remote-backups.com vs Backblaze B2 for PBS Offsite Backups
Backblaze B2 is cheap object storage. remote-backups.com is a managed Proxmox Backup Server target. Both can store your offsite backups, but they solve different problems and come with different trade-offs.
At a Glance
| Feature | remote-backups.com | Backblaze B2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price per TB/month | €8.50 flat | $6.95/TB storage + egress over the free allowance |
| Egress costs | None | Free up to 3x stored data, then $0.01/GB |
| PBS native | Yes, full sync job support | S3 datastore (stable since PBS 4.2) |
| Setup time | ~5 minutes | 30-60 minutes |
| Deduplication | Server-side (PBS native) | None (object storage) |
| Verification | Server-side, no egress | Downloads all chunks (egress bills) |
| Data location | Germany (EU); 9 edge PoPs, data stays in Germany | US West by default, EU Central (Amsterdam) available |
| Immutable backups | Yes (€3/TB/mo add-on) | Object Lock (additional config) |
| Geo-replication | Yes (€4/TB/copy/mo) | Manual (separate buckets) |
| Autoscaling | Yes (included, 100 GB increments) | N/A (pay per byte) |
| Free tier | 100 GB | 10 GB |
Comparison based on publicly available information as of August 2026.
How Each Approach Works
Managed PBS (remote-backups.com)
You add remote-backups.com as a remote PBS target in your local Proxmox Backup Server. Then you create a sync job that replicates your encrypted backups on a schedule. PBS handles deduplication, verification, and pruning on both ends. No additional software, no API keys, no middleware.
Backblaze B2 as PBS S3 Datastore
PBS S3-compatible datastores left tech preview with Proxmox Backup Server 4.2 in April 2026 and are now an officially supported backend. You create a B2 bucket, generate application keys, and configure PBS to use the bucket as a datastore backend. Two things the docs are explicit about: every S3 datastore needs its own local cache disk of 64 to 128 GiB, and only one PBS instance can operate a given datastore at a time. Verification still reads chunks back out of the bucket, and B2 doesn't understand PBS chunks natively.
The Hidden Cost of Verification
Proxmox Backup Server can verify backup integrity by reading and checksumming stored chunks. On a native PBS target, this happens server-side with zero network transfer. On B2, verification pulls the chunks back out of the bucket, checks them, and discards them. Everything that is not already in the local cache disk counts as egress.
You can skip verification, but then you're trusting that your offsite backups are intact without ever checking. That defeats one of PBS's strongest features.
Setup Complexity
remote-backups.com Setup
- Create account, get connection details
- Add as remote in PBS GUI
- Create sync job with
--encrypted-only - Done
Backblaze B2 Setup
- Create B2 account and bucket
- Generate application keys
- Attach a dedicated 64-128 GiB cache disk for the S3 datastore
- Configure the S3 endpoint and datastore in PBS
- Set up lifecycle rules
- Monitor egress against the free allowance
- Handle S3 API compatibility edge cases
The B2 path also requires you to monitor your egress spending and manage API credentials. With client-side encryption enabled, your data stays encrypted regardless of which target you choose.
When Backblaze B2 Makes Sense
B2 is a solid choice when:
- You have very large datasets (10+ TB) and raw storage cost is the primary concern
- Your verification and restore traffic stays inside the free 3x egress allowance
- You already use B2 for other workloads and want to consolidate
- GDPR and EU data residency don't apply to your situation
For cold archival storage where you write once and almost never read, B2's per-GB pricing is hard to beat. Just factor in egress costs before assuming it's cheaper.
When Managed PBS Wins
A managed Proxmox Backup Server target is the better fit when:
- You want native PBS sync jobs with no middleware or API adapters
- You need free, server-side verification to confirm backup integrity
- Predictable monthly costs matter (no surprise egress bills)
- You restore or verify regularly and don't want to pay per-operation
- EU data residency (GDPR) is a requirement
- You prefer a 5-minute setup over configuring S3 endpoints
You can estimate your transfer requirements with our initial seed calculator.
Features B2 Can't Match
remote-backups.com isn't just a storage target. It adds protection layers on top of Proxmox Backup Server that object storage like B2 can't replicate.
Immutable Backups
A separate, read-only copy of your backups that nobody can modify or delete. Not you, not a rogue script, not ransomware that compromised your PBS credentials. Controlled by credential separation and a configurable change timeout (1-90 days).
€3/TB/mo based on actual usage. Learn more
Geo-Replication
Automatic replication to physically separate datacenters. Your data survives even if an entire region goes down. Syncs every 15 minutes via ZFS incremental transfers. Choose 1-3 additional copies.
€4/TB per copy/mo. Learn more
Autoscaling
Your datastore grows and shrinks automatically in 100 GB increments based on actual usage. No manual resizing, no overprovisioning, no failed backups because you ran out of space.
Included at no extra cost. Learn more
B2's Object Lock provides some immutability at the S3 level, but it doesn't integrate with PBS's chunk-based storage model. You'd need to build and maintain retention policies, monitoring, and access controls yourself. With remote-backups.com, these features work out of the box with your existing sync jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try Managed PBS with No Egress Surprises
Start with 100 GB free. Native PBS sync jobs, server-side verification, flat-rate pricing. No S3 configuration, no egress metering.