#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
Swarm (Ethereum) Review: fees, KYC and how to sign up
A mature, transparently run Swiss non-profit storage-and-distribution network with a real staking-based incentive layer - but you rent expiring postage-stamp space at ~$0.064/GB/month, there is no delete and no permanence, and earning requires a non-refundable 10 xBZZ node stake.
site reachable · checked 11 h ago · daily check
Red flags (2):
- Phishing sites impersonate Swarm with fake migration/claim/airdrop pages (Foundation warning, 2026)
- Storage duration is not guaranteed - top-up/dilute must be monitored or data expires
// Review
by the bestcloudmining editorial desk · curated review · prose updated 2026-10-02 · facts as of 2026-10-02 · how we verify
Overview
Swarm is Ethereum's decentralized storage network (BZZ token) operated by a Swiss non-profit foundation [2]. Rent rose to about 1.847 BZZ per GB per month (roughly $105/TB/month) - a 63 percent increase [2]. The 10 BZZ non-refundable stake is required to participate [2].
What you can rent
Decentralized blob storage on the Swarm network, priced in BZZ at the current oracle rate [2]. No KYC documented [2]. No SLA published [2]. Payment in BZZ on-chain [2].
Contract & terms
Swiss non-profit foundation (UID CHE-190.844.260) [2]. The 10 BZZ stake is non-refundable [2]. No refund policy [2]. No SLA [2]. Geographic concentration: Germany 50 percent, Finland 21 percent, Czechia 19 percent [2].
Proof & verifiability
The pricePerGBPerMonth metric is live on SwarmScan [2]. BZZ trades at about $0.057 with a market cap under $4 million [2]. What stays unverifiable: the unreachable-node methodology (changed from 62 percent to 1.3 percent), and the endowment sustainability [2].
Reliability & history
The network has run since 2021 [2]. No fraud or exit events [2]. The rent increase (63 percent) is a structural cost concern [2].
Pricing
Rent: 1.847 BZZ per GB per month (roughly $105/TB/month) [2]. BZZ at about $0.057 [2]. No KYC [2]. 10 BZZ non-refundable stake [2]. Expiry model documented [2] [1].
++ What works
- Named Swiss non-profit operator with public council, address and Swiss UID
- Detailed docs and a public on-chain price oracle + community price API
- Long-running project (2019 origins, Foundation since 2021) with steady Bee releases
- Prepaid postage-stamp model scales to small uploads; Swarm Desktop on-ramp
- Bandwidth/distribution built in, not billed as a separate S3-style egress line
-- What to watch
- ~$0.064/GB/month (Sep 2026) is 10x+ the per-byte cost of Filecoin/Storj
- Storage is rented and expires; data is lost when the batch TTL ends (no permanence)
- No delete and no per-object update - chunks are immutable
- Both volume and duration are non-deterministic because the oracle moves the price
- Small, geographically concentrated node set (~4,027 nodes; 62% unreachable on 2026-09-24)
- Node operation requires a non-refundable 10 xBZZ stake plus server/bandwidth
Pricing reality check
| Documented price | $0.064 per GB/month (storage rent) · $0.410 one-off (minimum node stake, non-refundable) |
|---|---|
| Notes | Storage is prepaid in postage-stamp batches; prices are set dynamically by an on-chain price oracle (Gnosis Chain) targeting 4x redundancy. SwarmScan API reported pricePerGBPerMonth = 1.565 BZZ on 2026-09-24 (schema: 'Storage price in BZZ per 1GB per month'); at BZZ $0.04098 (CoinGecko) that is ~$0.064/GB/month (~$64/TB/month). The oracle's latest price-update event same day carried price=115171 (PLUR-scale), same order of magnitude. Both volume and duration are non-deterministic. Node operators need a fully synced node plus a minimum 10 xBZZ non-refundable stake (20 xBZZ for reserve doubling) and xDAI gas; 10 xBZZ ~ $0.41 on 2026-09-24. Docs batch example: 0.010 BZZ for ~4.00 GB with ~5h47m TTL. |
Run the long math before paying: cloud mining calculator →
// How to get started with Swarm
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 ethswarm.org - 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 $0.064 per GB/month - start with the minimum, not with the plan the checkout page pushes.
- Pay
Accepted: BZZ. Check the network and the deposit address inside your account, never from an email.
- Verify the output, not the dashboard
Proof is documented as yes - Storer nodes participate in the redistribution game every 152 Gnosis blocks, committing and revealing reserve commitments. 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 Swarm (Ethereum) legit?
Short answer: Based on our checks as of 2026-10-02: Swarm (Ethereum) scores 5.9/10 in our weighted review. We logged 2 red flags (listed above). Facts are reported, not fully verified - test with a small purchase and a withdrawal first. User reports and operator background are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.
| Status | active |
|---|---|
| Operator | Swarm · HQ Switzerland (high) |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Proof | published |
| KYC | none |
Red flags
- Phishing sites impersonate Swarm with fake migration/claim/airdrop pages (Foundation warning, 2026)
- Storage duration is not guaranteed - top-up/dilute must be monitored or data expires
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. 19 dated sources back this page; they are listed under sources.
// Alternatives to Swarm (Ethereum)
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 Swarm (Ethereum)? Start small, verify one payout, and only scale up once the hashrate or compute actually matches what you paid for.
// Swarm (Ethereum) FAQ
Is Swarm (Ethereum) legit?
Based on our checks as of 2026-10-02: Swarm (Ethereum) scores 5.9/10 in our weighted review. We logged 2 red flags (listed above). Facts are reported, not fully verified - test with a small purchase and a withdrawal first. User reports and operator background are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.
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