Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Netlify VS IPFS

Compare Netlify VS IPFS and see what are their differences

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Netlify logo Netlify

Build, deploy and host your static site or app with a drag and drop interface and automatic delpoys from GitHub or Bitbucket

IPFS logo IPFS

IPFS is the permanent web. A new peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol.
  • Netlify Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23
  • IPFS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-06-25

Netlify features and specs

  • Deployment Speed
    Netlify offers very fast and easy deployment processes, often requiring just a push to a Git repository.
  • Built-in CDN
    Netlify includes a global Content Delivery Network (CDN) to speed up the delivery of websites and applications.
  • Serverless Functions
    Netlify provides serverless functions allowing developers to run backend code without managing servers.
  • Automated Builds
    Automated build processes are integrated, supporting continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD).
  • Custom Domains and SSL
    Easily manage custom domains and automatically provision and renew SSL certificates.
  • Integrated Form Handling
    Netlify offers form handling capabilities out-of-the-box, simplifying the process of collecting form data.
  • Plugins and Integrations
    Extensible with a wide range of plugins and integrations including analytics, CMS, and other third-party services.
  • Developer-Friendly
    Offers a wide range of developer-friendly features, such as split testing, instant rollbacks, and APIs for customization.
  • Free Tier
    Generous free tier that allows for hosting of personal projects and small websites at no cost.

Possible disadvantages of Netlify

  • Pricing
    While there's a free tier, more advanced features and higher usage can become expensive on a paid plan.
  • Function Limits
    Serverless functions have execution and duration limits, which may not be suitable for all applications.
  • Platform-Specific
    Deployment and feature configurations can be platform-specific, which may require learning new processes that differ from other providers.
  • Build Minutes
    The free tier includes limited build minutes, which can be a constraint for projects that require frequent deployments.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Using Netlify-specific features (like certain build plugins) can make it harder to migrate to another hosting provider.
  • Limited Backend Services
    Primarily designed for frontend applications, so it may not be as robust for extensive backend services compared to traditional servers.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Some advanced features may have a steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Build Times
    Build times can be slow for very large sites or monorepos, impacting continuous deployment speed.
  • Support
    Customer support responses can be slow on the lower-tier plans.

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.

Analysis of Netlify

Overall verdict

  • Netlify is considered a good option for many developers and businesses looking for a platform to deploy and manage static websites or Jamstack applications.

Why this product is good

  • Netlify offers a seamless and easy-to-use platform for deploying static sites and modern web applications.
  • It provides developers with a variety of powerful features like continuous deployment, built-in HTTPS, DNS management, and serverless functions.
  • The platform supports server-side rendering and dynamic functions, which is advantageous for modern web development needs.
  • Netlify's workflow optimizes for Git, allowing developers to connect their repositories directly and automate deployment processes.
  • The platform's collaboration tools make it easy for teams to work together on website development.

Recommended for

  • Developers building static sites or Jamstack applications.
  • Teams looking for streamlined deployment workflows integrated with Git providers.
  • Businesses seeking a robust hosting solution with minimal server management overhead.
  • Projects requiring custom domains with automatic HTTPS.

Analysis of IPFS

Overall verdict

  • IPFS is highly regarded as a promising technology for those who value decentralization and privacy. It provides a more robust alternative to traditional HTTP by enabling content addressing, incentivizing storage, and reducing reliance on singular points of failure. However, it might still have limitations in terms of user-friendliness and wide-scale adoption.

Why this product is good

  • IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a peer-to-peer distributed file system that aims to connect all computing devices with the same system of files. It's designed to make the web faster, safer, and more open by decentralizing the way files are stored and accessed. This eliminates the need for centralized servers, making file transfer and storage more resilient and efficient.

Recommended for

  • Developers interested in decentralized applications
  • Projects focusing on data integrity and censorship resistance
  • Users seeking alternatives to traditional web hosting solutions
  • Open-source enthusiasts and privacy advocates

Netlify videos

Netlify Platform Tutorial Review

More videos:

  • Review - Deploy Websites In Seconds With Netlify
  • Review - Deploy Your Website In Minutes With Netlify

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)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Netlify and IPFS)
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Storage
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
File Sharing
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Netlify and IPFS

Netlify Reviews

  1. Eleanor Bennett
    · Digital Marketing Specialist at Logit.io ·
    Useful previews

    As someone who is often creating new pages, Netlify's preview makes the review process easier. You can also use the generated URL from Netlify's preview to run an SEO audit prior to going live. This is very useful for spotting bugs or broken redirects.


