How Qortium compares
Qortium is a complete internet platform. Here's how it lines up against Qortal — its closest relative — and the broad kinds of platforms people compare it to.
By decentralized platform we mean another decentralized or federated network — broader than a coin, but usually narrower than Qortium or split across separate servers; crypto coin, a chain built mainly around a currency (private or not); company platform, a whole suite of apps run by a single company.
| Qortium | Qortal | Decentralized platform | Crypto coin | Company platform | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A complete internet platform | A complete internet platform | A decentralized or federated network | Mainly a digital currency | A whole suite of apps from one company |
| What you do with it | Post, message, publish sites & apps, store files | Much the same | Often one area, like social or messaging | Send and hold value | A lot — but all within one company's walls |
| Connecting & IP privacy | Works behind a blocking router; can route through I2P to hide your IP | Node’s IP is visible to peers; needs a reachable node | Varies | Usually visible; some privacy chains | They see your IP and location |
| Who runs it | Anyone running a node — no company | Anyone running a node | Separate servers run by volunteers | Anyone running a node | The company's servers |
| Can you be banned or censored? | No — you choose what you see | No | Your server's admin can; you can switch servers | Payments are hard to block | Yes — one ban can lock you out of all of it |
| Who decides its direction | The community; open voting is being built | Its community and developers | The project, or each server on its own | Core developers and big holders | The company and its investors |
| Do you need to buy a coin? | No coin by default | Uses its QORT coin | Usually no; some use a token | Yes — the coin is the point | You pay with money or your data |
| Your content and name | Yours — portable, and you can delete it | Yours | Often tied to the server you joined | — | They hold it and set the rules |
| How far along it is | Preview (Previewnet), still being shaped | Live for years | Some are well-established | Many are long-established | Established |
| Names | Choose and change your name anytime | First name is fixed; more names lock it | A handle tied to your server | — | A username they can reclaim |
| Selling names | Private sale to one person, or gift it — no sniping | Public sales — anyone can buy first | — | — | — |
| Apps per name | Many, each with its own icon | About one or two | — | — | — |
| Groups | Rename and sell, even privately | Fixed names, can't be sold | — | — | — |
| Content ratings | Built into the core, so the best rises | Limited, built on top of polls | Rarely built in | — | The company's algorithm decides |
| Account reputation | On-chain ratings adjust vote and mint weight; resists fakes | Sponsorship and minting levels | Per server, if any | — | Internal, if any |
| When you enter your password | Only when your key is needed to sign — reading needs none | At app start, before anything | Login per server | Unlock to send | They hold your login; password stored on their servers |
| Using several accounts | A different account per tab, all at once | One per app — run separate copies | Usually one per server or app | Many addresses in one wallet | Account switching, but they see all of it |
| Updates | Off by default; community-approved | Approved by its developer group | Each server updates itself | Depends on the chain | Pushed by the company |
| Private group chat | Auto-encrypted, no keys to manage | Encrypts in-app; shares keys over its network | Sometimes end-to-end encrypted | — | The company can often read it |
| Chat history | Keep it as long as you want (default ~a day) | Dropped after about a day | Held by your server | — | Stored on their servers |
Each of these has its strengths — a currency chain at moving value, other decentralized networks within their own corner. Qortium's aim is to bring the everyday things you go online for into one community-run platform: broad like a company's suite, but with no company in charge and no patchwork of separate servers. It can take on more advanced features over time; the focus now is the foundation and the community that steers it.