How long does it take to restore from Glacier?

Standard retrieval takes 3-5 hours. Expedited takes 1-5 minutes. Bulk takes 5-12 hours. Deep Archive takes 12-48 hours. The plugin monitors the job automatically.

What is the difference between a vault and a bucket?

S3 uses buckets, Glacier uses vaults. A vault is a container for archives in a specific AWS region. The plugin creates and manages the vault for you.

How much cheaper is Glacier compared to S3?

Glacier Flexible Retrieval is about 6x cheaper than S3 Standard. Deep Archive is about 23x cheaper. The tradeoff is retrieval time.

When should I use Glacier instead of S3?

Use Glacier for long-term archival backups you rarely need to restore: compliance snapshots, disaster recovery copies, historical archives.

How do I set up AWS credentials for Glacier?

Create an IAM user with AmazonGlacierFullAccess policy. Enter the Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and AWS Account ID into the plugin settings.

Is my data safe in Glacier?

Yes. 99.999999999% durability across three availability zones. All data encrypted at rest with AES-256.

Are there minimum storage duration fees?

Yes. Glacier Flexible Retrieval has a 90-day minimum. Deep Archive has a 180-day minimum. Early deletion incurs charges for remaining days.

Can I use this on multiple WordPress sites?

Yes. The Pro license covers up to 50 sites per year.

Backup WordPress to Amazon Glacier | All-in-One WP Migration

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How it works

Four steps. Under five minutes. You will need your AWS Account ID, Access Key ID, and Secret Key.

1

Install All-in-One WP Migration Pro

Upload and activate the Pro extension on your WordPress site. It automatically installs everything you need. No extra plugins to manage.

2

Enter your AWS Glacier credentials

Go to All-in-One WP Migration, open Amazon Glacier Settings, and enter your AWS Account ID, Access Key ID, and Secret Access Key. Select your AWS region and Glacier vault. The plugin verifies the connection immediately.

3

Choose what to back up

By default, the plugin exports your entire site: database, all media uploads, every plugin, every theme, and the full wp-content directory. You can optionally exclude spam comments, inactive themes, inactive plugins, or cache files to reduce backup size.

4

Set a schedule and forget about it

Pick your backup frequency (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly) and choose the time of day. Backups run automatically in the background. Optional email notifications alert you on success or failure.

Full site backup by default

Everything is included. No configuration needed for a complete backup.

Database

Complete MySQL export: posts, pages, users, settings, WooCommerce orders, custom post types, and every table.

Media uploads

All images, videos, PDFs, and files in wp-content/uploads. Original files and generated thumbnails included.

Plugins & themes

Every active and inactive plugin, every installed theme. Custom code, child themes, and modifications all preserved.

wp-content

Configuration files, custom fonts, and any non-standard files in your wp-content directory.

Automated scheduling

Set it once. Your archival backups run on their own.

Flexible frequency

Hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. Pick exact time of day. Combine multiple schedules. Runs in the background without affecting your site.

Email notifications

Get alerted when a backup completes or fails. Enable separately for success and failure. Know your site is protected without checking manually.

Smart retention

Three cleanup rules: keep last N backups, cap total storage size, or delete backups older than N days. Your Glacier vault stays organized automatically.

Restore from Amazon Glacier

Glacier retrieval requires a job initiation step. The plugin handles this for you.

1

Open Import and select Amazon Glacier

Go to All-in-One WP Migration, then Import in your WordPress dashboard. The plugin shows your Glacier vault with all available archives, each timestamped.

2

Initiate retrieval and wait

Select the archive you want to restore. Glacier retrieval is not instant. Depending on your retrieval tier, it takes minutes (Expedited), 3-5 hours (Standard), or 5-12 hours (Bulk). The plugin monitors the job and notifies you when the archive is ready.

3

Your site is restored

Once the retrieval job completes, the plugin downloads from Glacier and restores your database, media, plugins, and themes. Your site is back exactly as it was. You can also restore to a different WordPress site. The plugin handles URL replacement automatically.

All-in-One WP Migration Pro

Amazon Glacier + Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and 11 more. One subscription.

