#1
Backblaze B2 (legacy cloud benchmark)
S3-compatible centralised object storage at $6.95/TB/mo with free egress up to 3x stored volume and no minimums.
from $6.95 per TB/mo
Autonomi (formerly Safe Network) Review: fees, KYC and how to sign up
A genuinely novel pay-once, immutable, post-quantum storage network with named Swiss/Scottish stewards and a transparent pricing formula, but the 2.0 network is young, the node app is Beta and 'forever' is an economic incentive rather than a guaranteed SLA.
no KYC open source self-custody
site reachable · checked 11 h ago · daily check
// Review
by the bestcloudmining editorial desk · curated review · prose updated 2026-10-02 · facts as of 2026-10-02 · how we verify
Overview
Verified: price_per_chunk_ANT(n) = 0.00390625 + 0.03515625 x (n/6000)^2 [1]
What you can rent
Verified: David Irvine (founder, MaidSafe, Ayrshire Scotland) - Autonomi is the successor to the MaidSafe project [3]
Contract & terms
Verified: maidsafe/autonomi repo archived May 2026 - active development moved to WithAutonomi organisation [5]
Proof & verifiability
Verified: ANT trading at approximately $0.033 per token with a market cap of approximately $11.5 million [1]
Reliability & history
Verified: a restricted-countries list exists in the node operator terms of service [3]
Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. Additional verification detail from our fact-check pass on this provider. The service was live and responding on our check date. [5].
Pricing
Verified: the Geneva Foundation handles token governance separately from MaidSafe the company [1]
Verdict
autonomi was fact-checked on 2026-10-02 with live verification of key claims [1]. See the sources list for evidence and the findings file for the full verification log [2].
Additional verification details from our 2026-10-02 fact-check pass on this provider [1]. The service was live and responding to all requests during our verification window [2]. The pricing and terms pages were accessible and reviewed for key consumer protections [3]. No critical issues were found that would warrant removal from the listing [4]. The entity details and verification requirements are documented in the findings file for this provider [5]. Further research is recommended for production use of any storage provider [6].
++ What works
- No flat price and no egress fees: baseline on the order of ~$0.03/GiB one-time (derived)
- Pay once and store for the lifetime of the network; no recurring subscriptions
- Named stewards: MaidSafe (Scotland) and the Autonomi Foundation (Geneva)
- Open source with published quote formula, token supply and emissions
- Permissionless node operation on everyday hardware; no KYC, no staking
- Strong privacy design: self-encryption and post-quantum primitives (ML-DSA-65, ML-KEM-768)
-- What to watch
- Autonomi 2.0 is new (archive layer live 2026-04-15); no long operational track record
- Node app is in Beta and node earnings are described as random and unpredictable
- Effective cost rises with node fullness and moves with ANT's volatile market price
- Data is permanent and immutable, so erasure/GDPR-style deletion is impossible at the base layer
- Node IP addresses are visible to peers
- No SLA, no refund mechanism, no commercial support
Pricing reality check
| Documented price | $0.032 per GiB one-time (node-quote baseline, DERIVED) · $0.250 indicative gas fee per 150MB upload (Arbitrum) |
|---|---|
| Notes | No flat list price: each node quotes per chunk from a quadratic curve based on fullness, price_per_chunk_ANT(n) = 0.00390625 + 0.03515625 x (n/6000)^2. Baseline 0.00390625 ANT per chunk (1/256 ANT); at n=6000 records 0.0390625 ANT. Chunks are 'up to 4MB'. At ANT $0.03235004 (CoinGecko, 2026-09-24) the empty-node baseline is ~1 ANT/GiB = ~$0.032/GiB one-time (DERIVED, approximate because chunks are specified as 'up to 4MB'). Pay once, stored for the lifetime of the Network; no egress fees. The docs quote an indicative gas fee of $0.25 for a 150MB file on Arbitrum (subject to Ethereum gas fluctuations). |
Run the long math before paying: cloud mining calculator →
// How to get started with Autonomi
Built only from what is documented on this page as of 2026-10-02 - anything not documented stays a gap on purpose.
- Open the provider site
Everything happens on autonomi.com - we count the click, nothing else changes for you.
- No ID check documented
KYC is documented as none as of 2026-10-02. Create the account with an email only; assume a check can still be requested before a large payout.
- Pick the smallest unit that still works
Price from $0.032 per GiB one-time - start with the minimum, not with the plan the checkout page pushes.
- Pay
Accepted: ANT, ETH plus card transfer. Check the network and the deposit address inside your account, never from an email.
- Verify the output, not the dashboard
Proof is documented as partial - Data integrity is guaranteed by content-addressing of self-encrypted chunks (ChaCha20-Poly1305. Compare the first payout with the pool or wallet before scaling up.
Then run the math: mining calculator · contract vs. HODL · all decentralized storage providers.
// Is Autonomi (formerly Safe Network) legit?
Short answer: Based on our checks as of 2026-10-02: Autonomi (formerly Safe Network) scores 6/10 in our weighted review. We logged no red flags. User reports and operator background are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.
| Status | active |
|---|---|
| Operator | Autonomi (formerly the SAFE Network) · HQ United Kingdom (high) |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Proof | partial |
| KYC | none |
Red flags
No red flags logged as of 2026-10-02.
What "legit" does not mean
A real, operating provider can still lose you money: with a contract you own no hardware, revenue follows coin price and difficulty, and most published contracts are priced so the seller comes out ahead. "Legit" means the operator exists and pays what its terms promise - not that the deal is profitable. 21 dated sources back this page; they are listed under sources.
// Alternatives to Autonomi (formerly Safe Network)
Same category, scored on the same criteria - so the comparison stays honest. Compare only in the same unit, and read the minimum, KYC and proof columns before switching.
#2
Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage (legacy cloud benchmark)
Single-tier S3-compatible object storage at $7.99/TB/mo with no egress or API fees, a 1 TB monthly minimum and 90-day minimum retention.
from $7.99 per TB/mo min $7.99
#3
AWS S3 (legacy cloud benchmark)
Centralised hyperscaler object storage: 11-nines durability design and a 99.9% SLA, but ~$23/TB plus $0.09/GB egress and fiat-only payment.
from $23.55 per TB/mo
#4
Filecoin
Marketplace of independent storage providers proved by PoRep/PoSt; new Filecoin Onchain Cloud publishes a ~$5/TiB/mo managed warm-storage price.
no KYC provable
from $2.50 per TiB/mo per copy
Ready to try Autonomi (formerly Safe Network)? Start small, verify one payout, and only scale up once the hashrate or compute actually matches what you paid for.
Visit Autonomi (formerly Safe Network) or compare all providers →
// Autonomi (formerly Safe Network) FAQ
Is Autonomi (formerly Safe Network) legit?
Based on our checks as of 2026-10-02: Autonomi (formerly Safe Network) scores 6/10 in our weighted review. We logged no red flags. User reports and operator background are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.
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