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File Storage · head to head

LucidLink vs VAST Data

LucidLink logo

LucidLink

File Storage

Cloud filesystem that streams large media files on demand instead of syncing them

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VAST Data logo

VAST Data

File Storage

All-flash storage designed to make hard disk tiers unnecessary

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: LucidLink additional storage at $7 to $8 per 100GB per month is roughly three to four times raw S3 pricing, so teams with large cold archives pay a heavy premium for data they rarely touch.; VAST Data data reduction ratios drive the economics, and datasets that are already compressed, such as media or encrypted files, reduce poorly and destroy the cost per terabyte case.
  • They diverge on capability: LucidLink covers Filespaces, VAST Data covers Disaggregated architecture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LucidLink and VAST Data actually diverge.

Attributes where LucidLink and VAST Data differ
AttributeLucidLinkVAST Data
Starting price$7/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer member per month plus storagequote
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, Linux, iOSLinux

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in LucidLink

  • Filespaces
  • On-demand streaming
  • Client-side encryption
  • Customer-managed keys
  • Bring your own storage
  • Snapshots

Only in VAST Data

  • Disaggregated architecture
  • Similarity-based reduction
  • All-flash single tier
  • Multi-protocol access
  • Wide erasure coding
  • GPU-oriented throughput
  • Snapshots and replication

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

LucidLink

  • A post house with editors in three countries cutting from one shared 4K rush library without shipping drivesnot VAST Data
  • A broadcaster giving freelancers access to a project for a fortnight without provisioning VPN and a NAS mountnot VAST Data
  • A game studio sharing multi-gigabyte asset builds where syncing every file to every workstation is impracticalnot VAST Data
  • An architecture practice opening large point cloud and BIM files from a laptop on a hotel connectionnot VAST Data

VAST Data

  • A GPU training cluster where storage throughput, not compute, is the bottleneck on job completionnot LucidLink
  • A genomics group holding petabytes of sequencing output that must stay immediately readable rather than archived to tapenot LucidLink
  • A quantitative finance team running backtests over historical market data that a disk tier cannot serve fast enoughnot LucidLink
  • An organisation consolidating a fast tier and an archive tier into one system to reduce rack space and power drawnot LucidLink

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

LucidLink

  • Additional storage at $7 to $8 per 100GB per month is roughly three to four times raw S3 pricing, so teams with large cold archives pay a heavy premium for data they rarely touch.
  • Included storage is pooled per member, so adding a seat is also how you buy capacity, and teams with a few heavy users and many light ones buy seats purely for the gigabytes.
  • Performance is bounded by the network link and local cache size, so a workstation with a small cache on a poor connection performs far worse than the demonstrations suggest.
  • Small-file and metadata-heavy workloads such as code repositories, node modules trees or build outputs perform badly, so it is not a general-purpose file server replacement.
  • Customer-managed keys and bring your own storage are Enterprise-tier options, so organisations that cannot let a vendor hold their keys cannot use the published pricing at all.

VAST Data

  • Data reduction ratios drive the economics, and datasets that are already compressed, such as media or encrypted files, reduce poorly and destroy the cost per terabyte case.
  • There is a minimum viable cluster size, so the entry cost is high and the platform is not sensible for a small footprint however attractive the architecture is.
  • Pricing is quoted against effective capacity after reduction, which means the price you signed depends on an assumption about your own data that only becomes measurable after deployment.
  • The platform has expanded into database and data catalogue functions, which broadens the roadmap but means buyers evaluating it as a file system must be careful not to be sold an adjacent product they will not use.
  • As a relatively young vendor in a market of long-lived incumbents, buyers with ten year retention requirements should press on long term support commitments and hardware availability rather than assume them.

Pricing, plan by plan

LucidLink

$7/month
  • Starter$7/month
    • 100GB included per member, pooled across the team
    • Additional storage $7 per 100GB per month
    • Client-side encryption
  • Business$32/month
    • $27 per member per month billed annually
    • 400GB included per member, pooled across the team
    • Additional storage $8 per 100GB per month
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom pricing and storage terms
    • Customer-managed encryption keys
    • Bring your own object storage bucket

VAST Data

On request
  • VAST Data Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced per usable capacity after data reduction
    • Hardware and software sold together or via certified partners
    • Subscription and capital purchase options

Which should you pick?

Choose LucidLink if

  • You need filespaces.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS.
  • You also want on-demand streaming.
LucidLink review

Choose VAST Data if

  • You need disaggregated architecture.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want similarity-based reduction.
VAST Data review

Questions people ask

Is LucidLink or VAST Data better?
Neither clearly leads. LucidLink starts at $7/month and VAST Data at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LucidLink or VAST Data?
LucidLink starts at $7/month and VAST Data at On request.
Does LucidLink or VAST Data run on more platforms?
LucidLink runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS. VAST Data runs on Linux.
What is LucidLink best used for?
LucidLink is most often used for a post house with editors in three countries cutting from one shared 4k rush library without shipping drives, a broadcaster giving freelancers access to a project for a fortnight without provisioning vpn and a nas mount, a game studio sharing multi-gigabyte asset builds where syncing every file to every workstation is impractical, an architecture practice opening large point cloud and bim files from a laptop on a hotel connection. Of those, a post house with editors in three countries cutting from one shared 4k rush library without shipping drives and a broadcaster giving freelancers access to a project for a fortnight without provisioning vpn and a nas mount are not what VAST Data is typically brought in for.
What can LucidLink do that VAST Data cannot?
LucidLink covers Filespaces, On-demand streaming, Client-side encryption, Customer-managed keys. VAST Data covers Disaggregated architecture, Similarity-based reduction, All-flash single tier, Multi-protocol access.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LucidLink: What does storage actually cost?

$7 per 100GB per month on Starter and $8 per 100GB per month on Business, above the pooled allowance. Model this separately from the seat cost.

VAST Data: Do we still need an archive tier?

That is the central claim, and it holds when your data reduces well. Run a reduction assessment on your actual dataset before accepting the economics.

LucidLink: Can we hold our own encryption keys?

On the Enterprise tier, yes, along with pointing the filespace at your own S3 or Azure bucket. Not on Starter or Business.

VAST Data: How is capacity priced?

On usable capacity after data reduction, quoted rather than published. That makes the reduction ratio assumption the most important number in the contract.

LucidLink: Does it work for source code?

Not well. It is built for large sequential reads. Many small files is the workload it handles worst.

VAST Data: Is it suitable for a small deployment?

No. There is a minimum cluster size and the entry cost reflects it. Small footprints are better served elsewhere.

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