Blockchain Node Types: Full vs Light vs Archive Compared

Frequently Asked Questions

01.What is the storage requirement for an Ethereum full node in 2025?

A standard Ethereum full node requires approximately 2TB of high-speed NVMe SSD storage as of early 2025. SATA-based SSDs are no longer sufficient because they lack the IOPS required to keep up with the chain head during periods of high network activity.

02.Can I run a blockchain node on a consumer laptop?

Light clients are technically runnable on consumer laptops or even smartphones. However, running a full node on a laptop is not recommended for production because the intensive disk I/O and the need for 24/7 uptime will degrade both the laptop hardware and the node's sync quality over time.

03.How does running your own full node improve privacy compared to a public RPC provider?

Public RPC providers can log your IP address alongside every wallet address and transaction you query. Your own full node keeps all query data local, so no third party learns which addresses you monitor or the timing of your on-chain activity.

04.Why are optimized clients like Erigon and Reth significantly smaller than Geth archive nodes?

Erigon stores data in an MDBX database with advanced compression and a stage-sync architecture that eliminates redundant state storage. Reth, written in Rust, uses a high-performance columnar storage engine. Both approaches reduce archive node storage from over 14TB for legacy Geth to roughly 1.8TB for Erigon and 2.8TB for Reth.