EBS Snapshot Archive is a low-cost storage tier for EBS snapshots that you need to retain for compliance or long-term backup purposes but rarely or never need to restore. Archived snapshots cost up to 75% less than standard snapshots but require 24 to 72 hours to restore before they can be used.

By default, all EBS snapshots are stored in a standard tier that allows fast restoration (within minutes). However, for snapshots that need to be kept for regulatory compliance, auditing, or long-term archival purposes — and are unlikely to ever be needed for quick restoration — storing them in the archive tier dramatically reduces cost. The tradeoff is a retrieval window of 24–72 hours before the snapshot can be used.

Standard Tier vs Archive Tier Comparison

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Standard Tier — Fast restore (minutes), higher cost (~$0.05 per GB-month), for frequently needed snapshots
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Archive Tier — Slow restore (24–72 hours), 75% cheaper (~$0.0125 per GB-month), for rarely-accessed snapshots
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Minimum archive duration — 90 days. If you delete or restore a snapshot before 90 days, you are still charged for 90 days.
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Storage format — Archived snapshots are stored as full snapshots (not incremental), so they are self-contained and do not depend on a snapshot chain
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Encryption — Archived snapshots retain the same encryption settings as the original standard-tier snapshot

When to Use Snapshot Archive

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Compliance and regulatory requirements that mandate keeping backups for years (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOX)
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Year-end or quarterly audit snapshots that must be retained but rarely accessed
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Long-term disaster recovery copies that serve as a last resort restore point
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Snapshots older than 90 days that have never been used for restoration
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Cost optimization — archiving old incremental snapshots that are part of a long backup chain

Archiving and Restoring Snapshots via AWS CLI