I need a cloud storage service that supports rclone and does not charge for API requests.

If you need an rclone -compatible cloud storage provider that doesn't charge per-request/API fees (unlike AWS S3 or Backblaze B2, which nickel-and-diming you for GET, PUT , or LIST operations), your best options depend on whether you want a completely free tier or paid flat-rate storage.

• Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage — The industry standard for no API charges . Wasabi fully supports rclone via its S3-compatible API. They charge a flat rate for storage capacity only (around $6.99 per TB/month) with zero egress fees and zero API request fees. Catch: There is a 1 TB monthly storage minimum enforcement ( $6.99/month floor) and a 90-day minimum retention policy on deleted files.
• Rabata — An S3-compatible cloud storage provider that explicitly advertises $0 API request fees alongside flat-rate pricing (such as $49 for 10 TB bundles). It works seamlessly as an S3 drop-in target for rclone, meaning frequent syncs, file listings, and checks won't result in surprise transaction bills.
• Cloudflare R2 — An egress-free object storage option that is fully compatible with rclone's S3 backend. While it does charge for API operations (Class A and Class B) beyond its limits, it features a massive forever-free tier each month: 10 GB of storage, 1 million Class A operations (writes/lists), and 10 million Class B operations (reads) completely free. If your usage fits inside these caps, your API request cost is literally $0.

To help narrow down the ideal choice, let me know:

• How much data do you plan to store?
• Are you looking for a completely free tier or a paid professional plan?

Yes. If your key requirement is rclone + no API-request charges, there are a couple of particularly good choices.

Best fit: Backblaze B2

B2 is probably the closest match to what you're asking for. Backblaze currently says that Class A, B, and C API calls are free for pay-as-you-go customers. Class D transactions are charged, although the first 2,500 per day are free.

It also works very well with rclone because B2 is a supported rclone backend.

Why I'd choose it:

• ✅ rclone support
• ✅ Class A/B/C API calls free
• ✅ First 10 GB storage free
• ✅ No minimum storage duration
• ✅ No minimum file-size fees
• ⚠️ Some Class D transactions can incur charges
• ⚠️ Egress has limits/conditions rather than being universally free

Cloudflare R2 — good alternative, but not truly unlimited API requests

R2 is also S3-compatible and works with rclone.

However, it does charge for API operations above its free allowance:

• 1 million Class A requests/month free
• 10 million Class B requests/month free
• Then $4.50/million Class A
• $0.36/million Class B
• Egress is completely free

So if by "does not charge for API requests" you mean you can hammer the API with millions/billions of rclone operations without an API-request bill, R2 isn't the right choice.

My recommendation

I'd pick Backblaze B2 if your workload generates lots of rclone operations—especially ls, sync, copy, check, and small-file operations.

If you tell me roughly how much storage you need (e.g. 1 TB, 10 TB, 50 TB) and whether you'll upload/download frequently or mainly use it as cold storage, I can compare B2, Wasabi, R2, and a few less-obvious options and find the cheapest one for your particular rclone workload.

If your requirement is rclone + no per-API-request charges, the best fits are:

My pick: Backblaze B2

Backblaze B2 is particularly good if your priority is eliminating API-operation costs. Backblaze currently lists Class A, B, and C API calls as free; only certain Class D transactions cost money, with the first 2,500/day free.

It also has an explicit rclone integration, and the current storage price is $0.00695/GB-month after the first 10 GB.

Cloudflare R2

Cloudflare R2 is another excellent option, especially if you'll download a lot. It has no egress charges, and its S3-compatible API works with rclone.

The catch is that API requests aren't unlimitedly free: R2 includes 1 million Class A and 10 million Class B operations per month; after that, they cost $4.50/million and $0.36/million respectively.

Bottom line: If by "does not charge for API requests" you mean you don't want API-call costs to accumulate at all, I'd choose Backblaze B2. If you expect substantial downloads/egress, R2 can be cheaper overall despite its API limits.

The best primary recommendation for cloud storage that natively supports rclone via standard S3-compatible APIs and does not charge for API/transaction requests is Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage . Other viable zero-per-request or alternative options include Rabata and consumer-centric setups, though major players like Cloudflare R2 or Backblaze B2 charge fractions of a cent per operation.

Top Rclone-Compatible Providers with No API Request Fees

Key Details on Using Rclone with Zero API Fee Storage

• Wasabi Configuration: Configure inside rclone config by selecting s3 storage, setting the provider to Wasabi , and pointing to the regional endpoint (e.g., s3.wasabisys.com ). Because it doesn't bill for LIST or GET operations, intensive rclone flags like --fast-list won't inflate your invoice.
• The Retention Catch: While Wasabi has zero API and egress fees, deleted or overwritten files are subject to a 90-day minimum storage retention period . If you frequently delete/re-upload rapidly changing data sets daily, this can add hidden costs.

