Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

IPFS VS ZeroNet

Compare IPFS VS ZeroNet and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

IPFS logo IPFS

IPFS is the permanent web. A new peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol.

ZeroNet logo ZeroNet

ZeroNet. Open, free and uncensorable websites, using Bitcoin cryptography and BitTorrent network. Download for Windows 9. 6MB · Unpack · Run ZeroNet. exe.
  • IPFS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-06-25
  • ZeroNet Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

IPFS features and specs

  • Decentralization
    IPFS operates on a peer-to-peer network, reducing dependency on central servers and improving resilience and fault tolerance.
  • Content Addressing
    Resources in IPFS are accessed through content hashes, ensuring data integrity and authenticity by directly referencing content, not its location.
  • Improved Load Distribution
    By distributing data across multiple nodes, IPFS can balance load, which can improve availability and access speed.
  • Offline Access
    Data stored in IPFS can be accessed offline if the content is already cached locally, enabling persistent availability.
  • Resistance to Censorship
    Decentralization makes it harder to censor content since there is no single point of failure that can be targeted.
  • Reduced Bandwidth Usage
    IPFS can save bandwidth by referencing previously downloaded content from local networks or peers rather than fetching it from remote servers.
  • Historical Versioning
    IPFS can keep track of historical versions of content, allowing for content versioning and retrieval of past data states.

Possible disadvantages of IPFS

  • Complexity
    Implementing and managing an IPFS network can be complex, requiring understanding of peer-to-peer networking and content addressing.
  • Initial Content Distribution
    Uploading content to IPFS and ensuring it gets distributed across the network can require significant initial effort and time.
  • Storage Redundancy
    Data is stored redundantly across multiple nodes, which can lead to increased storage requirements compared to traditional centralized storage.
  • Persistence
    Unless explicitly pinned, content might not persist indefinitely on IPFS, potentially leading to loss of data that's not sufficiently replicated.
  • Scalability of Pinning Services
    To ensure data persistence and availability, pinning services might be required, which can incur additional costs and complexity as the network scales.
  • Legal and Compliance Issues
    Decentralized storage can complicate legal compliance and content moderation, as it's harder to control and regulate distributed data.
  • Performance Variability
    Access speeds can vary based on the availability and performance of peers in the network, leading to inconsistent user experiences.
  • Energy Consumption
    Maintaining a large, distributed network of nodes can lead to higher energy consumption compared to centralized infrastructure.

ZeroNet features and specs

  • Decentralization
    ZeroNet operates without a central server, distributing content across users' devices. This makes it resistant to censorship and DDoS attacks.
  • Privacy
    ZeroNet offers enhanced user privacy with IP obfuscation and peer-to-peer connectivity. Data is decentralized, reducing points of vulnerability.
  • Resilience
    The decentralized nature ensures that sites remain online even if some nodes go down, providing a more resilient network.
  • Content Integrity
    Content on ZeroNet is verified using cryptographic signatures, ensuring that the data has not been tampered with.
  • Offline Access
    Once a site is downloaded, it can be accessed offline, providing continued access even without an internet connection.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source allows for community contributions, transparency in code, and the potential for rapid improvements and security audits.

Possible disadvantages of ZeroNet

  • Performance
    Because it relies on peer-to-peer networking, load times can be slower compared to traditional centralized servers, especially for large files or under low peer availability.
  • Storage
    Users need to store a copy of the sites they visit. This can lead to significant local storage use, especially for popular content.
  • Security Risks
    While cryptographic signatures help with content integrity, there is still a potential risk of malicious users exploiting vulnerabilities or distributing harmful content.
  • Limited Searchability
    There is no global search engine for ZeroNet, making it more difficult to discover new sites and content compared to the traditional web.
  • Legal Concerns
    The decentralized and anonymized nature can be used to host and share illegal content, potentially putting users at risk of legal issues.
  • Adoption and Network Effect
    ZeroNet is not as widely adopted as traditional web technologies, which can limit its usefulness and the variety of available content.

