Pay for what you store. Nothing hidden.
The storage cost is passed through to the Walrus network at cost; we only charge a 30% service fee. Every order is itemized before you pay, in USDC on Base. No subscription.
How pricing works
- Storage cost: based on the Walrus mainnet reference price of $0.023/GB/month, billed on the encoded size (about 4.5× the original, plus a fixed overhead of about 66MB per blob).
- Max file size is 500.0 MB. Files over 10MB are split into 64MB chunks, each encrypted and stored as its own blob with its own fixed overhead, so large files cost about 20% more than a single-blob estimate.
- One order can include up to 100 files totaling up to 4GB, and the minimum fee applies only once. 2 or more small files are bundled automatically and pay a single fixed overhead.
- Storage can be prepaid for up to 2 years and renewed before it expires.
- Pay in USDC on Base; the pricing rule is enforced onchain by the contract.
Price calculator
- Files
- 10 files, 1.00 GB total
- Storage mode
- Each file stored separately (total exceeds the bundling limit)
- Billed size (after encoding)
- 5.82 GB
- Storage cost (1 year)
- $1.61
- Service fee (30%)
- $0.49
- Total
- $2.10
Examples (1-year storage)
| Order | Storage cost | Service fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| A batch of small files (10 files, 5MB total, bundled automatically) | $0.03 | $0.20Min | $0.23 |
| The same 10 files uploaded one at a time (per upload) | $0.02 | $0.20Min | $0.22 |
| One 10MB file | $0.04 | $0.20Min | $0.24 |
| One 100MB file | $0.17 | $0.20Min | $0.37 |
| One 500MB file (the per-file limit, stored in 8 chunks) | $0.77 | $0.24 | $1.01 |
| 1GB total (2 files of 500MB) | $1.54 | $0.47 | $2.01 |
| 4GB total (8 files of 500MB, the per-order limit) | $6.14 | $1.85 | $7.99 |
Try it on testnet first
Testnet works the same way as mainnet, and you pay with testnet tokens.
FAQ
Can I try it first?
Yes. The testnet site, test.onchaindrive.app, works the same way as mainnet, and you pay with testnet USDC and ETH on Base Sepolia (available from faucets). Testnet files are only kept for 5 epochs (about 1 day each), and data may be wiped, so don't store anything important there.
How do I pay?
Pay USDC on Base from your wallet, plus a little ETH for gas (usually under 1 cent). With wallets that support permit, it's one signature and one transaction. The payment contract checks onchain that the service fee equals max(storage cost × 30%, $0.20); if it's even one cent more, the transaction fails.
What if I paid but the upload failed?
Paid orders can be resumed from "My orders" within 7 days, up to the file count and total size you paid for. If you need a refund, contact us and it will be sent back to the paying address.
How is the service fee calculated?
Service fee per order = max(storage cost × 30%, $0.20). One order can include many files, and the minimum fee applies only once. Both the storage cost and the service fee are rounded up to the cent.
Why do small files seem expensive?
Every Walrus blob carries a fixed billing overhead of about 66MB, and erasure coding makes the encoded size about 4.5× the original, so a single 1MB file stored on its own is billed as about 70MB. When you upload 2 or more files totaling 9.5MB or less at once, they are automatically bundled into one blob and pay a single fixed overhead. For example, 50 files of 10KB cost about 1/40 of storing them separately.
Why is it more expensive than traditional cloud storage?
The storage cost comes from the Walrus network itself: your data is split and stored redundantly across many independent nodes, independently verifiable and not tied to any single vendor. You're paying for storage that is verifiable, tamper-proof and lock-in-free, not for the lowest price.
What happens when storage expires?
Walrus storage is prepaid for a fixed period, up to about 2 years. You'll get a reminder in "My files" before it expires; select the files and renew to keep them. Renewals are billed under the same rules.
Can you see my files?
No. Files and file names are encrypted in your browser. The key is derived from your wallet signature, lives only in your browser's memory, and is never stored by us.
What if I lose my wallet?
Your files can no longer be decrypted, and we can't recover them for you. Make sure to back up your wallet's seed phrase.