Editing Storj (section)

= Setting up a Storj account  = 

Before we can start uploading and downloading to the Storj network, it is necessary to open an account on a Storj Satellite. The Satellite acts as an interface to the Storj network and manages all the complicated stuff in the background, making it completely painless for a user to start using the Storj network. 

== Registering an account via Satellite ([https://us1.storj.io/signup STORJ Signup]) ==

If you already have a Storj account, you can proceed directly to section 3.2.

To register a new account, click on the [https://app.storj.io/#/signup Sign Up link] (Figure 3.1). Once on the registration page, enter your email address and desired password, then click the check box to agree to the terms of service and finally click on "Sign Up" (Figure 3.2).


[[File:Signup.png|400pix|thumb|center|Figure 3.1. Satellite (storj.io) main Login window, click on "Sign Up".]]


Now check your email inbox and click on the account activation link sent to you by Storj. A web page should open with the account activation confirmation. Note that sometimes the email automatically gets moved to the spam/trash folder by some email providers, so if the email is not in the inbox, make sure to check the spam folder. Now
that the Satellite account is created, you can login (Figures 3.1) and you will be presented with your Satellite dashboard page.

== Configure billing to upload/download beyond the free tier limit ==

Currently the free tier for Storj renters is structured as follows:

*   '''Uploading limit''': 50GB/month.
*   '''Downloading limit''': 50GB/month.

(Data obtained from: [https://docs.storj.io/dcs/billing-payment-and-accounts-1/pricing Storj Billing]. If you want to upload or download beyond the free tier, a payment option can be added to the Billing tab of your account on [https://storj.io storj.io]. 


'''Payments options currently include:'''

* STORJ token

* Credit Card



Once your billing information is added, the free tier limit will be lifted and you will now be able to upload and download as much as you like/can afford!

''These are the current storage and bandwidth prices ('''they apply only after you exhausted your monthly free tier limits'''):''

*   '''Storage''' -> $4 per TB used per month
*   '''Download Bandwidth''' -> $7 per TB downloaded
*   '''Upload bandwidth''' -> free

This information was extracted from [https://storj.io/pricing pricing].


'''Important things to note regarding the billing structure:'''

* You only pay for the time span that your data was stored on the network, if you delete some of your files today you will not pay for them anymore tomorrow, '''you will stop getting charged for storage right after you delete the files'''.
* Your storage usage is added daily to your ''"Current Usage"'' in the billing section. However, if your billing method is by credit card, you will only be billed once per month (normally on the 22nd of every month). For pre-paid billing methods like STORJ token or BTC, your pre-paid balance will be reduced daily according to your usage but again actual amount deducted from your balance will be reconciled at the end of the billing cycle taking into account your free tier allotment.
* '''The free tier allotment is subtracted from your paid tier every month''', thus if you upload 100GB in a given month, you will only pay for 75GB (100GB – 25GB free tier) at the end of the billing cycle.