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I am creating a SaaS in Laravel which will have a lot of users uploading quite a few images.
What is the best file storage options? I was looking at AWS as well as starting out hosting the files on my app server, but I would rather start with a solution that would be cost effective over time.
Thoughts?
If you want to use AWS, of course S3 works well. S3 really works on a lot of different cloud providers (eg. DigitalOcean, etc). I use BunnyCDN myself, which has been super cheap for myself, although you'll have to setup the laravel-adapter yourself, as it doesn't come with Laravel, however it's CDN works really well, and with multiple clients, with using their DNS, CDN, and Storage, I probably spend a couple of dollars every month.
Store images locally until it is an issue, but from the start make sure you have a field for the disk name as well as the filename. That way you can handle having images on different disks as you migrate from one to the other.
@Snapey Thanks Snapey. You're the best! As always, I appreciate your wise input! Do you have a suggested host for an app that would need a lot of storage? I have used Digital Ocean droplets in the past but their storage seems to increase with their CPU count and I just need more storage with minimal CPU needs.
@WallyJ go with Digital Ocean, you can resize your droplet at any time.
@WallyJ If you are planning to you aws s3 so I think you don't need much local storage.
A 50GB local disk would easily store 10 x 3MB images for 1000 users for the same price when it is full as the price you paid on day #1. Since we don't know what you mean by 'a lot of users' or 'quite a few images' or what these images are used for, or how they might be used, or how frequently they might be accessed, or how many months it takes you to get to 'a lot of users' ..... all advice is caveat with IT DEPENDS
@Snapey Indeed. I agree with your original assessment of starting with the hosting space, and then I can expand from there, expanding the droplet until the app reaches a space capacity that requires a more robust storage solution. Thanks again!
If you're gonna upload tons of files, AWS S3 is a good move 'cause it can handle a lot of data, no sweat. Plus, it’s easy to hook up with Laravel, so setup's not a big deal, and it’s great for when you’re growing.
When using SaaS stuff, it’s super important to keep track of your subscriptions, especially with AWS, so you don’t overspend. If you’re juggling a bunch of services, you’ll need to manage your saas subscription management to keep things chill. Check out here: https://www.spendbase.co/
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