Liteseed vs Backblaze B2
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Both Liteseed Network and Backblaze B2 (including their low-cost archival tier) offer affordable, durable storage—but they differ in pricing model, retrieval, decentralization, and lock-in.
| Feature | Liteseed Network | Backblaze B2 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | One-time, up-front fee for permanent storage on Arweave | Pay-as-you-go monthly storage ($0.005/GB-month), plus egress and request fees |
| Retrieval Cost | No extra fees; data served via any gateway | $0.01/GB for downloads; free first 1 GB each day |
| Retrieval Speed | Instant via global Arweave gateways | Instant via HTTP/S3-compatible API |
| Durability | Decentralized replication across many nodes, immutable once committed | 11 nines durability across Backblaze’s data centers |
| Decentralization | Censorship-resistant, open-standard bundles on Arweave | Centralized under Backblaze’s infrastructure |
| Vendor Lock-In | Open standards (ANS-104), any gateway can serve your data | Proprietary B2 API, egress charges apply when migrating |
| Use Cases | Legal archives, scientific datasets, digital art, NFTs—data that must remain unchanged forever | General backups, media archives, bulk-storage for application data |
In Depth
Section titled “In Depth”1. Pricing Model
Section titled “1. Pricing Model”- Liteseed
Pay once to commit data permanently. No ongoing bills, no hidden renewal fees. - Backblaze B2
$0.005 per GB per month. You pay each month for stored data plus $0.01 per GB for downloads and $0.004 per 10,000 API calls.
2. Retrieval
Section titled “2. Retrieval”- Liteseed
Fetch data via any Arweave gateway with standard HTTP requests. No retrieval tiering or extra charges. - Backblaze B2
Immediate downloads via HTTP or S3 API. Fees apply per GB retrieved, with a small free daily allowance.
3. Durability & Redundancy
Section titled “3. Durability & Redundancy”- Liteseed
Data is bundled and anchored on Arweave’s decentralized network. Copies exist on every participating node, ensuring immutability and censorship resistance. - Backblaze B2
Data is stored redundantly across multiple AWS-equivalent data centers, offering high durability but within a single vendor’s domain.
4. Vendor Neutrality
Section titled “4. Vendor Neutrality”- Liteseed
Uses open “data-item” and bundle standards. You hold your own keys and metadata, and any gateway (e.g.arweave.net) can serve your files. - Backblaze B2
Uses a proprietary API. You can access data via S3-compatible endpoints, but transferring large archives out incurs egress fees.
5. Ideal Use Cases
Section titled “5. Ideal Use Cases”- Choose Liteseed when you need
- True permanent archival with no ongoing cost
- Censorship-resistant or immutable storage
- Open-standard bundles and full control of keys
- Choose Backblaze B2 when you need
- Flexible, low-cost cloud storage with predictable monthly billing
- Frequent or unpredictable retrieval patterns
- Integration with existing S3-compatible tools