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Backblaze has released its Q1 2026 Performance Stats report, a quarterly analysis that compares cloud object storage performance across Backblaze B2, AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, and Wasabi Object Storage. Testing was conducted in the US‑East and EU‑Central regions, with full results and testing methodology included so readers can review, replicate, and compare the findings. As with any vendor‑produced benchmark, the data was collected by the company itself, so results should be interpreted with that context in mind.
According to Backblaze, early Q1 2026 testing showed faster average upload and download times across most providers and file sizes in US‑East compared to Q4 2025. EU‑Central results, however, followed a different trend. The data also revealed wider variability in sustained throughput than in average transfer speeds, particularly in multithreaded tests. Backblaze noted that some of its own large‑file throughput tests encountered rate limits, which it disclosed in its updated methodology.
Backblaze Cloud Storage Performance Results Q1 2026: US‑East
US‑East was one of two regions tested, alongside EU‑Central. Upload tests measured average time in milliseconds to transfer files of 256KiB, 2MiB, and 5MiB, based on monthly averages. Lower times indicate better performance. According to the test data, Backblaze B2 achieved the lowest average upload times for 256KiB files at 7.08 ms and for 5MiB files at 87.62 ms, while Wasabi recorded the fastest result for 2MiB files at 56.74 ms.
Quarter‑over‑quarter comparisons show improved average upload speeds across all providers with available Q4 2025 data in US‑East. Backblaze, AWS S3, and Cloudflare R2 all posted lower average times across the three file sizes than in the previous quarter. Wasabi was not included in the earlier chart, so no direct Q4 comparison is available for that provider in this section.
In US‑East five‑minute multithreaded upload tests, higher totals reflect more data transferred within the testing window. Backblaze included two sets of results for its own service: one under standard conditions and one marked as rate‑limited. For 256KiB and 5MiB files, both sets showed identical values at 80.00 and 324.00, while larger file sizes diverged once rate limits took effect.
For 50MiB files, Backblaze B2 reached 1,194.80 under standard conditions versus 544.70 in the rate‑limited account. For 100MiB files, the figures were 1,726.10 compared to 563.50. Backblaze states these larger‑file results reflect bandwidth caps encountered during testing, and notes that other providers may enforce different limits under their terms of service.
Across the same multithreaded test, Wasabi posted the highest values in all four file sizes: 157.30 for 256KiB, 815.80 for 5MiB, 2,488.50 for 50MiB, and 3,030.90 for 100MiB. AWS S3 recorded 84.40, 774.70, 2,238.90, and 2,947.20, while Cloudflare R2 posted 28.40, 366.30, 510.10, and 1,450.40.
Backblaze also notes that quarter‑over‑quarter comparisons in this test are limited due to methodology changes, meaning these figures are best viewed as an early dataset under its current testing framework.
US‑East Five Minute Single‑Threaded Upload Test
The five‑minute single‑threaded upload test measures sustained throughput using a single thread across four file sizes. In US‑East, Backblaze recorded the highest results for 256KiB at 9.40, 50MiB at 119.20, and 100MiB at 164.00. AWS S3 led the 5MiB category at 44.70, narrowly ahead of Wasabi at 44.60. Cloudflare R2 trailed all other providers across all sizes, with results of 1.20, 15.00, 50.90, and 64.20.
The performance gap between the highest and lowest results widened as file sizes increased. At 256KiB, the range was 1.20 to 9.40. At 100MiB, it stretched from 64.20 to 164.00. Under Backblaze’s test conditions, single‑threaded results show a tighter race between Backblaze, AWS, and Wasabi at 5MiB and above. Meanwhile, Cloudflare R2 delivered noticeably lower numbers in this set of US‑East upload measurements.
US‑East Download Testing
In US‑East download tests, AWS S3 achieved lower average times and TTFB for 256KiB and 5MiB transfers, while Backblaze posted the lowest average download time for 2MiB files. Quarter‑over‑quarter trends showed improved download speeds across many categories for providers with historical data, though the dataset remains limited and Wasabi had no Q4 comparison in these charts.
In the five‑minute multithreaded download benchmark, Backblaze led at 256KiB, AWS S3 led at 5MiB and 50MiB, and Cloudflare R2 led at 100MiB. Backblaze also reported separate rate‑limited results for its own service. In the five‑minute single‑threaded download test, Wasabi led at 256KiB and 5MiB, while Backblaze led at 50MiB and 100MiB. Across these download results, rankings shifted by test type and file size, making the data more useful as a snapshot of Backblaze’s test environment than as a definitive measure of overall provider performance.
In US‑East single‑threaded download throughput over five minutes, Wasabi took the top spot for smaller files, leading at 256KiB with 11.20 and at 5MiB with 55.70. Backblaze led for larger files, recording 95.90 at 50MiB and 164.00 at 100MiB. AWS S3 remained close to the leaders in each category with 5.60, 47.00, 87.90, and 138.10, while Cloudflare R2 trailed across all four sizes at 2.70, 28.40, 78.10, and 64.20. The performance gap was narrower at small file sizes and much wider at 100MiB, where Backblaze posted the highest result.
