Cloudflare R2
Traditional cloud storage providers (AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob) charge per gigabyte of data transferred out of their network. For a video editor with 1 TB of footage, downloading the originals once can cost roughly 90 USD on top of the storage bill. This egress economics is what historically made cloud-first video editing impractical.
Cloudflare R2, launched in 2022, broke that model by removing egress fees entirely. Storage costs around 15 USD per TB per month, and downloading is free regardless of how often or how much. Combined with R2's S3 API compatibility, this makes it possible to stream original-quality video files from cloud storage directly into a video editor, reload them on every revision, and never pay an unexpected bandwidth invoice.
Being S3-compatible matters as much as the price. R2 implements the same API as Amazon S3, so the vast ecosystem of S3 tools, SDKs, and software works against it with only an endpoint change, and a workflow is never locked to one vendor's proprietary interface. R2 also presents a single global namespace rather than forcing you to pick a region, and it integrates with Cloudflare's network for fast reads worldwide.
The tradeoffs are worth stating honestly. R2 is priced for frequently accessed (hot) data and does not offer the ultra-cheap deep-archive tiers that AWS Glacier or Backblaze B2 do for cold storage, so a belt-and-braces setup often pairs R2 for live access with a cheaper store for long-term backup. For an active video project, though, zero egress is the decisive feature: the files are read constantly, and that is exactly where traditional clouds charge the most.
Cloud storage cost for video (approx., 2026)
| Service | Storage per TB / month | Egress (download) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare R2 | about 15 USD | Free | Used by Sanbila for live originals |
| Amazon S3 (Standard) | about 23 USD | about 0.09 USD per GB | Egress adds up fast for video |
| Backblaze B2 | 6.95 USD | 3x storage free, then 0.01 USD per GB | Cheap backup tier |
Examples
- •Storing 5 TB of documentary rushes on R2 costs about 75 USD per month, with no extra cost no matter how often the editor pulls clips
- •A wedding videographer storing 200 GB per wedding pays roughly 3 USD per month per project, including unlimited streaming for revisions
- •A studio with three editors all streaming 4K originals from R2 sees no usage-based bandwidth invoice
In Sanbila
Sanbila uses Cloudflare R2 as its primary storage backend. Originals are uploaded once (multipart for files over 100 MB) and remain available for streaming or download forever, without per-egress billing. For video editors, this is where Sanbila keeps your original footage, so you can edit from the cloud instead of filling local drives. In short, Sanbila is a tool for video editors, not generic file storage: it holds your camera rushes, builds light proxies and streams the full quality originals on demand, rather than being a bare drive in the cloud.
Frequently asked questions
What does S3-compatible mean for R2?+
It means R2 implements the same API as Amazon S3, the de facto standard for object storage. The huge ecosystem of S3 tools, SDKs, and software works against R2 with only a change of endpoint and keys, so you are not locked into a proprietary interface and can move or mirror data with standard tooling. For an app like Sanbila it means proven libraries handle uploads, multipart, and signed URLs.
Why does zero egress matter for video?+
Because video files are huge and read constantly: every review, relink, and export reads originals back out. On a traditional cloud that charges per gigabyte of egress, those reads add up to a bill that can exceed the storage cost. R2 charges nothing to read data out, so a workflow can stream full-resolution originals as often as it needs without a bandwidth meter, which is what makes cloud-first editing affordable.
Is R2 good for long-term archiving too?+
R2 is priced for frequently accessed data and does not offer the ultra-cheap deep-archive tiers that AWS Glacier or Backblaze B2 provide for cold storage. For an active project its zero egress wins, since files are read often. For long-term cold backup a cheaper archive store is usually paired alongside, which is why Sanbila keeps live originals on R2 and an automatic backup on Backblaze B2.
Related terms
See also
Sources
- Cloudflare R2 announcement (zero egress) · Cloudflare
- R2 documentation · Cloudflare
- Amazon S3 API reference (R2 implements) · AWS