DeWeb vs IPFS: Rethinking Decentralized Web Hosting
April 16, 2025
DeWeb vs IPFS: Rethinking Decentralized Web Hosting
The rise of censorship, infrastructure fragility, and data loss risks has pushed more users toward decentralized solutions for hosting content.
While IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) has been one of the most well-known protocols for decentralized data storage, it comes with significant tradeoffs that often go unnoticed.
DeWeb, built on the Massa blockchain, offers a new kind of decentralized web experience — one that is fully on-chain, persistent, and immune to many of the core limitations of IPFS.
In this article, we’ll explore how DeWeb compares to IPFS, and why it might be the better fit for the next generation of censorship-resistant applications.
The Problem with IPFS
At its core, IPFS is a peer-to-peer protocol that allows users to store and share data in a distributed way. However, while it offers some benefits over traditional web hosting, IPFS suffers from several major issues:
- Files need to be pinned in order to stay accessible. If no node pins your file, it simply disappears from the network.
- Pinning services are not free. You often need to pay a third party to keep your data online, which introduces a form of centralization and recurring cost.
- These services can unpin your content at any time, either due to inactivity, policy changes, or lack of payment — which means your website or dApp can vanish without notice.
- There's no built-in persistence or guarantee of uptime, especially for lesser-known or low-traffic content.
In short, while IPFS is technically decentralized, it lacks the reliability and permanence that many developers and users expect from modern decentralized cloud solutions.
DeWeb: A Fully On-Chain Alternative
DeWeb offers a fundamentally different approach. Instead of relying on pinning or third-party services, it stores everything directly on-chain using the Massa blockchain.
Every website hosted via DeWeb is:
- Fully replicated across every node in the network
- Accessible at all times, without the need for any server or pinning service
- Secured by autonomous smart contracts, ensuring predictable behavior
- Domain-resolved via MNS (Massa Name Service), a decentralized naming system
There’s no single point of failure. No third-party dependency. No server to manage.
Just a self-contained, censorship-resistant hosting system where every file is stored in the same place as the logic and the domain: the blockchain.
Why DeWeb is a Better Option for Decentralized Hosting
DeWeb provides a unique value proposition: everything is fully on-chain — the frontend, the backend, and the domain name.
Once a website or a dApp is deployed, it is replicated across all nodes in the network, making it unstoppable.
There is no reliance on third-party pinning, no risk of data loss due to inactivity, and no need to maintain infrastructure.
Even if the original creator disappears, the website remains accessible and fully functional.
For developers looking to protect users and prevent malicious takeovers, optional immutability ensures that no one — not even the creator — can modify the website after deployment.
This is especially important in a time where security breaches and frontend hijacks are increasingly common.
With a one-time, refundable payment model, and complete on-chain permanence, DeWeb offers a secure, reliable, and truly decentralized alternative to IPFS.