Swarm
Swarm is decentralized infrastructure for transferring, storing and sharing data across a peer-to-peer network.
What Swarm is
Swarm is decentralized infrastructure for transferring, storing and sharing data across a peer-to-peer network. It divides uploaded data into 4 KB chunks and uses Kademlia routing to distribute and retrieve them among nodes. The Swarm Foundation describes the network as open, permissionless, censorship resistant and private by design; its Postal Service over Swarm protocol provides end-to-end encrypted messaging. Local replication is intended to help maintain availability when nodes disconnect or data is lost. Developers can use Bee, the peer-to-peer client, alongside Bee-js, Swarm-CLI and a Bee HTTP API to build decentralized applications. Swarm presents its tools for hosting dApps, NFT metadata and media files. Swarm Desktop, a beta application for Windows, Linux and OSX, offers a lightweight node for browsing, uploading, downloading and managing data. It can publish websites through preview URLs or link them to an ENS name. Publishers use BZZ postage stamp batches to write data and prepay storage rent; the displayed price is 0 BZZ per 1 GByte for 1 month. The beta includes Sentry monitoring that automatically collects data and comes without guarantees of stability, efficiency or security.
Good
- Open, permissionless peer-to-peer network
- PSS messaging uses end-to-end encryption
- Developer stack includes Bee, Bee-js, CLI and HTTP API
- Desktop app can publish websites
Watch out
- Swarm Desktop is in beta
- Desktop beta automatically collects data through Sentry
- Desktop beta has no stability, efficiency or security guarantees
- Default ultra-light node has a free-threshold download limit
Who it suits
Swarm is aimed at developers building or hosting dApps, NFT metadata and media files, as well as node operators willing to share disk space. Its tools also suit publishers prepared to use BZZ postage stamps for writing and storage.
Verdict
Swarm offers a developer-oriented route to distributed data storage, sharing and publishing. The beta desktop app’s data collection and stated lack of guarantees are worth weighing before use.
Plans and prices
From Swarm's own pricing page, checked 5 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Swarm network storage | Priced on request | Storage access and persistence use BZZ postage stamps; publishers prepay storage rent. |
The facts
Each one read from Swarm's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Data routing
- Swarm nodes use Kademlia routing to distribute and retrieve data in 4 KB chunks.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Desktop beta and security
- Swarm Desktop is in beta, includes Sentry monitoring that automatically collects data, and comes with no guarantees of stability, efficiency, or security at this stage.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Desktop download limit
- The default ultra-light desktop node is limited to downloading data within the free threshold allowed by other nodes.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Developer stack
- Its developer stack includes Bee, the Bee-js JavaScript library, Swarm-CLI, and a Bee HTTP API.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Developer tools
- Bee is the peer-to-peer client for joining the network, and Bee-js is its complementary JavaScript library for building decentralized apps.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The maker lists fairOS, Fairdrive, and the Fair Data Protocol as ecosystem tooling for databases, personal data storage, and interoperability; it says these projects are under development and their performance is not guaranteed.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Messaging
- Postal Service over Swarm (PSS) is described as an end-to-end encrypted messaging protocol running on Swarm’s decentralized P2P network.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Node operators
- Full node operators share disk space and may receive BZZ through a blockchain-based incentive system.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Open source
- Swarm describes its code as open source and its network as open and permissionless.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Organization
- The Swarm Foundation is a nonprofit established in 2021 and based in Switzerland.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Payments and storage
- Publishers use BZZ to buy postage stamp batches for writing data and paying for storage; the displayed current storage price is 0 BZZ per 1 GByte for 1 month.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Privacy and messaging
- Swarm describes its network as private by design and says its PSS messaging protocol uses end-to-end encryption.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Privacy and resilience
- The maker describes Swarm as censorship resistant and private by design, with local replication intended to preserve availability when nodes drop out or data is lost.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Resilience
- The site says local replication helps keep data available despite node dropouts or data loss.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Storage model
- Uploaded data is split into 4 KB chunks and distributed among nodes using Kademlia routing.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Storage payments
- Publishers spend BZZ on postage stamps to write data and prepay rent for long-term storage.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker directs users to its Discord community and lists [email protected] for questions or complaints.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Website publishing
- Swarm Desktop can upload websites and share them through preview URLs or link them to an ENS name.checked 5 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Swarm provides decentralized infrastructure for transferring and storing data across a peer-to-peer network.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Who it serves
- Swarm presents its tools as infrastructure for developers building and hosting dApps, NFT metadata, and media files.checked 4 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Desktop app
- Swarm Desktop is in beta and provides access through a lightweight node, with features to browse, upload, download, and manage data.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Desktop app data collection
- The Swarm Desktop beta page says it includes Sentry monitoring and bug reporting software that automatically collects data to help improve the software.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Desktop platforms
- Swarm Desktop installers are available for Windows, Linux, and OSX.checked 5 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker
- The Swarm Foundation is a nonprofit established in 2021 and based in Switzerland.checked 5 Oct 2026
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