Top 15 Cloudflare Alternatives: A Complete Guide
Netlify is a CDN service that also offers edge computing, web security, and VPN solutions. Netlify allows you to deploy and run your web content and applications on its edge network, which has over 70 edge locations in 35 countries. Netlify also provides security features, such as SSL, DDoS protection, WAF, and firewall, to protect your web content and applications.
Exploring alternatives to Vercel: A guide for web developers
Netlify is one of the most popular alternatives to Vercel, offering a comprehensive platform for deploying static sites and modern web applications. With a strong focus on developer experience, Netlify provides powerful features such as serverless functions, continuous deployment, and advanced analytics.
Source: fleek.xyz
Choosing the best Next.js hosting platform
Where Netlify is superior to Vercel is the list of add-ons they offer. Among them, Netlify Forms allow developers to manage forms and submission without extra code. It even integrates with third-party applications such as MailChimp, Zendesk, and more.
Top 10 Netlify Alternatives
Although Netlify is a credible static app hosting and deployment platform for all sizes of businesses. But if you still want alternatives, then you should consider our suggested Netlify alternatives. This guide displays all these alternatives to Netlify in detail with pricing structure and core properties. Hopefully, you will pick a suitable option for your project.
3 best alternatives to the big cloud providers
Very interesting topic! I’m not sure if things like Netlify or Vercel could replace something like Kubernetes on GCP but I believe in the power of Netlify for hosting websites!
Source: dev.to

IPFS Reviews

We have no reviews of IPFS yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, IPFS should be more popular than Netlify. It has been mentiond 290 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.

Netlify mentions (109)

  • Build a Personal Portfolio Website (2-Minute Tutorial)
    Upload your folder to Netlify, GitHub Pages, or Vercel — and boom, your portfolio is online! - Source: dev.to / 13 days ago
  • Deploy Your Full-Stack App for Free: Host Backend on Render and Frontend on Netlify in Minutes
    Deploy on Netlify Go to https://netlify.com and log in. Click "Add new site" → "Import an existing project". Connect your GitHub and choose your frontend repo. Fill in the deploy settings: Build Command: npm run build (or flutter build web) Publish Directory: build (for React) or build/web (for Flutter) Add your environment variables (e.g., your backend URL). Click Deploy Site. You’ll get a public frontend URL like:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • How Bun can help to revive a Gridsome project
    Starting from this year, builds for this website's code through my Netlify account began failing. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • I'm Joining Sentry
    As much as this is exciting news, it does mean that sadly I'm moving on from Netlify. Netlify which has been my home for the last 2 years and who believed in us(and me) before anyone else did. Their support is what made SolidStart possible. I've learned so much about deployment and infrastructure working closely with the Frameworks and Primitives team. I've traveled the world giving talks alongside the Developer... - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Join us for the Netlify Dynamic Site Challenge: $3,000 in Prizes!
    We are so excited to team up with Netlify to bring you our next DEV challenge. This Challenge is all about dynamic and high-performance digital experiences, across any framework! - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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IPFS mentions (290)

  • zkJSON Litepaper v1.0
    WeaveChain will be a CosmosSDK based DePIN blockchain and a marketplace to match database developers / dapps with rollup operators. It's basically a Filecoin for database. zkDB/WeaveDB is to WeaveChain as IPFS is to Filecoin. We will introduce 2 unique components to connect with real-world data and web2. - Source: dev.to / 19 days ago
  • Showcase Your Achievements Securely with CertiFolio 🚀
    IPFS (optional: if you want to run your own IPFS node). - Source: dev.to / 11 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: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

Vercel - Vercel is the platform for frontend developers, providing the speed and reliability innovators need to create at the moment of inspiration.

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

CloudFlare - Cloudflare is a global network designed to make everything you connect to the Internet secure, private, fast, and reliable.

Dropbox - Online Sync and File Sharing

Heroku - Agile deployment platform for Ruby, Node.js, Clojure, Java, Python, and Scala. Setup takes only minutes and deploys are instant through git. Leave tedious server maintenance to Heroku and focus on your code.

Google Drive - Access and sync your files anywhere