IPFS pinning services are like concierge for web3 developers. By using a pinning service, users can take advantage of the benefits of IPFS without needing to host their own nodes or have extensive technical knowledge.

In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at the costs associated with IPFS pinning services, and how you can determine what you’ll need for your project.

(Related: What is an IPFS Pinning Service?)

Before we get into the specifics of IPFS pinning services, it’s important to dispel a myth around how IPFS actually stores the data that you upload to the network.

Is IPFS free?

With blockchains, we’ve been conditioned to think that once data is put onto the blockchain, it will remain there forever. Many people think (incorrectly) that IPFS behaves similarly.

There’s a common belief that IPFS is a magic cloud that we can freely upload our files to forever. Not true. Mostly because of simple economics.

While it would be nice to have a giant network of servers storing everyone’s data for free, that storage costs money. The reality is that IPFS pinning services function a lot like your traditional cloud storage providers, like Google Drive and AWS. When you pin a certain amount of data on an IPFS pinning service’s nodes, you’ll pay monthly fees associated with that data.

How are IPFS costs calculated?

The costs of IPFS pinning depends on three main factors: the amount of data you want to store, how much bandwidth you use, and how many requests are made for your data. 

Storage: This one’s pretty straightforward. The more data you store, the more you’ll have to pay. This is usually measured in two ways: how many files you have pinned, and the total size of those files (usually in GB).

Bandwidth: Each image, video, audio, and any other type of file that is displayed or downloaded through an IPFS gateway is made of up data. That data is sent from an IPFS node to your computer. The size of this data is bandwidth.

Requests: Every time your file is loaded from a click or a view, that’s a request. IPFS charges a small fee every time you want to access your data from the network. A request could be:

• Viewing an NFT from your collection
• Viewing a piece of content
• Loading your app
• Playing your game
• Viewing your IPFS-hosted store

The cost per request is minimal for individual files, but when you have a big project with an audience, the number of requests can quickly jump into the millions each month.

Some pinning services like Pinata offer additional features that improve the IPFS pinning experience. As an example, Pinata’s Dedicated Gateways give you a private gateway for your content, so that content loads much faster and without waiting times.

How much does IPFS pinning cost with Pinata?

One of the great things about Pinata is that we have a plan for builders at every stage. That includes a free plan, an entry level plan, and then plans with more storage, bandwidth, and requests for projects who are starting to scale.

Our basic free plan includes 1 GB of storage, 1 GB of bandwidth and up to 100 total files pinned. This plan is designed for people just getting their feet wet who want to experience what it’s like working on IPFS.

Our entry level Picnic plan includes 50 GB of storage, 100 GB of bandwidth, and up to 100,000 requests per month. This plan is designed for users with larger-scale projects that require more storage and bandwidth.

From there, the amount of storage, bandwidth and request goes up with our higher level plans: Fiesta, Palooza and Carnival. We also have enterprise plans for bigger projects who need more. Plus, with all of our plans (including free), you get access to premium creator tools like image optimization, video streaming, and short links.

Now you know how to navigate your IPFS pinning costs. If you’re ready to start building, we’d love to have you with us over at Pinata. 300,000+ users have trusted us to launch their project. We hope you’re next!