Decentralized Storage And Compute — hobby stack.
For each requirement below, pick the option that fits your build — recommended first, then free and cheaper alternatives — or skip what your project doesn't need. Tap the info icon next to any requirement to see why it matters.
Decentralized Storage - IPFS Pinning Service
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsPinata Free: 1GB pinned + 100GB bandwidth/mo. Paid: $20/mo for 100GB pinned + 500GB bandwidth, $0.15/GB over. NFT.Storage Free: unlimited public uploads (rate-limited 30 req/sec). Enterprise: $100/mo 1TB + dedicated gateway
Decentralized Storage - Filecoin Archival Persistence
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsNFT.Storage Free: unlimited IPFS + best-effort Filecoin deals (6-month renewal). Filebase Free: 5GB IPFS+Filecoin+Sia pinned. Paid: Filebase $10/mo 100GB $0.10/GB over; $39/mo 1TB $0.05/GB over. Gas: $0.02 per FIL deal avg
Permanent Storage - Arweave via Bundlr/Irys
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsOne-time permanent fee: $0.01/MB avg (~$10/GB in 2026, ~0.0005 AR/MB). Irys: Free 100MB, then $10 min top-up @ $0.009/MB. No monthly fee. ArNS name: 1 AR (~$6-8/yr) for permanent URL
S3-Compatible Decentralized Storage - Storj DCS
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: 150GB storage + 150GB egress/mo + 25k segments. Paid: $4/TB-mo storage ($0.004/GB-mo), $7/TB-mo egress ($0.007/GB), $0.0000088/segment over. Pro: pay-as-you-go, no minimum. Overage linear per byte
Data Availability Layer - Celestia Light Node
Scheduling, availability, and booking logic. Core to any appointment or reservation product.Pricing & free-tier limitsOSS: Free unlimited light node, DAS sampling free. Hosted blob submit: first 1GB/mo via public endpoints free, then $0.01/MB ($10/GB) after free tier. Grove: $49/mo 25M requests, $0.80/M over. Self-host cost ~$40/mo (t3.medium)
Decentralized Compute - CPU/GPU Marketplace
Where your code actually runs and serves requests. Picking the right host affects speed, scaling, and how much ops work you do.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: $5 AKT trial (~50 CPU-hours). Paid marketplace: $0.01/hr per CPU (1 vCPU/2GB RAM), $0.10/hr per GPU (RTX 4090 equiv), A100 $1.20/hr. Settlement per second in AKT. Overage: bid + 20% spot premium. Sustained discount 15% for 30d lease
Content Addressing - IPFS CID Generation
Manages the content and assets you publish without editing code. Essential for sites with frequent updates.Pricing & free-tier limitsOSS: Free unlimited CID v0/v1 generation, dag-pb / dag-cbor. CPU only. Pinata CID API: Free 1GB pinned, $20/mo 100GB API, $0.15/GB over + 1k requests free. NFT.Storage metadata pin free
CDN for Decentralized Content - IPFS Gateway Edge
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsCF Free: unlimited IPFS gateway requests + caching. Pro $20/mo: WAF + 20% faster cache, 10M Workers req included $0.50/M over. Business $200/mo: 100M req. Bunny: $1/mo min + $0.01/GB NA/EU, $0.03/GB APAC, first TB $10 flat
Object Storage Cache for Hot Data - Zero-Egress Cache
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsR2 Free: 10GB storage, 10M Class A ops, 10M Class B ops, zero egress fees forever. Paid: $0.015/GB-mo storage, $4.50/M Class A, $0.36/M Class B, $0 ops egress. Bunny Storage: $0.01/GB-mo + $0.01/GB egress, min $1
Monitoring for Storage Nodes - Metrics & Uptime
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: 10k active series, 50GB logs, 50GB traces, 3 users, 14d retention. Pro: $8/user/mo + metrics $8 per 1k series over, logs $0.50/GB ingested ($0.50/GB over 50GB), retention 30d free. Overage metrics $0.15/GB stored
Secrets Management for Storage Keys - Pinning & RPC Keys
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsOSS Free: unlimited secrets, transit, KV v2. HCP Vault: Free 25 secrets, $0.50/secret/mo after, Dedicated cluster $1.50/hr (~$1,095/mo). Infisical: Free 1k secrets, Pro $20/mo 25k secrets $0.02/secret over
How this hobby decentralized storage and compute checklist works.
Each requirement below is something a hobby decentralized storage and compute build typically needs. Pick one of the four researched options — recommended, free, cheaper or paid — add your own with "Other", or skip the requirement if your project doesn't need it. Nothing is mandatory; the plan on the right tracks what you've decided so nothing gets forgotten.
Your picks are saved in this browser automatically, so you can come back anytime. Options are researched per build level and refreshed as vendors change their plans — always verify details on the provider's page before committing.