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Amazon S3 Glacier

Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes provide low-cost long-term object retention with retrieval behavior ranging from milliseconds to hours; archived objects remain managed through Amazon S3.

Explore pricing models, common use cases, infrastructure support, and the AWS services that commonly work with Amazon S3 Glacier.

Amazon S3 Glacier pricing and cost programs

Pricing model: Archive object storage usage

On-Demand
Available
Reserved Instances or reserved capacity
Not applicable
Savings Plans
Not applicable
Spot
Not applicable

Billing dimensions: Archive storage class · Minimum duration · Retrieval speed and volume · Requests and transfer

Programs and modes: S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval · S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval · S3 Glacier Deep Archive

Glacier storage classes have minimum durations and retrieval charges; current terms are maintained on the S3 pricing page.

Free Tier: Service-specific — verify current offers

Pricing reviewed 2026-07-25. Reviewed against the linked official AWS pricing page. Recheck regional rates and program terms before purchase.

Official AWS pricing

Official AWS sources reviewed 2026-07-21.

Why implement Amazon S3 Glacier?

  • Reduces the storage cost of rarely accessed data through S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, Flexible Retrieval, and Deep Archive choices.
  • Uses S3 lifecycle policies, encryption, versioning, Object Lock, replication, inventory, and access controls rather than a separate archive server.
  • Supports compliance archives, backup retention, media libraries, and data preservation with selectable retrieval time and cost tradeoffs.

How to implement Amazon S3 Glacier

  1. Classify objects by access latency, retrieval frequency, retention duration, resilience, and deletion requirements, then choose the matching S3 Glacier storage class.
  2. Create S3 lifecycle rules to transition eligible objects and expire obsolete versions, with versioning, encryption, Object Lock, and replication where required.
  3. Document and test restore tiers, temporary-copy duration, application rehydration, bulk restore quotas, and cost alerts before an incident.

Amazon S3 Glacier best practices

  • Use current S3 Glacier storage classes for new object archives; do not design new workflows around the legacy standalone Glacier vault API without a specific compatibility reason.
  • Account for minimum storage duration, retrieval request and data charges, restore latency, and the temporary S3 Standard copy created by Flexible Retrieval or Deep Archive restores.
  • Protect archives with least privilege, encryption, versioning or Object Lock, inventory reporting, and periodic restore tests tied to recovery objectives.

Amazon S3 Glacier use cases and server impact

  • Long-term backups and compliance records
  • Media and scientific data archives
  • Rarely accessed logs and historical datasets

Replaces tape libraries and archive storage systems for object-based retention, while retrieval planning and application rehydration remain necessary.

Official implementation resources

Commonly paired AWS services