Independent Australian Storage & Infrastructure Authority

NAS vs Cloud Storage Cost Calculator — Australia

This NAS versus cloud storage cost calculator compares the total cost of migrating from cloud subscriptions to a local NAS over a 3 to 5-year horizon. Includes hardware, drives, electricity, and ongoing cloud costs to show the real crossover point for Australian users.

Thinking about moving off your NAS and into cloud storage? Enter your data size and see a Year 1 / 3 / 5 cost comparison across the main cloud providers, with a plain-English verdict on whether it makes financial sense.

Your Storage Details

Total usable data you need to migrate
Typical home/SMB: 15-30% per year
Amortised over 5 years for comparison
Total drive cost at time of purchase

5-Year Cost Comparison (AUD)

Provider Year 1 Year 3 total Year 5 total
Cloud prices correct as of March 2026. AUD estimates based on USD prices at ~0.63 AUD/USD exchange rate. Prices exclude egress/retrieval fees where applicable.

How we calculate this

Cloud costs are calculated by multiplying your current data size by each provider’s published per-terabyte monthly rate, then compounding that figure forward using your annual growth percentage. Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5 totals are the sum of every month’s storage bill up to that point, not just the final month’s rate. This is what makes cloud pricing feel deceptively cheap upfront and expensive over time.

NAS cost is calculated as a single one-time figure: your hardware price plus your drive price, with no ongoing fees added. This intentionally excludes electricity, since running cost varies significantly by NAS model. Use the NAS Power Cost Calculator to add a realistic electricity figure on top of the hardware total shown here.

All USD cloud prices are converted to AUD using a fixed exchange rate correct as of March 2026. Provider pricing is checked periodically but can change without notice, always confirm current rates on the provider’s own pricing page before committing to a migration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does cloud storage actually cost more than keeping a NAS long term?
For most Australian households with more than 2-3 TB of data, a NAS becomes cheaper than cloud within 2-3 years. The upfront cost of hardware is offset by zero ongoing storage fees. Cloud services charge per TB per month indefinitely, and as your data grows the monthly bill compounds. The crossover point depends heavily on how fast your data grows, use this calculator with your actual growth rate to find yours.
What about egress fees, getting data back from the cloud?
This calculator covers storage costs only. Most cloud providers charge egress (download) fees when you retrieve data, particularly AWS S3 and Google Cloud (typically USD $0.08-0.12/GB). Backblaze B2 and Wasabi have low or zero egress fees in many regions. Synology C2 has no egress fees. If you plan to restore data frequently (e.g., for regular access, not just disaster recovery), factor egress costs into your decision, they can significantly change the economics for AWS/Azure/GCP.
What is Synology C2 and is it reliable?
Synology C2 Storage is Synology's own cloud storage service, tightly integrated with Hyper Backup on their NAS units. It offers end-to-end encryption and competitive pricing with no egress fees. Data centres are in Frankfurt, Seattle, and Taiwan, choose the closest for speed. For Synology NAS owners it's the simplest migration path. It is not suitable as standalone cloud storage if you're moving away from Synology hardware entirely.
Is AWS S3 Glacier really that cheap?
AWS S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is approximately USD $0.60/TB/month, very cheap for archive storage. However, retrieval fees (USD $0.03/GB for Instant Retrieval, more for Flexible/Deep Archive) mean it's only cost-effective if you rarely access your data. For active working storage or frequent restores, standard S3 or Backblaze B2 is more practical. Glacier is best for regulatory/compliance archives where you need the data available but almost never retrieve it.
Should I migrate my NAS to cloud or just use cloud as a backup?
Most IT professionals recommend keeping your primary storage on a NAS and using cloud as an offsite backup (3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite). Full cloud migration makes sense if you need access from multiple locations with no on-premise hardware, or if you're a business with compliance requirements. For home users and small businesses with local access needs, a hybrid approach (NAS as primary, cloud as backup) almost always wins on cost and performance.

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