Differences Between Multi-Cloud Storage Buckets

Although object storage services (Bucket / Storage / OSS / Blob) across cloud providers serve similar purposes, they differ significantly in pricing models, access control, cross-region capabilities, performance, and ecosystem compatibility. Below is a summary of the key differences among the four major cloud providers.

Core Features Comparison

Cloud Provider	Service Name	Region Isolation	Access Control	Billing Model	Best Use Cases
AWS	S3	Fully region-isolated	IAM + Bucket Policy	Storage + Requests (GET/PUT) + Data Transfer	Cross-region backup, CDN origin, enterprise data lakes
Alibaba Cloud	OSS	Region-isolated	RAM + Bucket Policy	Storage + Data Transfer (lower cost)	Images/videos, China-based site acceleration
Google Cloud	Cloud Storage	Multi-region / single-region options	IAM + ACL	Storage + Operations + Data Transfer	AI/ML data, cost-effective cold storage, global access
Microsoft Azure	Blob Storage	Region-isolated	RBAC + SAS Tokens	Storage + Operations + Data Transfer	Enterprise systems, Windows ecosystem integration

Detailed Differences

📌 1. Storage Class Options

AWS S3: 6+ classes including Standard, IA, Glacier variants (most flexible)
OSS: Standard, Infrequent Access, Archive, Cold Archive
GCP: Standard, Nearline, Coldline, Archive
Azure: Hot, Cool, Archive

📌 2. Permission Models

AWS IAM + S3 Policies provide the most powerful and granular permission control. Azure SAS tokens are ideal for temporary sharing. GCP IAM integrates well with centralized identity management for enterprises.

📌 3. Request Pricing Differences

AWS: Higher PUT/GET request costs (key cost factor)
OSS: Low request costs, cost-effective for images and short videos
GCP: Higher read costs, especially for cold storage
Azure: Very friendly for internal enterprise systems

📌 4. Cross-Region Access & Acceleration

AWS S3: Native CloudFront integration (fastest global delivery)
OSS: Excellent with Alibaba CDN and Dynamic Site Acceleration
GCP: Multi-region buckets with automatic replication
Azure: Geo-Redundant Storage for cross-country replication

Summary: Selection Recommendations

Global businesses → AWS S3 is the most reliable choice
China-based images/videos → OSS is fast and cost-effective
AI / big data workloads → GCP Cloud Storage offers the best experience
Enterprise internal systems → Azure Blob Storage fits enterprise IT best