Cut WordPress Media Costs at 20 GB: Server Disk vs. OCI
For a 20 GB media library, offloading to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Object Storage with the OCI Media Offload plugin costs ≈ $9.68/month, while keeping that 20 GB on many managed hosts’ server disk can cost ≈ $20/month — that’s a ~51.6% monthly savings with the plugin, plus speed and security benefits.
Pricing references and the exact math are below.
Assumptions :
Library media size: 20 GB
Estimated requests: 500,000/month (images + thumbnails)
OCI networking: first 10 TB/month outbound is free (so egress = $0 here).
OCI Object Storage (Standard): $0.0255/GB‑month, requests $0.0034/10k.
Plugin: OCI Media Offload Pro = $9/month (Lite is free). OCI Media Offload
“server disk” : common managed WordPress host 20 GB disk add‑on = $20/month (example: Kinsta 20 GB add‑on).
Scenario A — Keep Media on Your Server Disk
Monthly cost (20 GB): $20.00
Using a typical managed WordPress disk add‑on price of $20 for 20 GB.
Exact fees vary by host; Kinsta’s documented add‑on matches this figure.
Pros
Simple — no extra component to configure.
No plugin required.
Cons
You’re paying a premium per GB for web‑server disk.
Large media increases backup sizes and server I/O, which can slow dynamic page handling under load.
Scaling often means higher plan tiers or more disk add‑ons.
Scenario B — OCI Object Storage (no CDN) + OCI Media Offload.
Monthly cost (20 GB):
Object Storage: 20 × $0.0255 = $0.51
Requests: 500,000 / 10,000 × $0.0034 = $0.17
Egress: $0.00 (first 10 TB/month free)
Plugin (Pro): $9.00
➡ Total: ≈ $9.68/month
Savings / Scenario B vs. Scenario A:
(20.00−9.68)/20.00=51.6%
Winner / scenario B ✅
Why it wins even at 20 GB
Lower storage + request pricing beats typical “disk add‑on” fees by a wide margin. Oracle+1Kinsta®
Free egress up to 10 TB/month means bandwidth doesn’t eat the savings for most sites. Oracle
The OCI Media Offload plugin handles offload + URL rewriting, and Pro adds private delivery via Pre‑Authenticated (PAR) base and backfill — still keeping total cost low. OCI Media Offload
Pros
~51.6% cheaper than paying for 20 GB of server disk in this scenario.
Less server I/O → more headroom for PHP/MySQL during traffic spikes.
Media stored in durable, encrypted Object Storage by default.
Pro
features: private buckets (PAR base), batch backfill, and CDN CNAME (if you ever add a CDN later).
Cons
Adds a plugin to your stack.
You’ll configure OCI (namespace, region, bucket, keys) once — takes a few minutes.
Speed & Security Benefits (beyond the dollars)
Speed: Offloading removes big file I/O from your WordPress box and serves media directly from OCI endpoints, reducing load on PHP/MySQL and improving stability under bursts. (If you later add a CDN via the plugin’s CNAME option, edge caching can push Core Web Vitals even further.)
Security & control:
Keep media in your OCI bucket, enable private delivery with Pre‑Authenticated Requests (Pro), and scale storage without touching your app server.
Quick Start (2 minutes)
Install OCI Media Offload (Lite or Pro) in WordPress.
Enter Namespace, Region, Customer Secret Keys, Bucket, then run the Health Check.
Start uploading — media URLs are rewritten to OCI automatically. (Pro adds Backfill, PAR base, CDN CNAME.)
Plugin URL OCI Media Offload
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