# Backblaze B2 vs Azure Blob Storage: which do AI models recommend for object storage, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Object storage. Five of fourteen models named Backblaze B2 first on the direct prompt; one named Azure Blob Storage. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/cloud/object-storage/backblaze-b2-vs-azure-blob-storage/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backblaze B2 | 46% | #1 of 9 | 5% | 62 | 14 of 14 |
| Azure Blob Storage | 6% | #5 of 9 | 31% | 42 | 13 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Grok 4.1 Fast: backblaze b2 first (first choices: Backblaze B2) (alternatives: Cloudflare R2, Wasabi Object Storage)
- Mistral Small: backblaze b2 first (first choices: Backblaze B2) (alternatives: Amazon S3, Cloudian HyperStore)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: backblaze b2 first (first choices: Backblaze B2) (alternatives: Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: backblaze b2 first (first choices: Backblaze B2, Wasabi Object Storage)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: backblaze b2 first (first choices: Backblaze B2) (alternatives: Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, MinIO AIStor, Wasabi Object Storage)
- MiniMax M2.5: azure blob storage first (first choices: Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage) (alternatives: Backblaze B2, Google Cloud Storage, Wasabi Object Storage)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Amazon S3) (alternatives: Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Cloudflare R2) (alternatives: Backblaze B2, Wasabi Object Storage)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Google Cloud Storage) (alternatives: Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Wasabi Object Storage)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: Cloudflare R2) (alternatives: Azure Blob Storage, Backblaze B2, Google Cloud Storage)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: Amazon S3) (alternatives: Azure Blob Storage, Cloudflare R2, Google Cloud Storage)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (alternatives: Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, Wasabi Object Storage)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named

## What the models said about Backblaze B2

- "Your downloads are much larger than your stored volume... model the excess before committing." (GPT-6 Luna, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Some users mention limited regional redundancy (only US‑based by default)." (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "they may lack integration with other services and can become more expensive" (Mistral Small, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Backblaze B2 gives the best balance of transparent low storage pricing, broad S3 compatibility, free egress allowance and no minimum retention" (Muse Glimmer 30B, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "In practice most budget-limited companies start with Backblaze B2 for storage cost, and pair it with Cloudflare for free unlimited egress." (Muse Glimmer 30B, budget prompt, first choice)
- "The Best All-Rounder: Backblaze B2 ... widely considered the best balance between rock-bottom pricing and enterprise-grade stability." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Azure Blob Storage

- ""avoid or be cautious about ... those with high egress fees or minimum retention periods, such as GCS and Azure Cold"" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Avoid hyperscalers (AWS/GCP/Azure) on tight budgets due to egress/API add-ons." (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "High egress fees (e.g., AWS S3: $0.09/GB after free tier; GCS/Azure similar) lead to unpredictable bills and vendor lock-in" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Start with AWS S3 or Azure Blob — native integration, massive ecosystem, but watch egress costs." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, scale prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend Amazon S3 or Azure Blob Storage due to their enterprise-grade security" (MiniMax M2.5, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Check AWS S3 / Azure Blob: If you are already deep in one ecosystem." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, scale prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.