S3 vs EBS vs EFS: Which Storage Should You Use?
S3, EBS, or EFS? Three AWS storage services, three different purposes. Learn the difference in under 2 minutes.
AWS has different storage services, and choosing the right one can be confusing at first.
Here’s the simple way to remember them:
S3 — Store Objects
Use Amazon S3 for files, images, videos, backups, logs, and other objects.
Think:
S3 = Online file storageEBS — Storage for EC2
Amazon EBS provides block storage volumes that you can attach to EC2 instances.
Think:
EBS = Hard drive for EC2EFS — Shared File Storage
Amazon EFS provides a managed file system that multiple compute resources can access.
Think:
EFS = Shared network folderEasy Rule
Need to store files? → S3
Need a disk for EC2? → EBS
Need shared file storage? → EFS
Understanding this difference early makes AWS architecture much easier to design.
Don't choose storage because it's popular. Choose it based on how your application needs to use the data.
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