Carbide Network

Carbide Network is a decentralized storage network that connects users’ files with independent providers. Its personal offering covers photos, documents, and backups, with photo and video auto-sync, an encrypted vault, expiring share links, and up to 10x redundancy. Files are encrypted on the user’s device with AES-256-GCM, then encrypted chunks are distributed among providers. Users can choose 1–10 copies, and the service describes its architecture as zero-knowledge. Users manage their private encryption keys, which Carbide says it cannot recover if lost. Business features include role-based team workspaces, audit logs, retention policies, and geographic redundancy across 30+ regions. Developers can use API-first, S3-compatible storage, a versioned API, and a Swift SDK. Carbide lists apps for macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android, along with API access. Personal storage starts at $0.002/GB. Provider plans list per-GB rates and uptime terms. The network is provided as-is without warranties, and performance depends on the aggregate behavior of independent participants.

Carbide offers personal, business, and developer storage options built around distributed providers. Users should understand their responsibility for encryption keys and the stated performance caveat before relying on it.

Carbide may suit people seeking file storage with device-side encryption and selectable redundancy, as well as businesses needing team controls. Developers can consider its S3-compatible storage and API offerings.

Carbide Network is distributed storage for personal files, business workspaces and developers. It suits users who value device-side encryption and configurable redundancy, but not those who need guaranteed performance or account-based key recovery.

Overview

Carbide encrypts files on the user’s device with AES-256-GCM, then distributes encrypted chunks across independent providers. Users choose from one to 10 copies, trading lower redundancy for fewer copies or choosing more copies for additional protection against a provider being unavailable. Providers cannot see file contents under Carbide’s zero-knowledge architecture. The privacy policy says Carbide collects public wallet addresses, encrypted-file sharding metadata and provider performance statistics.

The model puts a consequential responsibility on the user: each person manages their own private encryption keys, and Carbide cannot recover data if a key is lost. The network is provided without warranties, and performance depends on independent participants. That makes Carbide a poor fit for data that must be reliably available on a guaranteed schedule.

Key features

Personal and business storage

Personal storage combines photo and video auto-sync, an encrypted vault, expiring share links and up to 10x redundancy. It is a practical set of tools for personal files and backups, particularly for users comfortable managing their own keys. The feature set does not remove the risk of losing access if those keys are lost.

Business workspaces add role-based access, audit logs, retention policies and geographic redundancy across more than 30 regions. Those controls make Carbide more suitable for teams managing shared files than a personal-only vault, though the performance caveat matters for businesses that require a service guarantee.

Developer and provider tools

Carbide describes its developer storage as API-first and S3-compatible, and offers a Swift SDK for iOS uploads, downloads, encryption and key management. Its versioned discovery API covers provider registration and search, marketplace quotes and health checks. Developers can also self-host the discovery service; settlement uses Solana programs and USDC payments. This is a specialized option for builders integrating with Carbide’s network, rather than a general-purpose storage choice without network-specific needs.

Providers can install carbide-node through a Homebrew tap, and configured nodes auto-register on the Solana registry. Provider earnings depend on tier, while the terms require providers to maintain the uptime and redundancy set in their node configuration. Failure to provide data may mean lost earnings or slashing of collateral, so participation carries operational obligations as well as potential earnings.

Pricing

Personal storage is shown at no cost, billed at $0.002/GB, with storage charged for use. That usage-based rate is the relevant cost for personal storage; the $0.00 monthly figure is not a promise of unlimited storage.

The provider plans are priced as free for Home, free for Professional and $0.01 a month for Enterprise. Home pays $0.002/GB, targets 95% uptime and estimates earnings of $24/year per TB. Professional pays $0.004/GB, targets 99% uptime and estimates $48/year per TB. Enterprise pays $0.008/GB, targets 99.9% uptime and estimates $96/year per TB. The higher tiers pair higher stated earnings with stricter uptime commitments, making them a fit only for providers able to meet those requirements; these are provider plans, not personal storage tiers.

Custom pricing applies where a business storage price is not provided. No trial length, renewal term or seat quota is stated for business storage, so those terms should not be assumed. The provider uptime and earnings figures are estimates and obligations described by Carbide, not a performance warranty for stored files.

Platforms

Carbide provides apps for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, alongside API access. The Android app is for managing, uploading and sharing files; the Swift SDK supports iOS development.

Who it's for

Carbide is best for privacy-conscious individuals who can safeguard their own keys, teams that need role-based workspaces and audit controls, and developers building against its storage API. It is not the right choice for users who expect account recovery after losing a key or require guaranteed network performance.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Device-side AES-256-GCM encryption and user-selected redundancy from one to 10 copies give users direct control over protection and distribution.
• Pros: Business workspaces include role-based access, audit logs, retention policies and redundancy across more than 30 regions.
• Pros: API-first, S3-compatible storage and a Swift SDK give developers clear integration paths.
• Cons: Users alone manage private keys, and Carbide cannot restore data when they are lost.
• Cons: Performance depends on independent providers and comes without warranties, limiting its suitability for guaranteed-availability needs.
• Cons: Provider tiers carry uptime requirements, and failure to provide data may cost earnings or collateral.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Decentralized Storage Services.

• Peergos is worth considering if open-source server code and reproducible builds are priorities, or if Linux, web and self-hosted access better match your setup.
• Sia is a better fit for readers seeking a free plan, open-source software or Linux and self-hosted platforms.
• Stratos is another freemium alternative with a free plan and broad listed platform coverage.
• Arweave is a paid alternative with a wider set of listed platforms, including web, Linux and self-hosted options.
• DeNet Storage suits readers considering prepaid storage balances, with storage terms expressed in GAS and listed durations including one terabyte for one year.
• Datum Storage may suit users who want a free first-year terabyte or additional storage priced at US$3.99 per terabyte per month.
• Pinata is an API- and web-based freemium option with published plans that specify storage, gateways, requests and bandwidth quotas.
• 4EVERLAND is a web-based freemium alternative with a free plan that sets monthly storage, build-time and bandwidth limits.

Verdict

Choose Carbide if you want encrypted, provider-distributed storage for personal files, team workspaces or network-integrated development, and can protect your own keys. Its combination of configurable redundancy and device-side encryption is the main reason to choose it; the lack of key recovery and guaranteed performance is the main reason to look elsewhere.