Which AWS storage option EFS vs. EBS vs. S3 better for you? If AWS offers various storage solutions however for users it comes down to three main AWS services which are EFS, EBS, and S3. Now, the common question occurs; Which option is best that fulfills your needs and understands the situation? 

You first need to understand your requirements that suit the situation and this will help you pick up the option better. All three services are different from each other and hence you need to use them accordingly. 

In this article, we have covered all the basic information about each storage option that will help you understand AWS storage options better. 

EBS: A per-instance, high-performance storage

Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) is a fundamental cloud storage service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that provides scalable and durable block-level storage volumes for use with Amazon EC2 instances. EBS allows users to create persistent storage volumes that can be attached to and detached from EC2 instances as needed. 

What storage types does EBS offer?

EBS volumes offer a range of storage types, including General Purpose SSD (gp2), Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1), Throughput Optimized HDD (st1), Cold HDD (sc1), and Magnetic (standard). These storage types cater to different performance and cost requirements, allowing users to choose the most suitable option for their workloads. 

Key benefits of EBS

Here are the 4 key benefits of EBS:

• Persistence: Amazon EBS provides durable and persistent block storage, ensuring your data remains intact even if the associated EC2 instance is stopped, terminated, or replaced.

• Scalability: EBS allows you to dynamically attach and detach storage volumes, making it easy to scale your applications up or down as needed without losing data.

• Snapshot Backups: EBS supports snapshots, enabling you to create point-in-time backups of your volumes. These snapshots are incremental, space-efficient, and provide data protection and disaster recovery capabilities.

• Performance Options: EBS offers various volume types with different performance characteristics, allowing you to choose the right level of IOPS, throughput, and latency to match your application's requirements while optimizing costs.

When to use EBS?

Use Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) when you need persistent storage for Amazon EC2 instances, particularly for databases and applications requiring data persistence. EBS is ideal for scaling workloads as you can easily attach and detach volumes.

EFS: A power to store scalable files for various EC2 instances

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a fully managed cloud-based file storage service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It offers scalable and shared file storage that can be accessed by multiple Amazon EC2 instances simultaneously. EFS is designed to provide seamless and reliable file storage for a wide range of use cases, including content management systems, web hosting, data analytics, and application development.

What type of storage file does EFS offer?

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) offers a single storage class, which is the Standard storage class. EFS Standard storage is designed to provide a good balance of performance, throughput, and cost for a wide range of workloads. It is suitable for applications that require shared, scalable, and highly available file storage.

Key benefits of EFS

Here are the 4 key benefits of EFS:

• Simplicity and Management: EFS eliminates the need for manual capacity planning and management. You can easily create, mount, and manage file systems, and the service handles the underlying infrastructure, including scaling and data replication.

• Performance and Throughput: While the performance of EFS is generally good, it's important to note that EFS performance is influenced by the amount of data stored and the number of connected clients. 

• Security and Access Control: EFS offers encryption at rest and in transit, ensuring the security of your data. 

• Integration with AWS Services: EFS seamlessly integrates with various AWS services, including Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda, and Amazon ECS. 

When to use EFS?

Use Amazon EFS when you require shared, scalable file storage, such as for web hosting, content management systems, or collaborative applications. It's ideal for containerized applications, analytics workloads, and shared development environments. However, for high-performance needs, consider alternatives like Amazon EBS or Amazon S3.

S3: Helps to store archived data and complex queries

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is a highly scalable, durable, and secure object storage service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). S3 allows you to store and retrieve vast amounts of data, such as documents, images, videos, and application backups, with low latency and high availability. 

What type of storage file does S3 offer?

Amazon S3 offers various storage classes to match diverse data needs. "S3 Standard" provides low-latency access for frequently used data, while "S3 Intelligent-Tiering" optimizes costs for changing access patterns. "S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access" is cost-effective for infrequently accessed data, while "S3 Glacier" and "S3 Glacier Deep Archive" suit long-term archival with varying retrieval times. 

Key benefits of S3

Here are 4 key benefits of S3:

• Ease of Use: S3's simple and intuitive interface makes it easy to create, manage, and organize buckets and objects, even for users without extensive technical expertise.

• Data Management: S3 provides features like versioning, lifecycle policies, and cross-region replication, enabling efficient data management, backup, and compliance.

• Integration: S3 seamlessly integrates with a wide range of AWS services, making it a foundation for building scalable and resilient cloud-based applications.

• Global Reach: S3 is accessible from anywhere in the world through the internet, enabling you to distribute content globally with low latency using Amazon CloudFront.

When to use S3 storage?

Use Amazon S3 when you need reliable storage for backup, archiving, and data retention. It's ideal for content distribution through global CDN with CloudFront, hosting static websites, and creating data lakes for analytics. S3 serves as a robust solution for storing application data, machine learning datasets, and logs, and it supports collaborative data sharing, making it a versatile choice across diverse use cases.