Best Sheepdog Alternatives in 2026
The top Sheepdog alternatives are Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), Google Persistent Disk and Google Cloud Hyperdisk: 15 block storage services our editors would look at instead of Sheepdog, in our ranking order.
Sheepdog: Free, open-source clustered storage with QEMU volumes, snapshots, cloning, and object APIs. Where it falls short: self-hosted deployment requires managing clustered nodes.
Switching from Sheepdog? For most block storage services buyers the best Sheepdog alternative is Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), built for aWS-native production block storage. Google Persistent Disk has a free plan.
Why People Look for a Sheepdog Alternative
- Self-hosted deployment requires managing clustered nodes
- Project site lists packages for Ubuntu 16.04 and CentOS 7
- Community support may not suit teams needing vendor SLAs
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallAmazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)9.4
AWS-native production block storage
Visit Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) - Lowest priceAmazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)9.4
Paid plans from $0.08/mo
Visit Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) - Best free optionGoogle Persistent Disk9.3
Has a free plan
Visit Google Persistent Disk - Most max volume sizeAmazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)9.4
64 TB
Visit Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)
All 15 Sheepdog Alternatives, Ranked
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
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Best forAWS-native production block storage
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 9.4 vs 6.9
A broad AWS-native block storage service with flexible volume and snapshot options.
- Cross-region replication
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
9.4/10★★★★★Visit Amazon EBS -
Best forLow-cost Compute Engine storage
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 9.3 vs 6.9
A flexible Compute Engine storage service with free capacity, snapshots, encryption, and replication.
- Cross-region replication
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
9.3/10★★★★★Visit Google Cloud -
Best forHigh-performance Google Cloud workloads
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 9.2 vs 6.9
A performance-tunable block storage service for demanding Google Cloud workloads.
- Cross-region replication
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Google Cloud -
Best forOpenStack private clouds
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 9.0 vs 6.9
A broad, driver-based block-storage service for self-hosted OpenStack clouds.
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
- Snapshots
9.0/10★★★★☆Try OpenStack Cinder -
Best forHigh-IOPS Huawei Cloud deployments
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.9 vs 6.9
A flexible EVS service for Huawei Cloud workloads that need selectable disk performance.
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
- Snapshots
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Huawei Cloud -
Best forIBM Cloud VPC workloads
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.8 vs 6.9
A flexible block storage service for IBM Cloud VPC workloads and Kubernetes storage.
- Encryption
- Snapshots
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit IBM Cloud -
Best forAlibaba ECS block storage
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.7 vs 6.9
A flexible ECS block-storage service with clear PL0 pricing and varied disk tiers.
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
- Snapshots
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Alibaba Cloud -
Best forTencent Cloud CVM storage
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.6 vs 6.9
A flexible CBS service for CVM workloads that need snapshots, replication, and encryption.
- Cross-region replication
- Encryption
- Snapshots
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Tencent Cloud -
Best forBudget-conscious OVHcloud users
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.5 vs 6.9
A flexible OVHcloud storage service with low entry pricing and tiered performance.
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
- Snapshots
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit OVHcloud -
Best forNutanix infrastructure environments
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.4 vs 6.9
A Nutanix-focused block storage service with Prism management, replication, and data-efficiency features.
- Multi-attach
- Encryption
- Snapshots
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Nutanix -
Best forEuropean cloud workloads needing large volumes
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.3 vs 6.9
A scalable block storage service for European workloads on Scaleway.
- Snapshots
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Scaleway -
Best forSimple DigitalOcean VM and Kubernetes storage
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.2 vs 6.9
A focused block storage service for DigitalOcean compute and Kubernetes workloads.
- Encryption
- Snapshots
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit DigitalOcean -
Best forSimple replicated SSD volumes
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.1 vs 6.9
A straightforward replicated SSD volume service for expanding Hetzner Cloud Server capacity.
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Hetzner -
Best forRackspace Cloud Server attachments
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 8.0 vs 6.9
A focused block storage service for Rackspace Cloud Server and OnMetal attachments.
