Sia Decentralized Storage
Decentralized cloud storage network where renters contract with independent hosts and pay in Siacoin.
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Sia key facts
| Category | Decentralized storage |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Desktop, CLI, API |
| Launched | Mainnet 2015 |
| Company | Sia Foundation (non-profit, created 2020) |
| Token | Siacoin |
| Open source | MIT (renterd) |
| US availability | Available: terms name no country restrictions |
| Pricing | Set by storage providers, paid in Siacoin; network average about $3 per TB per month with 3x redundancy |
SC token
- Price
- $0.0007 -1.4% 24h
- Market cap
- $33M
- Fully diluted value
- $33M
- 30-day change
- -33.1%
Market data: CoinGecko, updated Nov 10, 2026. Educational content, not financial advice.
What is Sia?
Sia is a decentralized storage network where renters store data with independent hosts using software such as renterd and hostd. Its about page says mainnet launched in 2015, the network stored one petabyte at once in 2018, and the non-profit Sia Foundation was created in 2020. Software was rebuilt as V2 in 2025.
How Sia works
Current Sia storage has three layers.
Storage providers run hostd, contribute disk space and earn Siacoin for storing encrypted shards and proving the data is still there. Indexers run indexd, form and maintain contracts with providers, track where each shard lives and repair data when redundancy drops. Apps use the Sia Storage SDKs for Rust, Go, Python and JavaScript. The older all-in-one renterd still works but is no longer the recommended starting point.
On upload the SDK encrypts the file and its metadata on your device, erasure-codes it into redundant shards and sends them straight to providers, then pins the object to the indexer. The indexer only sees encrypted metadata and the storage layout, never plaintext. Objects are immutable and addressed by a content-derived ID. Each provider sets its own price, and the software picks deals based on your preferences. The chain uses proof-of-work, with a block reward floor of 30,000 SC.
How to start with Sia
- The simplest path is Sia Storage, a hosted indexer and app for iOS and Android that gives you 50 GB free with nothing to install.
- Developers can install an SDK, for example pip install sia-storage or npm install @siafoundation/sia-storage, and follow the Quickstart.
- Running your own indexd or renterd means paying providers in Siacoin, which you buy on an exchange, receive from someone or mine, then send to a renterd, hostd or walletd address.
Sia fees and limits
- Storage on Sia is priced by each provider in Siacoin, and the docs put the network average at around $3 per terabyte per month, including 3x redundancy.
- The Siafunds page in the docs' legacy section says 3.9% of each contract's funding, covering renter storage and bandwidth payments and host collateral, is reserved for Siafund holders when the contract completes.
- A hosted Sia Storage account includes 50 GB free, with nothing to run.
Renters also pay bandwidth for every upload and download, which can include wear-and-tear fees set by the provider, plus a one-time contract formation fee on the blockchain that usually costs a handful of Siacoins.
Risks to know before using Sia
- Encryption keys stay in your app, so neither the indexer nor providers can recover them for you.
- The docs advise keeping a local cache of object records and storing app-state metadata on the indexer; if both the indexer and the local cache are lost, the object metadata cannot be recovered.
- The network went through a V2 hard fork in June 2025 and a further upgrade in December 2025, so older setup guides may not match current software.
Sia alternatives
Other projects people compare with Sia.
S3-compatible object storage that spreads encrypted data across tens of thousands of independent storage nodes.
Decentralized blob storage protocol on Sui, priced in USD terms and paid in the WAL token.
Permanent data storage network where uploaders pay once into an endowment that funds miners over time.
Peer-to-peer storage network where clients pay providers who post collateral and prove storage cryptographically.
Where Sia ranks on DappAtlas
Sia pros and cons
- Running since 2015 with no downtime claimed by the project
- Run by a non-profit foundation
- Renter software (renterd) is open source under MIT
- Self-hosting means running indexd or renterd and paying hosts yourself
- Payments require Siacoin
Sia FAQ
What is Sia?
Sia is a decentralized storage network where renters store data with independent hosts using software such as renterd and hostd. Its about page says mainnet launched in 2015, the network stored one petabyte at once in 2018, and the non-profit Sia Foundation was created in 2020. Software was rebuilt as V2 in 2025.
How much does Sia cost?
Set by storage providers, paid in Siacoin; network average about $3 per TB per month with 3x redundancy, according to Sia’s own page (checked Oct 1, 2026).
Does Sia have a token?
Yes, SC. Its market cap was $33M on CoinGecko on Nov 10, 2026. Educational content, not financial advice.
Is Sia available in the US?
Available: terms name no country restrictions, according to Sia’s own page (checked Sep 26, 2026).
Sources
How this page works
Sources: Sia: official site, Sia: About, Sia Docs: Learn about Siacoins. Data as of Oct 1, 2026.
Not affiliated with any project listed. Educational content, not financial advice.