If you can share your approximate total data size and how often files change or get deleted , I can help you decide if Wasabi's retention policy or a different S3-compatible tier fits your budget best.

Yes. Backblaze B2 is probably the best match for what you're asking for right now.

🥇 Backblaze B2

• Works with rclone: rclone has a dedicated B2 backend and supports syncing, copying, mounting, etc.
• No API-request charges: Backblaze currently lists Class A, B, and C API calls as free. Class D calls have 2,500 free per day, then cost $0.004 per 10,000.
• Storage: $6.95/TB/month, with the first 10 GB free.
• Uploads: Free.
• Egress: Free up to 3× your average monthly stored amount; additional egress is $0.01/GB, with unlimited free egress through certain CDN/compute partners.
• S3 compatible: So you can use either rclone's native B2 backend or its S3 interface.

One important distinction

If by "does not charge for API requests" you mean literally unlimited API requests at $0, B2 is unusually good: its normal storage operations (Class A/B/C) are free. It isn't quite literally every possible API call—Class D has a small charge after the daily allowance.

Cloudflare R2 is not as good for this particular requirement. It supports S3/rclone, but after its free allowance it charges $4.50/million Class A requests and $0.36/million Class B requests.

So if you're doing something like rclone backups with lots of small files, I'd pick Backblaze B2 over R2 specifically because of the free API transactions.

If you tell me roughly how many TB you need and whether you'll frequently download/restore the data, I can compare B2, Wasabi, R2, Hetzner, and a few others and identify the cheapest option.

When using rclone with cloud storage, heavy operations like sync, check , or ls can trigger thousands of API calls. Standard enterprise providers like AWS S3 or Backblaze B2 bill for these transactions (Class B/C calls), which can lead to unexpected bills if you have a massive directory tree.

The best rclone-compatible cloud storage alternatives that explicitly do not charge for API requests include:

• Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage : Fully S3-compatible, charges a flat rate per TB for storage, and has zero fees for API requests or egress (as long as your monthly download volume doesn't drastically exceed your storage volume). Note: They do enforce a 90-day minimum storage retention policy for deleted/modified objects.
• Cloudflare R2 : Offers S3-compatible object storage with $0 API request fees (Class A and Class B operations are completely free) and zero egress/bandwidth fees . You only pay for the exact gigabytes stored ($0.015 per GB/month). Rclone integrates natively via the S3 backend.
• Rabata : An S3-compatible provider that explicitly advertises $0 API request fees alongside flat-rate storage plans (e.g., matching predictable block pricing) and zero egress fees on data restoration.
• Hetzner Storage Box : Supports standard protocols like WebDAV, SFTP, and CIFS—all of which are fully supported by rclone. They charge a low flat monthly fee based strictly on capacity with no extra transaction or API costs.

Tip: When running rclone sync commands on object storage with large numbers of small files, always append the --fast-list flag to minimize the total count of listing requests made to the backend.

If you can share your approximate storage size and how you plan to use rclone (e.g., heavy rclone mount vs. weekly backup scripts), I can help you pick the most cost-effective provider among these options.

When looking for cloud storage that natively supports rclone without penalizing you with per-request API fees (common with traditional hyperscalers like AWS S3 or Google Cloud), you should focus on flat-rate S3-compatible object stores or file-based providers with protocol access.

The top options that explicitly do not charge for API requests include:

• • How it works with rclone: Fully S3-compatible (configure using the standard s3 remote type in rclone).
  • API / Cost Policy: $0.00 for all API operations and zero egress fees. They charge a flat predictable monthly rate per TB.
  • The Catch: They enforce a minimum storage retention policy (objects deleted before 90 days are still billed for the remainder of that 90-day window).
• Cloudflare R2
  • How it works with rclone: Connects natively using Cloudflare R2 rclone integration guides via the S3-compatible API protocol.
  • API / Cost Policy: Zero egress fees and zero charges for Class B (reads) and Class C (list) operations. They offer a generous free tier (first 10GB/month free) and charge very minimally for storage beyond that.
  • The Catch: Extremely high-volume Class A operations (writes/uploads/list buckets) have minor costs past free tier allowances, but standard reading/syncing/listing via rclone is largely free of hidden request traps.
• Rabata
  • How it works with rclone: Standard Rabata S3-Compatible Storage drop-in target using rclone's s3 backend.
  • API / Cost Policy: Flat transparent pricing with no API request charges and no egress fees on data restoration.
  • The Catch: Server-side copy isn't natively implemented for all operations, which may slightly alter modification time (modtime) behavior depending on your sync settings.
• Hetzner Storage Box
  • How it works with rclone: Connects seamlessly using rclone’s webdav or sftp remote backends.
  • API / Cost Policy: Billed at a fixed monthly subscription fee based on total capacity (ideal if you are operating out of Europe or want a traditional disk-like space). Because it relies on standard protocols rather than an object-storage transaction model, there are no per-request API fees or bandwidth charges.
  • The Catch: It is a file storage box rather than true elastic object storage, meaning simultaneous connection limits apply (recommended to throttle checkers/transfers in rclone).

