Overview

Carbide Network is a distributed storage service for personal files, business workspaces and developers building storage into their products. It suits people who value device-side encryption and configurable copies over guaranteed service performance. Its central trade-off is simple: users control their encryption keys, and losing one means losing access to the data.

Key features

Encrypted, distributed storage

Carbide encrypts files on the user’s device with AES-256-GCM, then distributes encrypted chunks among independent providers. Users choose from one to 10 copies, so they can decide how much redundancy to buy into. Providers cannot see file contents under Carbide’s zero-knowledge design, but the privacy policy says Carbide collects public wallet addresses, encrypted-file sharding metadata and provider performance statistics.

Personal and business tools

Personal storage combines photo and video auto-sync, an encrypted vault and expiring share links with up to 10x redundancy. That is a useful mix for personal files and backups, but the absence of key recovery makes it unsuitable for anyone who might not reliably preserve their private keys.

Business workspaces add role-based access, audit logs, retention policies and geographic redundancy across more than 30 regions. Those controls make Carbide more relevant to teams than a personal vault, although the network’s as-is terms and lack of a performance warranty are poor matches for workloads that need dependable service commitments.

Developer and provider access

Developers get API-first, S3-compatible storage and a Swift SDK for iOS uploads, downloads, encryption and key management. The versioned discovery API covers provider registration and search, marketplace quotes and health checks. Developers can also self-host the discovery service; the docs describe settlement through Solana programs and USDC payments. This is a more involved choice than ordinary hosted object storage, and suits builders willing to work with the network’s provider model.

Providers can install carbide-node through a Homebrew tap, with automatic registration on the Solana registry when configured. Provider earnings vary by tier, while uptime and redundancy obligations are tied to node configuration; failure to provide data may cost earnings or collateral. This makes provider participation a commitment, not passive income.

Pricing

Personal storage is 0.00 USD per month, billed at $0.002/GB for storage used. The zero monthly charge is not a storage allowance: usage is billed from the first gigabyte. The Home provider plan is 0.00 USD per month, billed $0.002/GB, with 95% uptime and estimated earnings of $24/year per TB. Professional provider is 0.00 USD per month, billed $0.004/GB, with 99% uptime and estimated earnings of $48/year per TB. Enterprise provider is 0.01 USD per month, billed $0.008/GB, with 99.9% uptime and estimated earnings of $96/year per TB.

The provider tiers trade higher per-GB rates and earnings estimates for higher uptime targets. Those figures are provider terms, not a performance guarantee to storage customers. Carbide does not publish business-workspace pricing in these plans, so teams should expect custom pricing.

Platforms

Carbide offers apps for macOS, Windows and iOS, plus an Android app for managing, uploading and sharing files. Its API support extends the service to developers, but the network’s dependence on independent participants means platform availability alone does not ensure predictable performance.

Who it's for

Carbide is best for privacy-conscious individuals who can safeguard their own keys, teams that want access controls and retention policies without a conventional performance warranty, and developers who specifically want distributed, S3-compatible storage. It is a poor fit for users who need account-based recovery or guaranteed availability.

Pros and cons

Pros: Device-side AES-256-GCM encryption and user-selected redundancy provide clear control over file protection and copy count.
Pros: Personal sync and sharing sit alongside team audit, access and retention controls, covering more than one kind of storage user.
Pros: S3 compatibility, a Swift SDK and a versioned discovery API give developers several ways to build against the network.
Cons: Users bear the full consequence of losing private keys; Carbide cannot restore the data.
Cons: Independent-provider performance is not warranted, making the service a risky choice where availability commitments matter.
Cons: Personal storage is usage-billed from $0.002/GB despite its zero monthly charge, and provider participation carries uptime and collateral risks.

Alternatives

Decentralized Storage Services is a broader place to compare options. Choose Sia if open-source software and a free plan matter; it supports more platforms, including Linux, web and self-hosting. Peergos is the stronger fit when a fully open-source, reproducibly built server is the priority, with self-hosting among its platform options. Consider Stratos if you want a freemium alternative with a free plan and broader platform coverage. Aleph Cloud may suit users seeking a free static-website hosting tier with IPFS distribution and basic bandwidth. Walrus is worth considering for its free launch-period plan, created by the team behind Sui, though usage limits apply and pricing may change. Filecoin offers an onchain cloud plan from 2.50 USD per month per TB with a two-copy minimum, a different fit for buyers who want that stated minimum. Storj is an alternative for users who prefer object storage with a 30-day free trial and 25GB of trial storage. Arweave is another paid option with broad platform coverage.

Verdict

Choose Carbide if you want encrypted, distributed storage with personal, team and developer paths in one network—and are prepared to manage your own keys. Its strongest reason to buy is that combination of client-side encryption, selectable redundancy and practical developer access. Look elsewhere if key recovery or warranted performance is non-negotiable.

	Aleph Cloud (formerly Aleph.im)	Carbide Network
Free plan	Yes
Paid from	$1.94/mo	$0.01/mo
Platforms	api, Linux, macOS, Web, Windows	Android, api, iOS, macOS, Windows
Network type	distributed	distributed
IPFS support	Yes
Client-side encryption		Yes
Desktop apps		Yes
Mobile apps		Yes

Aleph Cloud (formerly Aleph.im) vs Carbide Network

Aleph Cloud (formerly Aleph.im)

Carbide Network