All uploads 500 KB or less are free on ArDrive!
ArDrive lets you upload any file that is 500 KB or less for free. That’s right, free!
Now you can try out ArDrive for yourself and it will not cost you a cent. Learn more
If you have an ArDrive account you can start uploading for free right now! However, if you are new to ArDrive you can easily get started by creating an account.
How do I know if a document is less than 500 KBs?
It is easy to see how large a file is in your desktop application such as Mac Finder or Windows Explorer. A file will typically be organized by categories such as name, date uploaded, file type, and size.
If it is less than 500 KB then it will be free to upload to ArDrive.
Typically the types of files that will be less than 500 KBs will be documents but it is not limited to that as you may have jpegs, PNG images, or PDFs that fall under the 500KB limit.
For ArDrive users in the NFT space 500 KB uploads could cover NFT json metadata and Arweave manifests.
We hope that you will upload some of your 500 KB files and feel the difference that permanence makes!
File sizes on ArDrive are measured in KiB (similar to KB).
How do I get started uploading free 500 KB files?
Already have an ArDrive account? You can start uploading your 500KB files for free right now.
New to ArDrive? All you have to do is create an account through our easy startup process and then you can start to upload your 500 KB files for free!
Uploading Files that are Larger than 500 KB
Uploading files through ArDrive that are larger than 500 KBs does have a cost – check out our pricing calculator. It may be less than a cent to upload several documents – and there are never any recurring fees beyond that – but uploads still require payment.
To upload files on ArDrive you will need to get the Arweave Token (AR) to pay for those uploads.
Get some local currency
Tokens with blockchain local technology work the same waycurrencies do with countries. If you are visiting the island nation of Vanuatu and want to buy something at a shop, you’ll need the local currency (Vatu). Similarly, if you want to use the Arweave network (and ArDrive) you need to get the AR token.
Fortunately, the Arweave network provides new users with enough AR token to get started uploading a few files for free.
It is simple and straightforward and our Get Started page walks you through it all.
If you’d like to upload more files, you can buy more AR tokens. You will be surprised at how little it costs to upload hundreds of documents.
Hit the Get Started button below to get your own ArDrive account and see everything permanent data storage can do! Public Drives
An additional way to try ArDrive for free is with our Public Drives. You don’t even need an ArDrive account to use them.
Public Drives are open to the world for anybody to see at any time. They can include photos, books, videos, art, research or other files curated by ArDrive users that want this content to stay around permanently for public use.
How do you access one of these Public Drives?
It’s as easy as clicking on a link to see them and get your first taste of ArDrive.
There are a lot of Public Drives being put out into the wild, but I would suggest you try one of these:
- 51 Books in the Public Domain – curated by drkiddo
- ArDrive Official Public Drive – pictures, videos, presentations and other permanent content from the ArDrive community.
So if you click the above link for 51 Books in the Public Domain it will automatically take you into ArDrive and you will see your new Public Drive in the left hand menu with the title ‘Books’. All the books in this new Public Drive will appear in the center of your screen.
Download Files
Within this Public Drive is a vast collection of classic books from the history of human civilization. You can download any of the digital books that are in the Public Drive for free. Download the complete works of William Shakespeare or War and Peace or Little Women – pretty cool!
To download all you need to do is select the book of your choice and press the 
symbol at your top right.
Voila! The book is now yours!
If you’re not into classic books, feel free to explore other featured Public Drives.
“To download, or not to download – that is the question”
Share a Public Drive
Even if you don’t have an ArDrive account you can also share this Public Drive with anyone you want.
Hit the Share icon up at the top right and a window will pop up in the middle of your screen. You can copy the link in the box and send it to anyone you want and they will be able to access the Public Drive in the same way that you just did.
As you can see, Public Drives are a great way to archive and share collections of content from the permaweb. It’s always free to share Public Drives and to download files on ArDrive.