We pay for cloud storage every year—renewing memberships when phone space runs out, buying annual plans for more computer files. When you tally up these costs, it can be quite frustrating. But in the world of Web3, storage is being reinvented. Today, let’s explore whether there’s a way to completely change this pay-as-you-go model.

For example, suppose you want to permanently store 1TB of data—whether it’s old family photos, creative assets, or project documents. There are three options available, each with a completely different bill:

**Option 1: The traditional cloud storage approach**

Rent server space from big tech companies. The monthly fee is roughly $20 to $50 (based on regular cloud membership rates). It doesn’t sound expensive, but the problem is—you have to keep paying forever. If one day the provider changes policies, adjusts privacy rules, or the server fails, you’re left holding the bag. It’s like locking your data in someone else’s hands.

**Option 2: Classic decentralized storage**

Pay once for permanent storage. Sounds great, but the cost is truly daunting. This approach requires every node in the network to store a complete copy of the data, and the replication costs increase linearly. The initial investment barrier is too high for ordinary users to afford.

**Option 3: New storage protocols**

Same one-time payment for permanent storage, but with a different approach. Using innovative coding techniques (like the Red-Stuff scheme), it can achieve highly reliable storage with a lower replication factor (only 4 to 5 backups). The key is—costs can be reduced to a fraction of traditional decentralized solutions.

Doesn’t this seem like the kind of storage cost we should have? No longer endless leasing, but truly owning a permanent asset.