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Head-to-head · Cloud File Storage Services

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP #3 in Cloud File Storage Services 9.2/10 Paid ✓ 2 of 2 features Visit NetApp
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) #6 in Cloud File Storage Services 8.9/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 2 features Visit Amazon EFS

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP leads on 0 checks, Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreNetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP · 9.2/10
  • Most featuresNetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP · 2 of 2

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP scores higher on our rubric for cloud file storage services: 9.2 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #6.

On scaling model, NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP gives you Auto_scaling where Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) offers Elastic.

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is the better fit for multicloud enterprise file and block storage. Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is the better fit for elastic AWS-native file storage.

  • NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP fits best

    Multicloud enterprise file and block storage

  • Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) fits best

    Elastic AWS-native file storage

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Side by side

Feature NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP 9.2/10 Visit ↗ Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.2 8.9
Ranking #3 in Cloud File Storage Services #6 in Cloud File Storage Services
Best for Multicloud enterprise file and block storage Elastic AWS-native file storage
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price — $0.30/GB/mo
Free plan — —
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web Web, Linux
Support Docs Docs
Integrations 7 integrations 11 integrations
Built for Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP 2/2 · Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) 1/2
Snapshots ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Managed backups ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported protocols iSCSI, NFS, SMB, NVMe-TCP, S3 NFSv4.0, NFSv4.1
Maximum capacity Not checked yet Not checked yet
Availability zones Not checked yet Not checked yet
Scaling model Auto_scaling Elastic
Our review
Pros
  • Supports iSCSI, NFS, SMB, NVMe-TCP, and S3 protocols
  • Provides Snapshots, SnapMirror replication, backup, and data tiering
  • Runs single-node or high-availability deployments across three clouds
  • Automatic scaling to petabyte scale
  • Regional multi-Availability Zone deployment
  • NFS access across EC2, ECS, EKS, Fargate, and Lambda
Cons
  • Paid service with no permanent free plan
  • Enterprise features may exceed the needs of smaller workloads
  • Cloud, configuration, and license choices affect capacity limits
  • No permanent free plan
  • Designed around Linux workloads and NFS access
  • Costs vary by Region, storage class, throughput, and data protection use
Our verdict

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is a software-only storage appliance that runs ONTAP data-management software in Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. It is designed for organizations managing enterprise and business-critical…

Read the review →

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is a managed, shared cloud file system for Linux workloads. It provides NFSv4.0 and NFSv4.1 access for AWS compute services, including Amazon EC2, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS, AWS Fargate, and AWS Lambda. EFS…

Read the review →
  1. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAPCloud File Storage Services 9.2Paid
  2. Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)Cloud File Storage Services 8.9Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP — where it wins

    • Supports iSCSI, NFS, SMB, NVMe-TCP, and S3 protocols
    • Provides Snapshots, SnapMirror replication, backup, and data tiering
    • Runs single-node or high-availability deployments across three clouds

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid service with no permanent free plan
    • Enterprise features may exceed the needs of smaller workloads
    • Cloud, configuration, and license choices affect capacity limits

  • Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) — where it wins

    • Automatic scaling to petabyte scale
    • Regional multi-Availability Zone deployment
    • NFS access across EC2, ECS, EKS, Fargate, and Lambda

    Where it doesn't

    • No permanent free plan
    • Designed around Linux workloads and NFS access
    • Costs vary by Region, storage class, throughput, and data protection use
  • NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP9.2/10 · Paid

    A broad ONTAP storage appliance for enterprise workloads across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

    Visit NetAppFull verdict →
  • Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)8.9/10 · Paid

    Elastic NFS file storage for Linux workloads running across AWS services.

    Visit Amazon EFSFull verdict →

More comparisons

All cloud file storage services comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update