See Plans & Pricing

No file size limits

Sites of any size work, from 50 MB to 50 GB+.

Multipart uploads

Large backups upload in 4 MB chunks (smaller than S3 for optimal Glacier performance). Each chunk is verified with tree-hash SHA256 to ensure data integrity across the entire archive.

Tree-hash verification

Glacier uses tree-hash SHA256 checksums, not simple MD5. The plugin computes the tree hash automatically for each upload part and the complete archive, ensuring zero data corruption.

Encrypted at rest

All data stored in Glacier is encrypted at rest by default using AES-256. All transfers use HTTPS. Your backups are protected during upload, storage, and retrieval.

Incremental backups

Optional: only upload changed files each time. The plugin tracks what has been backed up and skips unchanged files. Faster backups, less storage cost.

Amazon Glacier pricing

Glacier offers the lowest storage costs in AWS. You pay for storage, retrieval requests, and data transfer. Storage uses vault-based organization (not buckets like S3).

Glacier FR ~$0.004/GB/mo Flexible Retrieval. Standard retrieval in 3-5 hours. Best balance of cost and access time for most backup archives.

Deep Archive ~$0.00099/GB/mo Lowest cost storage in AWS. 12-48 hour retrieval. Best for compliance copies and disaster recovery backups you rarely need.

Expedited ~$0.03/GB retrieval 1-5 minute retrieval for urgent restores. Higher retrieval cost but fast access when you need it.

Bulk ~$0.0025/GB retrieval 5-12 hour retrieval at the lowest retrieval cost. Best for non-urgent, large-scale restores.

Questions

How long does it take to restore from Glacier?
Glacier retrieval is not instant like S3. Standard retrieval takes 3-5 hours. Expedited retrieval takes 1-5 minutes but costs more. Bulk retrieval takes 5-12 hours at the lowest cost. Deep Archive retrieval takes 12-48 hours. The plugin initiates the retrieval job and monitors it automatically, notifying you when the backup is ready to download.
What is the difference between a vault and a bucket?
S3 uses buckets. Glacier uses vaults. A vault is a container for archives (your backup files). You create a vault in a specific AWS region, and all archives within it inherit that region. The plugin creates and manages the vault for you. Think of it as a folder specifically designed for long-term archival storage.
How much cheaper is Glacier compared to S3?
Glacier Flexible Retrieval costs approximately $0.004/GB/mo, which is about 6x cheaper than S3 Standard ($0.023/GB/mo). Glacier Deep Archive costs approximately $0.00099/GB/mo, which is about 23x cheaper than S3 Standard. The tradeoff is retrieval time. S3 gives instant access, Glacier requires hours.
When should I use Glacier instead of S3?
Use Glacier for long-term archival backups that you rarely need to restore. Good examples: monthly compliance snapshots, disaster recovery copies, historical site archives. If you need to restore quickly (within minutes), use S3 instead. Many users combine both: S3 for recent daily backups with fast restore, and Glacier for long-term monthly archives.
How do I set up AWS credentials for Glacier?
Sign in to the AWS Management Console, go to IAM, and create a new user with programmatic access. Attach the AmazonGlacierFullAccess policy. The console generates an Access Key ID and Secret Access Key. You will also need your AWS Account ID (found in Account Settings). Enter all three into the plugin settings along with your preferred region.
Is my data safe in Glacier?
Yes. Amazon Glacier provides 99.999999999% (11 nines) data durability, the same as S3. Data is automatically distributed across a minimum of three availability zones. All data is encrypted at rest using AES-256. The plugin verifies every upload using tree-hash SHA256 checksums.
Are there minimum storage duration fees?
Yes. Glacier Flexible Retrieval has a 90-day minimum storage duration. Glacier Deep Archive has a 180-day minimum. If you delete an archive before the minimum period, you are charged for the remaining days. This makes Glacier best suited for backups you plan to keep for at least a few months.
Can I use this on multiple WordPress sites?
Yes. The Pro license covers up to 50 sites per year. Each site can connect to the same Glacier vault or different vaults. Usage resets on subscription renewal.