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AWS assigns its S3 Glacier storage classes a designed object-durability figure of 99.999999999%—often called “11 nines.” That is not a guarantee of zero risk, an availability figure, or proof that storage currently costs a penny per gigabyte. “Amazon Glacier” can also refer to AWS’s older standalone vault service, which is distinct from today’s S3 Glacier classes.
What “Amazon Glacier” means today
AWS uses the Glacier name for two related but distinct services. The older Amazon Glacier is a standalone vault service with separate APIs. AWS stopped accepting new customers for that service on December 15, 2025; existing data remains accessible. For new archive storage, AWS points customers to the S3 Glacier storage classes.
The current S3 options are Glacier Instant Retrieval, Glacier Flexible Retrieval, and Glacier Deep Archive. They are Amazon S3 storage classes, so they differ in how quickly data can be read, how often AWS expects it to be accessed, and how costs are calculated.
What 99.999999999% durability does—and does not—mean
AWS describes 99.999999999% as designed durability for objects stored in each of the three S3 Glacier classes, measured over a given year. It is AWS’s service-design claim, not an independently measured customer loss rate or a promise that every customer configuration is immune to data loss.
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Durability is not availability. AWS lists separate availability figures: 99.9% for Glacier Instant Retrieval and 99.99% for Glacier Flexible Retrieval and Glacier Deep Archive after objects have been restored. Availability concerns the service’s ability to serve data; durability concerns the designed likelihood of retaining objects. The figures should not be treated as interchangeable.
AWS says these multi-Availability Zone classes are designed to withstand the loss of an Availability Zone. That design does not replace a customer’s own recovery plan. For important data, consider whether versioning, Object Lock, or replication fits your protection requirements; these are distinct S3 data-protection options, not a change to the durability figure.
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Compare the three S3 Glacier classes
| Storage class | Typical access pattern | How you retrieve data | Minimum storage duration | Billing detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval | Long-lived archive accessed about once a quarter | Milliseconds; real-time access without a restore step | 90 days | Retrieval fees apply. AWS lists a 128 KB minimum billable object size. |
| S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval | Long-lived archive accessed about once a year or less | Restore the object first; retrieval typically takes minutes to hours, depending on the retrieval tier | 90 days | Per-GB retrieval fees apply; archived objects also incur metadata charges. |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | Long-lived archive accessed less than once a year | Restore the object first; AWS’s class guide gives a typical range of 9–48 hours | 180 days | Per-GB retrieval fees apply; archived objects also incur metadata charges. |
These access and restore times are planning guidance, not a service-level guarantee. For Flexible Retrieval and Deep Archive, a restore makes an archived object available for access; it is not the same as immediate access to an object in Instant Retrieval.
AWS says deleting, overwriting, or transitioning an object before its minimum storage duration ends can incur the remaining-duration charge. Account for that when designing lifecycle rules or planning a migration.
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Does Amazon Glacier cost a penny per gigabyte?
“A penny a gig” is not a dependable current quote. AWS pricing varies by storage class, region, and usage. A bill can include storage, requests, retrieval, data transfer, management, replication, and transformation or query charges. The storage rate alone does not describe the cost of a particular archive workload.
Estimate cost for the region and class you plan to use, including how much data you store, how often and how much you retrieve, and how long objects remain stored. Include lifecycle transitions and any applicable minimum-duration charges. AWS’s pricing overview lists these separate cost components; check the current rates for your selected region and usage before budgeting.
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Older AWS announcements help explain where low-price claims came from, but they are historical, not current quotes. AWS announced a Deep Archive launch price of $0.00099 per GB-month in 2019. In 2021, AWS announced a 10% storage-price reduction for Flexible Retrieval and free bulk retrievals effective December 1, 2021. Neither announcement establishes a current universal rate.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose a class
- Choose Instant Retrieval when archived objects still need real-time access and are expected to be accessed about quarterly; include retrieval fees and the minimum billable object size in your estimate.
- Choose Flexible Retrieval when access is infrequent and you can restore objects before use, with a typical wait of minutes to hours.
- Choose Deep Archive when access is rarer still and a restore that typically takes 9–48 hours is acceptable.
Before selecting a class, check whether the retrieval delay fits the recovery scenario, whether a minimum storage period suits the retention plan, and whether the full regional cost—including retrieval and operational charges—fits the budget.
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