Pixeldrain to Wasabi: End the Egress Meter on Your Archive

Q: "Isn't Pixeldrain actually cheaper for storage?"

"Per stored terabyte, yes — €4/TB against Wasabi's $6.99/TB. The move pays for itself on the other meter: Pixeldrain bills every download (~€1–2/TB) while Wasabi's egress is free within its fair-use policy. Archives you may need to restore in bulk belong where restoring is free."

Q: "Does Wasabi's 1 TB minimum charge matter here?"

"Yes — Wasabi bills at least 1 TB per month regardless of actual usage, so a 200 GB archive pays the same as ~1 TB. Below roughly 1 TB, staying on Pixeldrain's metered pricing is usually the better deal; at or above it, Wasabi's model takes over."

Q: "What does the migration itself cost?"

"One metered Pixeldrain egress charge — about €1 per TB on Prepaid — as CloudsLinker reads the filesystem. That is the last download fee this data ever incurs; subsequent restores come out of Wasabi free."

Q: "How do folders map onto a Wasabi bucket?"

"Wasabi is object storage: buckets hold objects under key prefixes that behave like folders. CloudsLinker maps your Pixeldrain directory tree onto matching prefixes, so a bucket browser shows the same structure you had."

Q: "How does CloudsLinker connect to each side?"

"Pixeldrain by API key (created and revocable at pixeldrain.com/user/api_keys); Wasabi by S3-compatible credentials — an Access Key ID and Secret Access Key plus the endpoint for your bucket's region, e.g. s3.eu-central-1.wasabisys.com."

Q: "Is there a file size limit to worry about?"

"Wasabi accepts objects up to 5 TB, and Pixeldrain's paid filesystem publishes no hard per-file cap, so ordinary archives clear both. CloudsLinker uses multipart uploads for large objects automatically."

Q: "Can I archive only part of the filesystem?"

"Yes. Select specific directories and filter by type, size or date — and since Pixeldrain meters the read, every gigabyte you filter out is egress you don't pay."

Q: "What should I harden on the Wasabi side afterwards?"

"Create the access keys as a scoped pair (never root keys), and consider enabling versioning or Object Lock on the bucket — an immutable archive is the main durability upgrade Wasabi offers over a plain filesystem."

Move a Pixeldrain archive into Wasabi — flat $6.99/TB with zero egress fees. One metered export pass, then retrieval is free forever after.

Introduction

Wasabi's pitch is the mirror image of Pixeldrain's: storage at a flat $6.99 per TB per month with no egress fees at all, where Pixeldrain meters every filesystem download. Interestingly, Pixeldrain's raw storage is cheaper (€4/TB), so this move isn't about the storage bill — it's about what an archive is for. Data you might need to pull back in bulk someday (backups, footage, project archives) sits uneasily behind a per-TB download meter; on Wasabi, retrieval costs nothing whether it happens once or every quarter. Add S3 compatibility — versioning, object lock, the whole tool ecosystem — and Wasabi is where a Pixeldrain archive graduates to. Two routes below: manual, and one server-side pass with CloudsLinker.

Method 1: Download and Upload via the Wasabi Console
Method 2: Copy Pixeldrain to Wasabi in the Cloud
Quick Comparison
Practical Tips
Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pixeldrain?

Pixeldrain is a Netherlands-based storage service with a Pro-tier hierarchical filesystem, metered in both directions: €4 per TB per month stored, and billed egress (~€1–2/TB) on every download.

€4/TB/month storage — cheap parking
No free filesystem downloads
API-key access; no S3 interface
Pro feature; free tier is link sharing

What is Wasabi?

Wasabi is S3-compatible object storage built for archives: a flat $6.99 per TB per month, no egress fees within fair use, a 1 TB minimum monthly charge, and the full S3 tool ecosystem.

$6.99/TB/month flat; free egress
1 TB minimum monthly charge
5 TB max object; versioning, Object Lock
Access Key + Secret Key (S3-compatible)

Comparison: Pixeldrain vs Wasabi

Feature	Pixeldrain	Wasabi
Storage price	€4/TB/mo, metered to usage	$6.99/TB/mo, 1 TB minimum
Egress / retrieval	Billed: ~€1/TB Prepaid, €2/TB shared	Free (fair-use policy)
Storage model	Hierarchical filesystem	S3 buckets + key prefixes
Durability features	Basic file storage	Versioning, Object Lock (immutability)
Max single file / object	No published cap (paid)	5 TB
Connection in CloudsLinker	API key (Pro)	Access Key + Secret Key + endpoint

Sources: Pixeldrain: Filesystem guide, Pixeldrain: pricing, Wasabi: pricing, Wasabi Docs: service limits.

Preparing to Transfer from Pixeldrain to Wasabi

Run the size check first: if the archive is well under 1 TB, Wasabi's billing minimum means you'd pay for capacity you don't use — either consolidate more data into the move or stay put. Create the Wasabi bucket in your preferred region and generate a scoped Access Key pair (not root keys). Decide a key-prefix convention up front — object storage has no real folders, so a scheme like pixeldrain-archive/2026/ saves reorganizing later. Keep the Pixeldrain plan active until the copy is verified; the export itself will incur one final metered egress charge (~€1/TB), which is normal and expected.

Method 1: Download and Upload via the Wasabi Console

Step 1: Download from the Pixeldrain filesystem

Select the archive directories in the Pixeldrain filesystem and download them locally. The read is metered per TB, and a failed large download still counts against the meter — batch into reasonable chunks.

