Setting Up a Personal Blog Image Host: Qiniu Cloud 10GB Free Storage and Pricing Guide (2026)

One of the most common pitfalls for personal blogs and independent websites: running out of places to store images. Uploading directly to your server quickly strains disk space and bandwidth; relying on free public image hosts risks having all your images break if the service shuts down, turning your articles into a mosaic of broken image links. A more reliable approach is to maintain your own object storage bucket as an image host and file repository. This guide reviews QiNiu Cloud’s Kodo object storage: how much free monthly allowance you get, how pricing works once you exceed it, and what personal site owners must know in advance before using it as an image host.

1. What Object Storage (Image Host) Can Solve

QiNiu Cloud Kodo is a pay-as-you-go cloud storage bucket. Images, attachments, videos, and backup archives can all be uploaded and accessed via direct links. For individual developers and site owners, there are four common use cases:

• Blog/website image hosting: Route images through cloud storage + CDN distribution so they don’t consume your server’s bandwidth;
• Software/resource distribution: Reliable direct download links for installers, fonts, datasets, and other files;
• Data backups: Sync your website database, phone photos, and NAS backups to the cloud, with archive storage as low as $0.004/GB/month;
• Audio/video and AI applications: Host short videos and audio, or provide direct file links for AI apps and bots.

Additionally, QiNiu Cloud offers more than just storage. CDN acceleration, cloud servers, SSL certificates, and their recently promoted AI large model inference services are all available under a single account. Complete one real-name verification and you’re set.

2. Free Monthly Allowance: Effectively Free for Light Personal Use

Unlike many providers that offer a one-time new-user bonus, QiNiu Cloud Kodo’s standard storage free tier is issued monthly (automatically credited once real-name verification is complete):

• Standard storage: 10 GB/month;
• CDN origin pull traffic: 10 GB/month;
• Upload traffic: unlimited;
• Write requests (PUT/DELETE): 100,000/month;
• Read requests (GET): 1,000,000/month.

Estimating typical image-host usage: one compressed 200 KB blog image means 10 GB can hold roughly 50,000 images. Even if you publish 10 new images daily, the annual increase is only a few GB. The free allowance will last indefinitely—this is a permanent free tier.

3. Pricing After Exceeding the Free Tier

The free allowance is consumed first; anything beyond that is pay-as-you-go (using East China region’s first-tier pricing as an example):

• Standard storage: 0.115 RMB/GB/month; Infrequent Access 0.075, Archive 0.028, Deep Archive 0.012 RMB/GB/month—cold backups are very cheap;
• Public internet egress traffic: starting at 0.26 RMB/GB (for the first 100 TB);
• Request fees: Standard read/write at 0.01 RMB per 10,000 requests;
• New-customer discount: Register through the official promotions page for object storage at up to 90% off, with annual-paid storage resource packages as low as about 0.0886 RMB/GB/month;
• AI bonus: New customers get 12 million free AI model tokens; inviting a friend earns both parties an additional 5 million tokens. If you have any AI app needs, this adds up quickly.

For light personal image-host usage (a few GB of storage and a few GB of traffic per month), bills typically range from a few cents to a few dollars. The main cost driver is public internet egress traffic, so set up traffic alerts if you plan to distribute files.

4. Pitfalls of Using QiNiu Cloud as an Image Host: A Verified Domain Is Required

This is the most frequently reported issue when searching “QiNiu Cloud image host.” Let’s clarify it upfront:

• New spaces come with a test domain that expires after 30 days. Once reclaimed, all previously uploaded image links break;
• For formal use, you must bind a custom domain, and domestic CDN-accelerated domains require ICP filing—so this solution suits site owners/bloggers who already have a filed domain;
• Alternative for those without a filed domain: Use object storage as a private backup/resource bucket (generate temporary share links from the console) and switch to another image-host option that doesn’t require domain verification.

The setup is straightforward: after registration, create a Kodo bucket in the console → bind your verified domain → enter your credentials in an image-hosting tool like PicGo, and screenshots will upload automatically with links generated on the fly.

5. Getting Started

1. Sign up at the QiNiu Cloud official website, complete real-name verification, and your free allowance will be credited automatically;

2. Create a new Kodo bucket in the console and select the region closest to your readers (e.g., East China, South China);

3. Bind your verified custom domain, or use the test domain for a 30-day trial;

4. Configure your image-hosting tool (PicGo, ShareX, etc.) with your AccessKey, and upload as usual.

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Disclaimer: This article was compiled by AI based on official public documentation, data current as of 2026-09-16; pricing and allowances are subject to the official website’s live pages. The links herein contain affiliate relationships, disclosed transparently.