Your Permanent Cloud
ArDrive is the leading file storage application built on Arweave. Think Dropbox or Google Drive, but with a fundamental difference: files stored on ArDrive live forever with no monthly subscription.
Pay once. Keep forever. No renewals. No storage limits. No company that needs to stay profitable for your files to remain accessible.
How It Works
ArDrive provides familiar cloud storage interfaces (desktop app, web app, mobile apps) that upload files to Arweave's permanent network. Under the hood:
- Files are encrypted (optionally) with your private key
- Data is uploaded to Arweave through bundlers
- Metadata is organized into folders and drives
- Files become permanent and accessible from any gateway
Your private drives are encrypted client-side. Not even ArDrive can see your data. Public drives are readable by anyone but only writable by the owner.
The Cost Model
Traditional cloud storage charges monthly:
- iCloud 50GB: $0.99/month = $12/year = $600 over 50 years
- Google One 100GB: $2/month = $24/year = $1,200 over 50 years
- Dropbox Plus 2TB: $12/month = $144/year = $7,200 over 50 years
ArDrive's one-time payment:
- ~$0.005 per MB at current rates
- 1GB ≈ $5 once, forever
- No monthly bills, no renewals, no inflation adjustments
The economics favor permanence. For any file you want to keep more than a few years, permanent storage is cheaper.
Privacy by Default
ArDrive offers two types of storage:
Private drives: Files are encrypted with your wallet before upload. Only you (or people you share with) can decrypt them. The data on Arweave is unreadable without your key.
Public drives: Files are readable by anyone with the transaction ID. Useful for sharing, publishing, or open data.
You control the privacy level per file, per folder, or per drive.
Features
- Folders and organization: Structure your files naturally
- File versioning: Upload new versions, old ones remain accessible
- Sharing: Generate links to files or folders
- Desktop sync: Keep local folders synced to Arweave
- CLI tools: Automate uploads programmatically
- Mobile apps: Access files from anywhere
Use Cases
Personal archives: Family photos, important documents, memories you never want to lose
Creative work: Final versions of projects, portfolios, completed works
Business records: Contracts, compliance documents, permanent receipts
Research data: Datasets, results, publications that need long-term preservation
Backup: Critical files that must survive any disaster
Getting Started
- Create a wallet or connect an existing Arweave wallet
- Create a drive (private or public)
- Upload files and organize into folders
- Share via links or keep private
Visit app.ardrive.io to start storing permanently.
ArDrive makes permanent storage practical. It takes Arweave's infrastructure and wraps it in an interface anyone can use. Your files, forever, under your control.