ar.io
Technology

A permanent cloud.

A critical backup system for your most important data.

  • Immutable data with built-in integrity, auditability and provenance
  • Always-on global access, independent of regions or vendors.
  • A backup system that cannot be altered, expired, or deleted.

Pay once. Preserve forever.

Powered by Arweave. Think Bitcoin, but for permanent data storage.

How It Works

Upload & Pay Once

You upload your file and make a single payment. No subscriptions. No renewals. Ever.

Stored in a Trust

Your payment enters a protocolized endowment—a permanent fund that pays for your storage over time.

Miners Store Forever

Miners compete globally to store your data on a blockchain, paid by the endowment in perpetuity.

How You Are Protected

Built-in protocols that protect your data—and your business—by design.

Paid in Full

No outages due to missed payments.

Low, long-term TCO

Provably Authentic

Cryptographic proof that data hasn't been altered.

Audit-ready integrity verification

Cannot Be Changed

Immutable once written. Cannot be modified, deleted, or encrypted.

Ransomware-proof by design

Never Locked In

Access data from any gateway. Switch providers anytime.

Zero vendor lock-in

Always Accessible

Global gateway network with built-in redundancy.

No single point of failure

No Single Dependency

Distributed network—no single company controls access.

Survives any vendor shutdown

Choose Your Setup

From full infrastructure control to zero ops—pick what fits your team.

Self-Hosted

Run on Your Infrastructure

Deploy ar.io gateway software on your own servers. Full control over data residency, compliance, and operations.

  • Complete infrastructure control
  • Data residency compliance
  • Custom security policies
  • Run in your own cloud or on-prem
Best for: Regulated industries, government, enterprises with DevOps teams

Managed

We Run It For You

Shared or dedicated infrastructure with enterprise SLAs, 24/7 support, and fully managed operations. You focus on building—we handle the rest.

  • 99.9%+ uptime SLA
  • Dedicated support team
  • Monitoring & incident response
  • Managed upgrades & maintenance
Best for: Production applications, enterprises wanting turnkey solution
Talk to Sales

Public Network

Use the Open Network

Upload and access data through any gateway on the ar.io network. No infrastructure to manage—just start building.

  • No infrastructure to manage
  • Pay-as-you-go pricing
  • Global gateway network
  • Instant access via SDK
Best for: Developers, startups, prototyping, getting started

Three-Layer Architecture

Ar.io consists of a modular protocol stack where each layer handles specific responsibilities. Compose them into production-ready infrastructure that suits your needs.

Your Platform

APIs, smart contracts, backends

Your Web App

Static sites, SPAs, PWAs

Your AI

LLMs, agents, RAG

Your Archive

CMS, DAM, DMS

Access Layer

·

ar.io

Global gateways for content delivery, app hosting, and human-readable URLs.

Storage Layer

·

Arweave

Content-addressed with Merkle proofs, funded by a sustainable Endowment model.

Network Services

Every gateway in the ar.io network provides a comprehensive suite of services—from content delivery and name resolution to data indexing and upload processing.

Core Services

  • Content Delivery

    Fast global delivery with intelligent caching and automatic failover.

  • Name System

    Smart domain names accessible across all gateways.

  • Data Indexing

    Search and discover content with flexible metadata tagging.

  • Uploading

    Fast uploads with immediate availability, permanently settled.

  • Verification

    Every download verified against tamper-proof records.

  • Payments

    Pay in your currency of choice: fiat or crypto.

ar.io Network Services diagram

How Data Flows

From upload to retrieval to naming—understand how data moves.

Store critical data permanently with automatic audit trails.

1

Upload

Seamless integration with your existing systems

2

Confirm

Instant proof of submission for your records

3

Secure

Data locked permanently, tamper-proof

4

Distribute

Available from any location worldwide

Immediate Availability

Your data is available immediately after upload while permanence is being secured. Once confirmed, it's locked forever with full audit trail.

Performance Specifications

Enterprise-grade infrastructure metrics. Real numbers from production deployments.

<1s
Data Settlement

Near instant availability of new data

<100ms
Cache Hit Latency

Local cache retrieval for hot data

~860
Files per Second

Average production upload throughput

600+
Active Gateways

Globally distributed infrastructure

100%
Network Availability

Observed network-wide uptime

200+
Year Storage Design

Arweave endowment model duration

How Storage Options Compare

Different solutions serve different needs. Here's how permanent storage fits into the landscape.

Permanence
ar.io
200+ year design
IPFS
While hosted
Cloud
While subscribed
Cost Model
ar.io
One-time payment
IPFS
Self-host or subscription
Cloud
Subscription
Ransomware Immune
ar.io
IPFS
Cloud
Data Integrity
ar.io
Timestamped proofs
IPFS
Content-addressed
Cloud
Trust provider
Open Source
ar.io
IPFS
Cloud
Varies
Portability
ar.io
IPFS
Cloud
Infrastructure
ar.io
Decentralized
IPFS
Distributed
Cloud
Centralized

Ready to build with ar.io?

Whether you're uploading your first file or architecting enterprise infrastructure, we're here to help.

Get Started