- Snapshots
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Rackspace -
Best forBasic Vultr attached storage
- Better than Sheepdog:
- Editor score 7.9 vs 6.9
A straightforward Vultr storage option with HDD and NVMe tiers, snapshots, and automation.
- Encryption
- Snapshots
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Vultr
Sheepdog Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Sheepdog?
Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS): #1 in our Block Storage Services ranking, with an editor score of 9.4 out of 10. A broad AWS-native block storage service with flexible volume and snapshot options.
Is there a free alternative to Sheepdog?
Yes. Google Persistent Disk and OpenStack Cinder have a free plan or a free tier.
Why do people look for Sheepdog alternatives?
Self-hosted deployment requires managing clustered nodes; Project site lists packages for Ubuntu 16.04 and CentOS 7; Community support may not suit teams needing vendor SLAs.
Which Sheepdog alternative has the most max volume size?
Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), with 64 TB.
How do I switch from Sheepdog?
Export your data from Sheepdog (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Sheepdog.
How to Switch from Sheepdog
- Export your data from Sheepdog (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Sheepdog.
Sheepdog vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Max volume size | Volume types | Snapshots | Multi-attach | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Sheepdog | Yes | Free | Yes | 6.9 | |||
| 1 | Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) | No | $0.08/mo | 64 TB | gp2, gp3, io1, io2, st1, sc1, standard | Yes | Yes | 9.4 |
| 2 | Google Persistent Disk | Yes | 64 TB | Standard, Balanced, SSD, Extreme | Yes | Yes | 9.3 | |
| 3 | Google Cloud Hyperdisk | No | 64 TB | Hyperdisk Balanced, Hyperdisk Balanced High Availability, Hyperdisk Extreme, Hyperdisk Throughput, Hyperdisk ML | Yes | Yes | 9.2 | |
| 4 | OpenStack Cinder | No | Free | __DEFAULT__; custom volume types | Yes | Yes | 9.0 | |
| 5 | Huawei Cloud Elastic Volume Service (EVS) | No | 32 TB | Extreme SSD; Ultra-high I/O; General Purpose SSD; General Purpose SSD V2; High I/O; Common I/O | Yes | Yes | 8.9 | |
| 6 | IBM Cloud Block Storage | 32 TB | sdp, general-purpose, 5iops-tier, 10iops-tier, custom | Yes | No | 8.8 | ||
| 7 | Alibaba Cloud Cloud Disk | $7.65/GB/mo | 64 TB | ESSD PL0, ESSD PL1, ESSD PL2, ESSD PL3, ESSD AutoPL, Regional ESSD, ESSD Entry, Standard SSD, Ultra Disk, Basic Disk | Yes | Yes | 8.7 | |
| 8 | Tencent Cloud Cloud Block Storage (CBS) | 32 TB | Premium Disk; Balanced SSD; Cloud SSD; Enhanced SSD; Tremendous SSD | Yes | 8.6 | |||
| 9 | OVHcloud Block Storage | No | $0.05/GB/mo | Classic, High Speed, High Speed Gen2 | Yes | Yes | 8.5 | |
| 10 | Nutanix Volumes Block Storage | Yes | Yes | 8.4 | ||||
| 11 | Scaleway Block Storage | No | €0.000177/GB usage-based | 15 TB | sbs_5k, sbs_15k, b_ssd (legacy) | Yes | No | 8.3 |
| 12 | DigitalOcean Volumes Block Storage | No | $0.10/GB/mo | 16 TB | Shared, Shared (burst), Dedicated, Dedicated (burst) | Yes | No | 8.2 |
| 13 | Hetzner Cloud Volumes | 10 TB | SSD | No | No | 8.1 | ||
| 14 | Rackspace Cloud Block Storage | No | 1 TB | SATA, SSD | Yes | No | 8.0 | |
| 15 | Vultr Block Storage | No | $25/unit/mo | 40 TB | HDD, NVMe | Yes | No | 7.9 |
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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