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IPFS with NFT.Storage is free, decentralized, and good for standard PFP collections — but depends on pinning services. Arweave costs ~$0.002/MB one-time with a 200-year guarantee — good for high-value art and institutional NFTs. On-chain storage costs $5,600/MB (L1) or $56/MB (L2) — good for fully on-chain generative art (Nouns DAO model).
Storage Option Comparison
| Factor | IPFS (with pinning) | Arweave | On-Chain (Ethereum) |
|---|---|---|---|
Cost | Free (NFT.Storage) or $0.15/GB/month (Pinata) | ~$0.002/MB (one-time, permanent) | $5,600/MB (L1) or $56/MB (L2) |
Permanence | Dependent on pinning service | 200-year guarantee | As long as Ethereum exists |
Censorship resistance | High (content-addressed) | Very high | Absolute |
Image size support | Unlimited | Unlimited | <100KB practical |
Metadata mutability | Possible (with new CID) | Immutable after upload | Immutable |
Decentralization | High | High | Absolute |
Implementation complexity | Low | Low | High |
Best for | Standard PFP collections | High-value art, archival | Fully on-chain generative art |
Our Standard Recommendations
- Standard PFP collection (5,000–10,000 items): IPFS with NFT.Storage (free, backed by Filecoin). Upload images and JSON metadata, receive CIDs, set baseURI in contract. Total storage cost: $0.
- High-value art or institutional NFT: Arweave (Bundlr / Irys network for efficient upload). Pay once, stored for 200+ years. 10GB of art: ~$20–$50 one-time. Appropriate for collections where "permanence guarantee" is part of the value proposition.
- Fully on-chain generative art: SVG-based art that is 100% on-chain. The contract generates the SVG dynamically. No IPFS or Arweave needed. Nouns DAO model. Higher development complexity; art is permanently accessible as long as Ethereum exists.