Pinata vs Lighthouse

Pinata7.9Visit Lighthouse7.9Visit

Pinata #5 in IPFS Hosting Services 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Pinata

vs

Lighthouse #7 in IPFS Hosting Services 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Lighthouse

• Pinata fits best

  Teams needing a mature pinning and gateway toolkit

• Lighthouse fits best

  Users seeking IPFS with distributed-storage backups

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Side by side

Feature	Pinata 7.9/10 Visit ↗	Lighthouse 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	7.9	7.9
Ranking	#5 in IPFS Hosting Services	#7 in IPFS Hosting Services
Best for	Teams needing a mature pinning and gateway toolkit	Users seeking IPFS with distributed-storage backups
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$20/mo	$12/mo (best)
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Docs	Email, Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Pinata 0/4 · Lighthouse 0/4
Managed gateway	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Custom gateway domains	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
S3-compatible API	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Developer API	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Included storage	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Gateway bandwidth	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Maximum file size	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Upload, pin, and retrieve files through IPFS gateways Dedicated gateways, CDN delivery, and private IPFS storage APIs, webhooks, presigned URLs, analytics, and collaboration	Pairs IPFS hot storage with Filecoin storage backup. Offers encrypted uploads, token-gated access, and IPNS handles. Includes dedicated gateways, migration tools, SDKs, and a CLI.
Cons	Free plan is limited to 1GB storage and 10GB monthly bandwidth Picnic starts at $20 per month Cloud deployment only	Encryption and token gating are offered as add-ons. IPNS and migration support are also add-ons. The listed plan highlights do not distinguish Lite from Premium.
Our verdict	Pinata provides managed IPFS storage and delivery for developers building NFT marketplaces, DeFi applications, indexers, and other products using decentralized content. Teams can upload and pin files, retrieve them through gateways, and… Read the review →	Lighthouse is a decentralized storage service for individuals, developers, and enterprises who want to store, retrieve, and share files across IPFS, Filecoin, and Walrus. Its web application, APIs, SDK, CLI, and gateways cover both file… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Pinata — where it wins

  • Upload, pin, and retrieve files through IPFS gateways
  • Dedicated gateways, CDN delivery, and private IPFS storage
  • APIs, webhooks, presigned URLs, analytics, and collaboration

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan is limited to 1GB storage and 10GB monthly bandwidth
  • Picnic starts at $20 per month
  • Cloud deployment only

• Lighthouse — where it wins

  • Pairs IPFS hot storage with Filecoin storage backup.
  • Offers encrypted uploads, token-gated access, and IPNS handles.
  • Includes dedicated gateways, migration tools, SDKs, and a CLI.

  Where it doesn't

  • Encryption and token gating are offered as add-ons.
  • IPNS and migration support are also add-ons.
  • The listed plan highlights do not distinguish Lite from Premium.

• Pinata7.9/10 · Free plan

  A mature IPFS toolkit with a free tier and paid plans starting at $20 per month.

  Visit PinataFull verdict →
• Lighthouse7.9/10 · Free plan

  IPFS hot storage paired with Filecoin backup, plus tools for managing and serving files.

  Visit LighthouseFull verdict →