Fileboy vs S3 and Lambda

A simple S3 upload service, so you do not have to build one

Presigned URLs, an image resizing Lambda and a CDN will get you there. Fileboy is what that project becomes when someone has already finished and maintained it.

The short version

Building on AWS gives you full control and the lowest cost at scale, and plenty of teams should do exactly that. The price is the work: permissions, upload limits, a resize function, caching, video encoding and the upkeep of all of it. Fileboy trades control and unit cost for not having to build or run any of it.

Side by side

AWS prices vary by region and usage, so we have not quoted them. Use the AWS pricing calculator for your own numbers and compare.

Check current prices: AWS pricing calculator · Fileboy pricing

Fileboy compared with S3 + Lambda
	Fileboy	S3 + Lambda
Setup time	Minutes. Create an app, paste a key, upload.	Days to weeks to do properly: buckets, IAM, CORS, presigned URLs, functions, CDN.
Uploads	Browser uploader, React component and Node, Ruby, Python and PHP SDKs. Large files handled.	Presigned URLs or multipart uploads. You build the client, limits and error handling.
Image resizing	Resize, crop, format, quality and more, requested in the URL and cached.	A Lambda or similar using an image library, plus your own caching and cache keys.
Sending a file to someone	A share page with a preview, a download button and link previews, turned on per file. Private files open only through a signed share link.	A presigned URL to the raw object. A page with a preview, link previews and noindex is yours to build and host.
Video	Adaptive HLS and DASH streaming up to 1080p, an automatic poster, seek-preview thumbnails, captions, a React player, an iframe embed and webhooks. No encoder of your own.	A managed transcoding service plus a delivery setup, both configured by you.
Sharing a file for a limited time	Expiring links from the dashboard or API, lasting a minute to a year, that you can turn off one at a time and that show how often they were opened.	Presigned URLs, up to 7 days when signed with IAM user credentials. One URL cannot be revoked on its own: you revoke the credentials that signed it.
Cost at scale	Flat monthly price per app, with limits on files, videos, storage and transfer.	Pay per request, storage and transfer. Usually cheaper at high volume.
Storage reporting	Built in: storage split into your files, video originals, renditions and cached image copies, the biggest files and videos, and a daily total.	S3 Storage Lens and CloudWatch report storage by bucket and storage class over time. A split by your own kinds of file is yours to build.
Control	Configured through the dashboard and API. Files live in Fileboy storage.	Complete. Your account, region, policies, encryption and retention rules.
Ongoing maintenance	None on your side.	You own security updates, library vulnerabilities, monitoring and incidents.
Data residency and compliance	Fileboy storage. Check our terms and privacy policy against your requirements.	You choose the region and can build to your own compliance needs.

Reviewed November 2026. Products change, so check S3 + Lambda's own documentation for current details. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Where Fileboy is a worse fit than S3 and Lambda

You have strict data residency, encryption or retention requirements that need your own AWS account.
You move very large volumes of data, where per-request AWS pricing beats a flat plan.
You already have a platform team and the pipeline, so the build cost is sunk and small.
You need image or video processing that is specific to your product and not a general resize.
You want to avoid depending on a small outside vendor for a core part of your product.

Where Fileboy is a better fit

You would rather ship product than maintain an upload and image pipeline.
You do not have the time or experience to get bucket permissions and upload limits right.
You want resized images, caching and video working from day one.
Your usage is small enough that a flat monthly price is easier to plan than usage-based billing.

Common questions

Is it cheaper to build this on AWS myself?

Per gigabyte, usually yes, especially at scale. Once you count the engineering time to build it and keep it patched, a managed service is often cheaper for small teams. At large volume, raw AWS can win again.

Can Fileboy store files in my own S3 bucket?

No. Storage is included in your plan and you do not configure it. If you need files in a bucket you own, build it on AWS directly.

Can I leave Fileboy for my own setup later?

Yes. Your database holds Fileboy IDs, and the files can be downloaded through the API. Moving later means copying files and swapping the URL builder.

Other comparisons: Cloudinary · Uploadcare · imgix · Mux · Cloudflare Stream · Fileboy pricing

Add Fileboy to your next project

We built Fileboy to stop rebuilding file handling for every app. Create an app, paste your key and upload a file. The free plan needs no card.