Arweave vs Lighthouse

Arweave is a decentralized network for permanent information storage in an open ledger, with a permanent web built on that storage. Its stated uses include preserving important data and hosting decentralized web apps; people can upload files or create a homepage on the permaweb. Transaction fees are set dynamically by the network, and the documentation recommends checking the price endpoint close to submission. The HTTP-based protocol works with existing clients such as Axios, Fetch, and Guzzle. Listed client integrations cover Go, PHP, Scala, Java, C#, JavaScript, TypeScript, and NodeJS. Node software can be installed from pre-built binaries or built from source; documented roles include solo, coordinated, and pool mining, VDF server, and validator. Arweave describes content as timestamped and tamper-proof through the blockweave, with data integrity checks using transaction data in block hashes and recall blocks. Once one or more miners store data, there is no guaranteed way to delete it, and the policy advises against storing cleartext personal or confidential information. Wallets store private keys; lost key files cannot be recovered by wallet providers.

Lighthouse combines decentralized file storage with a long-term memory service for AI agents. Lighthouse Memory saves project context, preferences, and decisions for retrieval in later sessions, with remember, recall, and forget operations. Its batched engine supports local hybrid retrieval using embeddings alongside keyword or tag matching. Memories are documented as verifiable, content-addressed blobs, and the hosted backend exposes tools through the Model Context Protocol for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and other compatible agents. For files, Lighthouse uses IPFS and lists Filecoin and Walrus as storage networks; its web app supports storing, retrieving, and sharing files. Developers can use an SDK and CLI, while documented memory storage options include Lighthouse Walrus, Lighthouse IPFS/Filecoin, AWS S3, R2, MinIO, and a local folder. Plans include a free tier with 5 GB and 10,000 AI memories, Lite at $12 a month for 500 GB and 25,000 memories, and Premium at $49 a month for 2.5 TB and 100,000 memories. Encryption and other features are add-ons. Lighthouse cautions that forgetting a memory may not erase its stored blob, and content identifiers do not establish whether content is true.