Paying for Uploads
Turbo Credits are the payment medium used by Turbo's upload service, providing a 1:1 conversion from Arweave's native AR token with additional benefits and flexible payment options.
What are Turbo Credits?
Turbo Credits represent upload power on the Arweave network, divisible down to 1 trillionth of a credit (Winston Credit). Unlike traditional crypto tokens, Turbo Credits cannot be traded, transferred, or exchanged - they exist solely for uploading data to Arweave.
Important: Turbo Credits are non-refundable and cannot be withdrawn or exchanged for other cryptocurrencies.
How to Purchase Credits
Payment Methods
- Fiat Currency: Credit/debit cards or USDC via Stripe
- Crypto Tokens: AR, ETH, SOL, POLYGON, ARIO, USDC, KYVE via transfer transactions
- Spending Wallets: Ethereum, Solana, Arweave, and Kyve wallets supported
Supported Tokens & Purchase Methods
| Payment Method | Turbo SDK | Turbo CLI | Turbo API | Turbo App | ArDrive App |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiat (credit/debit card) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| AR | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| ETH | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| ETH (BASE) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| SOL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| POLYGON | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| ARIO | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| USDC (ETH) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| USDC (BASE) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| USDC (POLYGON) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| KYVE | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Wallet Compatibility: When purchasing with cryptocurrencies, credits are
deposited into the wallet described by optional parameter
turboCreditDestinationAddress. When not provided, credits will be added to
the signing wallet of the transfer.
Purchase Options
Option 1: Turbo App
- Visit turbo.ar.io
- Purchase with USD, ARIO, USDC, SOL, ETH, POL, KYVE tokens
- Credits can be purchased for Arweave, Ethereum, Solana, or Kyve native wallet addresses
Option 2: ArDrive App
- Use ArDrive for simple purchases
- Buy credits with USD directly in the app
- Perfect for occasional users
Option 3: Turbo SDK/CLI
// Purchase credits programmatically
const { winc, status, id, ...fundResult } = await TurboFactory.authenticated({
signer,
token: "base-usdc",
}).topUpWithTokens({
tokenAmount: USDCToTokenAmount(1), // 1 USDC on base network
turboCreditDestinationAddress:
"any-valid-evm-arweave-solana-kyve-native-wallet-address",
});
// Check your balance
const balance = await turbo.getBalance();
console.log(`Balance: ${balance.winc} Winston Credits`);Credit Sharing
Turbo Credits can be shared with other users without transferring ownership, perfect for organizations and teams.
How Credit Sharing Works
- Authorize Users: Grant specific wallets access to your credits
- Set Limits: Control how much each user can spend
- Time Limits: Set expiration dates for access
- Revoke Anytime: Regain control of shared credits instantly
Use Cases
- Organizational Funds: Central wallet shares credits with employees
- Onboarding: Give new users free upload power for trials
- Collaboration: Share credits with project contributors
- Educational Programs: Provide students with controlled access
Perfect for: Companies, teams, educational institutions, and any organization needing controlled access to upload power.
Pricing & Fees
- 23.4% fee applied to credit purchases (covers infrastructure and benefits)
- No additional fees when using credits for uploads
- Same value per GiB as AR regardless of price fluctuations
- Subsidized uploads under 100 KiB are completely free
Getting Started
Ready to start using Turbo Credits? Choose your path:
Purchase Credits
Buy credits instantly with credit cards or crypto
Start Uploading
Learn how to upload data with your new credits
Turbo SDK
Integrate credit sharing and advanced features
Next Steps
Getting Started with Turbo
Complete upload guide with Turbo.
Tagging Your Data
Organize with metadata and tags.
Understanding Manifests
Create folder structures with manifests.
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