Pixeldrain file list with files selected for download and the Download button visible in the toolbar

Step 2: Upload into the Wasabi bucket

Sign in to the Wasabi console, open the bucket and drag the folders in — the console maps them to key prefixes. For very large batches the console upload is fragile; the S3 CLI is steadier but adds setup.

Wasabi web console with a bucket open and a drag-and-drop upload of several folders queued with progress bars

Twice through your own connection, plus local disk staging for the whole archive. Fine for a few hundred gigabytes; painful at terabyte scale.

Method 2: Copy Pixeldrain to Wasabi in the Cloud

Filesystem to S3 bucket in one pass

CloudsLinker reads the Pixeldrain filesystem by API key and writes multipart uploads straight into your Wasabi bucket. No local staging disk, one metered read of the source, and directory structure arrives as matching key prefixes.

Step 1: Connect Pixeldrain

Click Add Cloud → Pixeldrain, enter a display name and paste an API key from pixeldrain.com/user/api_keys.

CloudsLinker Add Cloud dialog for Pixeldrain with display name and API Key fields

Step 2: Connect Wasabi

Generate an Access Key pair in the Wasabi console under Access Keys.

Wasabi console Access Keys page generating a new Access Key and Secret Key pair

Then in CloudsLinker, click Add Cloud → Wasabi, paste the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key, and pick the endpoint matching your bucket's region (for example s3.eu-central-1.wasabisys.com).

CloudsLinker Add Cloud dialog for Wasabi with Access Key ID and Secret Access Key fields filled in

Step 3: Configure the Transfer

Set Pixeldrain as the source and select the archive directories; set Wasabi as the destination with the bucket and key prefix. Filter by type or size if only part of the filesystem is archive-grade — filtered gigabytes are metered egress you don't pay.

CloudsLinker transfer configuration with Pixeldrain directories checked as source on the left and a Wasabi bucket with a pixeldrain-archive key prefix selected as destination on the right

Step 4: Start and Monitor the Transfer

Start the job and follow the Task List. The pass runs server-side end to end; when it completes, verify object counts in the bucket before touching the Pixeldrain originals.

CloudsLinker task monitoring view with an active migration in progress

Comparing the Ways to Transfer From Pixeldrain to Wasabi

Method	Ease of Use	Speed	Best For	Uses Local Bandwidth	Skill Level
Console download / upload	Medium	Slow + local staging	Sub-100 GB archives	Yes — twice	Basic
CloudsLinker	Easy	Fast (server-side, multipart)	Terabyte-scale archives	No	Basic

Practical Tips for Moving Pixeldrain to Wasabi

Respect the 1 TB floor: Wasabi bills a 1 TB minimum monthly — consolidate archives to clear it, or the flat rate stops being cheap.
Never use root keys: generate a scoped Access Key pair for CloudsLinker so it can be rotated or revoked independently.
Plan key prefixes before, not after: renaming "folders" in object storage means copying every object — pick the prefix scheme first.
Consider Object Lock: for backup archives, immutability is the feature that justifies the move — enable it at bucket creation, it can't be added later.
Expect one last meter charge: the export reads the Pixeldrain filesystem once (~€1/TB) — that's the exit toll, not a recurring cost.
Stop the source meter: after verifying object counts, delete the Pixeldrain directories so the €4/TB storage billing ends.

Frequently Asked Questions

Per stored terabyte, yes — €4/TB against Wasabi's $6.99/TB. The move pays for itself on the other meter: Pixeldrain bills every download (~€1–2/TB) while Wasabi's egress is free within its fair-use policy. Archives you may need to restore in bulk belong where restoring is free.

Yes — Wasabi bills at least 1 TB per month regardless of actual usage, so a 200 GB archive pays the same as ~1 TB. Below roughly 1 TB, staying on Pixeldrain's metered pricing is usually the better deal; at or above it, Wasabi's model takes over.

One metered Pixeldrain egress charge — about €1 per TB on Prepaid — as CloudsLinker reads the filesystem. That is the last download fee this data ever incurs; subsequent restores come out of Wasabi free.

Wasabi is object storage: buckets hold objects under key prefixes that behave like folders. CloudsLinker maps your Pixeldrain directory tree onto matching prefixes, so a bucket browser shows the same structure you had.

Pixeldrain by API key (created and revocable at pixeldrain.com/user/api_keys); Wasabi by S3-compatible credentials — an Access Key ID and Secret Access Key plus the endpoint for your bucket's region, e.g. s3.eu-central-1.wasabisys.com.

Wasabi accepts objects up to 5 TB, and Pixeldrain's paid filesystem publishes no hard per-file cap, so ordinary archives clear both. CloudsLinker uses multipart uploads for large objects automatically.

Yes. Select specific directories and filter by type, size or date — and since Pixeldrain meters the read, every gigabyte you filter out is egress you don't pay.

Create the access keys as a scoped pair (never root keys), and consider enabling versioning or Object Lock on the bucket — an immutable archive is the main durability upgrade Wasabi offers over a plain filesystem.

Conclusion

The honest arithmetic: staying on Pixeldrain is cheaper per stored TB, and moving to Wasabi is cheaper the moment retrieval matters — one bulk restore from Pixeldrain can cost more than a month of the price difference. If the archive clears Wasabi's 1 TB billing minimum, the migration is one CloudsLinker pass: filesystem in, S3 bucket out, one final metered egress charge, and the meter never runs again.

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