Storage options

Choose the right type of storage for your Pods.

Pods offer three storage types optimized for different use cases. Choose based on your data persistence, performance, and sharing needs.

Comparison

	Container disk	Volume disk	Network volume
Persistence	Lost on stop/restart	Retained until Pod deleted	Retained independently
Mount path	System-managed	/workspace (default)	/workspace (replaces volume disk)
Performance	Fastest (local)	Fast (local)	Variable (network)
Shareable	No	No	Yes (across Pods)
Resizable	Yes	Increase only	Yes
Cost	$0.10/GB/month	$0.10/GB/month (running)	$0.07/GB/month
		$0.20/GB/month (stopped)
Best for	OS, temp files, cache	Models, datasets, checkpoints	Shared data, portable storage

Container disk

The container disk provides temporary storage for the operating system and session data. It’s created when a launches and is cleared when the Pod stops. Use it for temporary files, caches, and data that doesn’t need to persist between sessions.

Volume disk

The volume disk provides persistent storage that is retained throughout the Pod’s lease. Data stored in the /workspace directory survives Pod stops and restarts, but is deleted when the Pod is terminated. This is ideal for storing models, datasets, and checkpoints that you need to access across multiple sessions.

Encrypted volumes

You can encrypt your volume disk to protect sensitive data. When encryption is enabled, the volume is encrypted at rest on the host machine, and only your Pod can access the data.

To enable encryption when creating a Pod:

• Web interface: Select the Encrypt volume checkbox in the Pod creation flow.
• API: Pass a volumeKey parameter to the Pod creation mutation (podFindAndDeployOnDemand, podRentInterruptable, or similar). The key must be alphanumeric and between 1-30 characters.

Your encryption key cannot be retrieved, and bring your own key is not supported. Runpod securely stores your key and passes it only to your container image at runtime.

Encryption applies to volume disk and network volumes. Container disk cannot be encrypted.

Network volume

Network volumes provide permanent storage that exists independently from any Pod. You can attach a network volume to multiple Pods, transfer it between machines, and retain your data even after deleting a Pod. This makes network volumes ideal for shared datasets, collaborative workflows, and portable storage.

Learn more about network volumes.

Network volumes must be attached during Pod creation and cannot be detached later. When attached, the network volume replaces the volume disk at /workspace.

Modify storage capacity

You can adjust your Pod’s storage capacity at any time:

1. Navigate to the Pods page.
2. Click the three dots next to your Pod and select Edit Pod.
3. Adjust the container or volume disk size. Note that volume disk size can only be increased, not decreased.
4. Click Save to apply your changes.

Editing a running Pod resets it completely, erasing all data that isn’t stored in your /workspace directory.

Transfer data

You can export data from your Pod to external cloud providers including AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure, and Dropbox. Click the Cloud Sync button on the Pod page to get started. For detailed instructions, see Export data.

Runpod is not designed for long-term cloud storage. We recommend backing up critical data to your local machine or a dedicated cloud storage provider.

Next steps

Create a network volume

Learn how to set up portable, persistent storage for your Pods.

Transfer files

Learn how to move data to and from your Pod.