region})
        print(f"Bucket '{bucket_name}' created successfully.")
    except ClientError as e:
        if e.response['Error']['Code'] == 'BucketAlreadyOwnedByYou':
            print(f"Bucket '{bucket_name}' already exists and is owned by you.")
        else:
            print(f"Error creating bucket '{bucket_name}': {e}")

def upload_file(file_name, bucket_name, object_name=None):
    """Upload a file to an S3 bucket."""
    if object_name is None:
        object_name = os.path.basename(file_name)
    try:
        s3.upload_file(file_name, bucket_name, object_name)
        print(f"File '{file_name}' uploaded to '{bucket_name}/{object_name}'.")
    except ClientError as e:
        print(f"Error uploading file '{file_name}': {e}")

def list_objects(bucket_name):
    """List objects in an S3 bucket."""
    try:
        response = s3.list_objects_v2(Bucket=bucket_name)
        if 'Contents' in response:
            print(f"Objects in bucket '{bucket_name}':")
            for obj in response['Contents']:
                print(f"  - {obj['Key']} (Size: {obj['Size']} bytes)")
        else:
            print(f"No objects found in bucket '{bucket_name}'.")
    except ClientError as e:
        print(f"Error listing objects in bucket '{bucket_name}': {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    bucket_name = 'my-wasabi-test-bucket-123'
    file_to_upload = 'example.txt'

    # Create a dummy file for upload
    with open(file_to_upload, 'w') as f:
        f.write('Hello, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage!')

    create_bucket(bucket_name)
    upload_file(file_to_upload, bucket_name)
    list_objects(bucket_name)

    # Clean up dummy file
    os.remove(file_to_upload)

Before running this code, ensure you have the boto3 library installed (pip install boto3) and set your Wasabi access and secret keys as environment variables (WASABI_ACCESS_KEY and WASABI_SECRET_KEY) or configure them appropriately in your environment. Remember to replace WASABI_ENDPOINT with the correct endpoint for your chosen Wasabi region, which can be found in the Wasabi documentation.