IPFS videos

Why IPFS? - Juan Benet

More videos:

  • Review - Ether-1 Project Review - Decentralized Web Hosting - IPFS Protocol - DAPPS
  • Review - Best Decentralised Storage Systems : ARWEAVE vs IPFS FILECOIN
  • Review - Why IPFS Is SO Important! (Simple Explanation)

ZeroNet videos

crypt skip review of zeronet part 1

More videos:

  • Review - Complete Guide to ZeroNet
  • Review - Cryptskips Review Of Zeronet part 2

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to IPFS and ZeroNet)
Cloud Storage
92 92%
8% 8
VPN
0 0%
100% 100
File Sharing
100 100%
0% 0
Security
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using IPFS and ZeroNet. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, IPFS should be more popular than ZeroNet. It has been mentiond 289 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

IPFS mentions (289)

  • Showcase Your Achievements Securely with CertiFolio 🚀
    IPFS (optional: if you want to run your own IPFS node). - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Decentralized media Made easy
    When I click on https://synapsemedia.io/ I get redirected to a link like https://ipfs.io/ipns/synapsemedia.io (to use ipfs.io instead of my local node). Source: about 2 years ago
  • 4EVERLAND’s IPFS Pinning Service: 4EVER Pin
    You may already be aware that the Interplanetary File System or IPFS is a distributed storage network where computers from all over the world form nodes to share data. Source: about 2 years ago
  • How to host an encrypted page
    In case of you don't trust them, it gets harder. Especially if you need to have it hosted without any trace to yourself. I'd probably pay a service to store my data on ipfs. You can pay with crypto. But I'm this case there's the question, how will you be able to access it. My thought would be to have a [tails][tails] USB with the necessary software. Source: about 2 years ago
  • anti-discord rule
    Https://ipfs.io is the only acceptable file host. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

ZeroNet mentions (66)

  • zeronet-conservancy v0.7.9 and status update
    Our views on the project are incompatible. I consider it harmful to the community to: - advertise fork as official continuation (the worst parts of this were eventually removed, but the project's website still completely mimics official and there's no indication it's a fork anywhere - ship binaries presumably made out of builds made by disappeared nofish - copypaste changes without attribution. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Reddit's days are numbered (link inside). Where will we go instead?
    Sure! Here are the domain links to the decentralized alternatives I mentioned: 1 Steemit: https://steemit.com/ 2 Mastodon: https://joinmastodon.org/ 3 Scuttlebutt: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/ 4 ZeroNet: https://zeronet.io/ 5 Aether: https://getaether.net/ Please note that these links are current as of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, and there's a possibility that the domains or... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Ask Anything Thread
    Https://zeronet.io/ (https://zeronet.io/) is 100% censorship proof. How come? Cause it is not centralized, It is 100% decentralized. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Ask Anything Thread
    Https://zeronet.io/ is 100% censorship proof. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Professor of law, Bruce Pardy on Trudeau's upcoming internet censorship in 2023.
    Nothing can be censored here. Nothing. https://zeronet.io. read that again. Nothing can be censored because it is 100% decentralized, that is the opposite of centralized power. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing IPFS and ZeroNet, you can also consider the following products

FileCoin - Filecoin is a data storage network and electronic currency based on Bitcoin.

I2P - The I2P network provides strong privacy protections for communication over the Internet.

Dropbox - Online Sync and File Sharing

Freenet - Mae-enjoy mo na ang LIBRENG INTERNET ACCESS mula sa freenet! Ang libreng net na bet! freenet is an app where you can access the internet for free. Get 24/7 free access to our partner apps and sites. FREE INTERNET!

Google Drive - Access and sync your files anywhere

Yggdrasil - A proof-of-concept scalable IPv6 meshnet, featuring end-to-end encryption, a unique spanning tree...