XNS Object Storage review
A low-egress S3-compatible option with strong retention controls and a self-hosted gateway.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
XNS Object Storage provides S3-compatible object storage through the Relayer gateway, which customers run on their own Docker host. It is aimed at small, mid-market and enterprise teams that need monthly pay-as-you-go storage, low egress costs and compatibility with established S3 tools. The service supports cloud and self-hosted deployment, while its S3-compatible object API works with AWS CLI, boto3, rclone, restic, kopia and MinIO mc. It suits backup, archive and application-storage workflows that can accommodate a gateway-managed deployment model.
Pricing is straightforward: the Pay-as-you-go plan charges $0.006 per GB per month for storage used, with monthly billing. The published plan highlights no extra fees for egress or API requests, plus access to storage provider classes, performance levels and geolocation. There is no free plan. That structure is particularly relevant for workloads where data retrieval or outbound transfers could otherwise add a significant variable cost. Additional ecosystem connections include Duplicati, ERPNext, CloudMounter, Portainer Business Edition, Nuxeo Platform, Pydio Enterprise, Nextcloud, ownCloud and S3Drive.
Data-management controls are a notable part of the offering. Bucket versioning and delete markers support recovery workflows, while Object Lock provides governance and compliance retention. Legal holds and lifecycle expiration—including expiration for noncurrent versions—add control over retention and storage cleanup. Gateway-side XChaCha20 encryption and erasure coding across up to 120 independent hosts are also included. However, the compatibility matrix marks S3 bucket replication as unsupported, and support is documentation-based. Choose XNS Object Storage if zero-cost, uncapped egress, S3 compatibility and retention features matter more than native replication or managed gateway operation. Teams needing bucket replication or a support channel beyond documentation should consider an alternative.
XNS Object Storage pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Zero-cost, uncapped egress and no stated API-request fees
- Versioning, Object Lock, legal holds and lifecycle expiration
- Works with AWS CLI, boto3, rclone, backup tools and S3 clients
- Where it doesn't
- Requires customers to run the Relayer gateway on a Docker host
- Support is provided through documentation
- S3 bucket replication is unsupported
XNS Object Storage fact sheet, pricing and score →
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