Backblaze Cloud Storage Performance Results Q1 2026: EU‑Central
Upload Averages
In EU‑Central average upload times, Cloudflare R2 posted the lowest result for 256KiB files at 8.94 ms, while Backblaze recorded the fastest times for 2MiB at 47.32 ms and 5MiB at 87.54 ms. AWS S3 posted 17.14 ms, 68.93 ms, and 87.98 ms across the three sizes, and Wasabi recorded 11.48 ms, 63.24 ms, and 98.89 ms. These results differed noticeably from the US‑East pattern, with provider rankings shifting by region.
Upload Throughput
In EU‑Central five‑minute multithreaded upload throughput, Wasabi led at 256KiB with 147.10 and at 100MiB with 2,990.60, while AWS S3 took first place at 5MiB with 848.10 and at 50MiB with 2,515.00. Backblaze posted standard account results of 104.70, 216.40, 843.40, and 896.70, alongside rate‑limited figures of 104.70, 216.40, 561.00, and 500.70.
In the five‑minute single‑threaded upload test, Wasabi led all four file sizes at 8.20, 47.40, 113.60, and 169.60, outperforming Backblaze at small sizes and AWS S3 at larger sizes. In both throughput tests, Cloudflare R2 lagged behind the other providers in EU‑Central.
Download Averages and TTFB
In EU‑Central average download testing, Cloudflare R2 delivered the lowest times in three categories. It achieved the lowest time to first byte at 108.84 ms, the lowest 256KiB average at 76.97 ms, and the lowest 2MiB average at 110.79 ms. AWS S3 led the 5MiB category at 141.63 ms. Performance spreads across providers were substantial in several categories. Backblaze recorded a TTFB of 284.61 ms and average download times of 230.01 ms, 318.20 ms, and 407.49 ms for 256KiB, 2MiB, and 5MiB — the highest figures in this EU‑Central group.
Download Throughput
In EU‑Central five‑minute multithreaded download throughput, Backblaze led the 256KiB category at 198.30, while AWS S3 led at 5MiB with 1,382.80, at 50MiB with 1,761.00, and at 100MiB with 1,665.10. Backblaze again showed a separate rate‑limited series with significantly lower values at larger file sizes.
In the five‑minute single‑threaded download test, Wasabi led at 256KiB with 9.20, while AWS S3 led at 5MiB with 50.10, 50MiB with 90.10, and 100MiB with 91.40. Across EU‑Central download tests, top performers varied by file size and test type, while Cloudflare R2 performed strongest in average download latency rather than sustained throughput.
What to Make of the Data
Backblaze conducted these benchmarks using repeatable synthetic tests from Ubuntu virtual machines hosted on Vultr in each region, with traffic routed via Catchpoint to each provider’s object storage service. Testing measured average upload times for 256KiB, 2MiB, and 5MiB files, along with download time to first byte and average download times for the same file sizes. Separate five‑minute upload and download throughput tests were run using single‑threaded and 20‑threaded workloads across 256KiB, 5MiB, 50MiB, and 100MiB files. Since Backblaze designed and executed the tests internally, the results should be treated as vendor‑published benchmark data rather than an independent third‑party study.
Backblaze also outlines several limitations. Synthetic testing does not reflect the full diversity of real‑world production workloads, global network conditions, concurrency patterns, or data locality. The company notes it cannot control routing and peering once traffic leaves the test node, and that caching, traffic shaping, or rate limiting may have influenced some outcomes. Its current setup also has constraints around large‑file testing. As an example, it mentions Wasabi temporarily blacklisting test IPs during high‑volume runs, illustrating how provider policies can impact measured performance.
Results also varied significantly by region, file size, and test type, which is why the dataset is described as directional rather than definitive. Backblaze says it plans to expand testing over time to include more regions, workload types, and environmental conditions.
For anyone evaluating cloud storage providers, these results are most valuable as one reference point to complement testing within their own infrastructure and workloads.
Beijing Qianxing Jietong Technology Co., Ltd.
Sandy Yang/Global Strategy Director
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Email: yangyd@qianxingdata.com
Website: www.qianxingdata.com/www.storagesserver.com
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Sandy Yang/Global Strategy Director
WhatsApp / WeChat: +86 13426366826
Email: yangyd@qianxingdata.com
Website: www.qianxingdata.com/www.storagesserver.com
Business Focus:
ICT Product Distribution/System Integration & Services/Infrastructure Solutions
With 20+ years of IT distribution experience, we partner with leading global brands to deliver reliable products and professional services.
“Using Technology to Build an Intelligent World”Your Trusted ICT Product Service Provider!