Question 1

What is IPFS pinning?

Accepted Answer

IPFS pinning keeps your files permanently available on the IPFS network. Without pinning, files may be garbage-collected by IPFS nodes. IPFS.NINJA pins your files to ensure they stay accessible 24/7.

Question 2

What file types can I upload?

Accepted Answer

Any file type. JSON objects are sent natively, while images, PDFs, videos, HTML, and all other formats are base64-encoded. There's no file type restriction.

Question 3

How does the free plan work?

Accepted Answer

The Dharma plan is free forever — no credit card required. You get 50 files, 1 GB storage, 2 GB monthly bandwidth, 1 API key, and shared public-gateway access. Upgrade anytime if you need more — paid plans start at $5/mo and include a dedicated gateway.

Question 4

What is a dedicated gateway?

Accepted Answer

Each account gets a private gateway URL (e.g., https://your-slug.gw.ipfs.ninja) to serve your pinned content over HTTPS. You can configure access modes, token authentication, IP whitelisting, and origin restrictions.

Question 5

How do signed upload tokens work?

Accepted Answer

Signed tokens are time-limited credentials you can safely use in client-side code (browsers, mobile apps) without exposing your API key. Create them server-side, pass to the client, upload directly from the browser.

Question 6

Is my data encrypted?

Accepted Answer

Files on IPFS are content-addressed and publicly accessible by CID. If you need privacy, encrypt your data before uploading. The restricted gateway mode ensures only you can access files through your gateway, but the CIDs themselves are public on the IPFS network.

Question 7

Can I pin an existing CID from the network?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use the POST /pin endpoint with any valid CID to pin content that already exists on IPFS. This is useful for NFT metadata, content mirroring, or archival.

Question 8

How do I cancel or downgrade?

Accepted Answer

You can manage your subscription from the Profile page. Downgrading preserves your files but applies the lower plan's limits. There are no cancellation fees.

Feature	IPFS Ninja	Pinata
Free tier	500 files, 1 GB, 2 GB bw	500 files, 1 GB
Mid tier price	$19/mo (Karma)	$20/mo (Picnic)
Top tier price	$59/mo (Nirvana)	$100/mo (Fiesta)
Files (mid tier)	1,000	5,000,000
Storage (mid tier)	100 GB	1 TB
API keys (mid tier)	10	Unlimited
Dedicated gateway	All paid plans	All plans
Gateway access modes	Restricted / Open / Folder	Restricted
Signed upload tokens
IP whitelist
Origin restrictions
Per-file analytics
Image optimization	Yes (API)
S3-compatible API	Yes (all plans)	No
Official SDK	REST + S3-compatible	TypeScript/JS
Gateway tokens
IPNS mutable names	3–10 per plan
Private content access	Via gateway modes	Private IPFS
MCP Server (AI assistants)	Yes (all plans)	No
CAR import (DAG import)	Yes (all plans)	Paid plans only

IPFS Ninja vs Pinata

Feature-by-Feature Comparison: IPFS.NINJA vs Pinata

Save $492/year on the top tier