Filebase vs MinIO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, MinIO grades higher than Filebase: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Filebase grades higher on ease of use. MinIO grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Filebase
S3-compatible object storage with IPFS pinning and free egress
Free plan · from $7.50/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Filebase if
- Fits if you build apps and want S3 storage with IPFS pinning
- Works for small projects that fit in 5 GB for free
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a desktop folder that syncs, because it's a developer service
- Tight if you're staying free: 5 GB, 500 pinned files and 1 bucket
- Watch out: extra storage and IPFS bandwidth are $0.015 a GB, and Pro requests are billed on top
- Watch out: custom domains and bucket CIDs aren't on the free plan, and the SLA is Enterprise only
- Too light for anyone who wants listed integrations, as none are named
Pick MinIO if
- Fits if you run your own infrastructure and need S3-style storage
- Works for data teams that want a single test node for free
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a file-sync or sharing app
- Not for you if you want a managed service, as it runs on your own servers
- Watch out: the pricing page says the original AGPLv3 edition is end of life with no fixes or security patches
- Watch out: clusters need a paid subscription whose price is not published
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFilebaseFair | 2.2GPAMinIOFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$7.50 a month for 500 GB on Pro, between the middle ($7) and the dearer quarter ($9.99) of file storage. Extra storage is $0.015 a GB. | CThe free tier is single-node and Enterprise Lite and Enterprise are quoted on request, so there is no price to compare. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree is 5 GB shared across storage and IPFS, 500 pinned files and 1 bucket. Enough to test, not much to live on. | BFree single-node deployment with the full feature set and community support. Redistribution is prohibited, and there is a 60-day trial of the paid tiers. |
| Features | CS3 API, IPFS pinning, hosted sites and a web dashboard. It's a storage service for developers, not a sync app, and custom domains and the SLA are held back. | CS3 API, replication, security and management for object storage. It is not a file-sync app, and clustering is paid. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. A web dashboard makes buckets, but you work with it through S3 tools and keys. | DDeployed on your own servers or cloud and run by operators. No store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb dashboard and an S3 API. The listing names no integrations and no apps. | BWeb console, S3 API and Kubernetes, Prometheus, NVIDIA and Databricks listed. |
| Best for | S3 storage with IPFS pinning for developers | S3-compatible object storage for engineers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Filebase and MinIO. How we grade
Where they differ
- MinIO is self-hostable, according to its own site.
In commonFree planWebPublic APIFile management
At a glance
| Filebase | MinIO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7.50 per month, billed monthly | Not published |
| Free plan | 5 GB shared across object storage and IPFS, 500 pinned files, 10 GB IPFS egress, 1 bucket. | AIStor Free: the full AIStor feature set on a single-node deployment, with community Slack and documentation support. Redistribution is prohibited. |
| Free trial | None listed | 60-day free trial of Enterprise Lite and Enterprise |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Filebase, Inc. | MinIO, Inc. |
| Price read from | filebase.com | min.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Filebase
- Storage beyond the included amount is $0.015 per GB, and extra IPFS bandwidth is $0.015 per GB.
- Extra Class A requests cost $4.50 per million and Class B $0.36 per million on Pro.
- Custom domains, bucket CIDs and an uptime SLA are not on the free plan; the SLA is Enterprise only.
- It is a developer-oriented storage service, not a desktop sync app.
MinIO
- Clustered, highly available deployments need a paid Enterprise Lite or Enterprise subscription; the free tier is single-node only.
- No Enterprise Lite or Enterprise prices are published; both are quoted on request.
- The pricing page says the original open-source MinIO edition (AGPLv3) is end of life with no fixes or security patches.
- This is infrastructure software for operators, not a consumer file-sync or sharing app.
Key features
Filebase
- S3-compatible storage
- Object storage reachable through the S3 API on both free and Pro plans, with no charge for object egress.
- IPFS pinning
- Pins files on the IPFS network, with IPNS names, gateways and a CDN; Pro raises the pinned-file limit to unlimited.
- Filebase Sites
- Hosts websites from IPFS content with IPNS; 1 site on Free and 10 on Pro.
- Image storage
- Stores images and transforms them on demand, with unlimited transformations on Pro.
- Web dashboard
- Buckets, access keys, gateways and billing are managed in a browser dashboard on every plan.
MinIO
- S3-compatible object storage
- AIStor is described as fully S3-compatible, with S3 Express, an Iceberg catalog and SFTP also listed among its protocols.
- Replication
- The feature list names active-active, synchronous and asynchronous, multi-site, bucket and batch replication.
- Security
- Encryption, a key management server, a data firewall and immutability are listed, and the page shows FIPS 140-3, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 badges.
- Management
- An admin console, quality-of-service controls, lifecycle management, audit trail and Prometheus metrics are listed.
- Sized by usable capacity
- Subscription pricing follows usable storage capacity after erasure-code overhead, not raw disk.
Plans
Filebase
Free$0
5 GB of storage, 500 pinned files, 10 GB IPFS egress, 1 bucket and the S3 API.
Pro$7.50
per month, billed monthly
500 GB, unlimited pinned files, 250 GB IPFS egress, 100 buckets and custom domains.
EnterpriseCustom
Volume pricing, SLA, dedicated support and higher bucket and gateway limits.
MinIO
Free$0
Single-node deployment with community Slack and documentation support; no resiliency beyond one node.
Enterprise LiteCustom
Multi-node, horizontally scalable, for capacity under 400 TiB. Priced on request; optional direct-to-engineer support with a sub-5-day SLA.
EnterpriseCustom
Multi-node with 24/7/365 direct-to-engineer support, a sub-4-hour SLA and dedicated onboarding. Priced on request.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Filebase or MinIO?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Filebase starts at $7.50 per month, billed monthly, and MinIO publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Filebase or MinIO?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Filebase and MinIO have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.