To help narrow down the best fit, could you share:

• How much storage capacity you roughly plan to use?
• Whether you prefer true object storage (S3) or a standard file protocol (WebDAV/SFTP)?

If your main requirement is rclone compatibility and no charges for API requests (PUT/GET/LIST/etc.), your options are fairly limited because many object storage providers bill for API operations.

Here are the best choices:

Providers that do charge for API requests

These are excellent with rclone but can become expensive if you make lots of small operations:

Consumer cloud drives

Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Koofr, MEGA, and Filen work well with rclone and generally don't charge per API request on consumer plans, though they may enforce rate limits or quotas instead of billing for API usage.

Recommendations by use case

• Cheapest S3-compatible storage with no request fees: American Cloud.
• Mature S3-compatible service: Wasabi.
• Unlimited storage: Quotaless Cloud (subscription-based).
• Personal cloud drive: Koofr or Filen if you don't specifically need S3.

If you're planning to use rclone for frequent syncs with millions of files, choosing a provider without API request billing can save a significant amount compared to B2 or AWS S3.

When using Rclone with commercial cloud object storage, many S3-compatible or traditional providers penalize you with transaction/API request fees (Class A, B, or C operations) whenever rclone indexes, lists, or modifies directories.

The best cloud storage providers that officially or natively support rclone and do not charge for API requests fall into distinct categories depending on whether you prefer S3 object storage or standard file/protocol storage:

• IDrive e2 — A fully S3-compatible hot object storage provider. It charges a flat rate per terabyte (around $5/TB/month) with zero egress fees and zero API request/transaction fees for all classes of operations. Crucially, unlike some competitors, it has no minimum data retention policy, meaning deleting files early incurs no penalty. You configure it in rclone using the standard s3 provider type.
• Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage — A popular high-performance S3 clone that features no charges for egress, API calls, or data retrieval . It operates on a predictable flat monthly per-TB model. Note: Wasabi enforces a 90-day minimum storage duration on objects, meaning if you overwrite or delete files rapidly within 90 days, you will pay for the remainder of that window. Rclone integrates smoothly via the standard S3 configuration.
• Hetzner Storage Box — If you do not strictly require an S3 interface and prefer a dedicated backup storage target, Hetzner Storage Boxes offer flat-rate monthly pricing with no per-transfer, egress, or API/connection limits outside of a cap on concurrent active connections. Rclone accesses these seamlessly using its built-in sftp (port 23) or webdav backends.

If you'd like, let me know:

• How much storage capacity you expect to use
• Whether you prefer an S3-compatible API or traditional protocols like SFTP/WebDAV

I can give you the exact rclone configuration template and recommended performance flags (like --transfers limits) for your preferred choice.

If your priority is rclone compatibility + no API request charges, you’ll generally want to avoid many traditional S3 providers that bill for GET, LIST, and other operations. Good candidates are:

My shortlist

Best overall for rclone backups:
→ Backblaze B2

• S3-compatible
• Designed for automated backups
• No request-count billing makes heavy rclone operations (lots of file listings/checks) less stressful

Best if you want lots of free storage already included:
→ Google Drive

• 15 GB free tier
• rclone support is mature

Best if you already pay for a subscription:
→ Microsoft OneDrive via Microsoft 365

• Often the cheapest way to get multiple TB while using rclone.

A few services that are rclone-compatible but may not meet your requirement:

• AWS S3: excellent rclone support, but API requests and data transfer can add cost.
• Google Cloud Storage: similar issue; request pricing applies.
• Many S3-compatible providers: check their "operations," "Class A/B requests," or "API calls" pricing.

If you tell me your target size (e.g., 100 GB, 1 TB, 10 TB) and whether this is for backup, sync, or mounting as a drive, I can narrow it down.