Source-backed analysis11
Review basis
Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.
11 reference sourcesInformation updated Nov 10, 2026
How we review
Internet Archive Review
Nonprofit digital library: Wayback Machine, books, audio, video, software
By AppDuo Editorial Team · Updated
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Browser extension
- API
On this page
Decide at a glance
Our verdict
With more than a trillion archived pages, the Wayback Machine is a free and valuable tool for journalists, researchers and Wikipedia editors. The trade-offs are a record of outages, a book-lending service narrowed by lawsuits, and low user ratings on Trustpilot and the App Store.
Best for: People who need to see an old version of a web page or verify a citation
Skip it if: Anyone needing a service with uptime guarantees
Pros
- The Wayback Machine passed one trillion archived web pages in October 2025
- Free for individuals, with browser extensions, mobile apps and public APIs
- Wide collection: books, audio, video, images, software and US government web pages
Cons
- Trustpilot reviewers report server errors, 429/502 responses and rate limits
- A 2024 breach of 31 million accounts, followed by DDoS attacks that took the site down for five days
All pros and cons · Who is it for?
Pros
- A 501(c)(3) nonprofit since 1996, funded by donations and grants
Cons
- The iOS app is rated 2.2/5 and has not been updated since 2023
Best for
- People looking for discontinued software, books, audio or older documents
- Libraries, schools and organisations that want to preserve their own content via Archive-It
Skip it if
- Anyone who wants to save a whole site in bulk using Save Page Now alone
Problems it solves
Experience & key features
What it is
Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Brewster Kahle on 10 May 1996 and based in San Francisco, with the mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It is best known for the Wayback Machine, opened to the public in 2001. It also hosts books, audio, video, images, software and Open Library.
How it works
The Wayback Machine takes snapshots of web pages over time. To save a page, users enter its URL in Save Page Now, which keeps images and CSS but not outlinks. Extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, plus iOS and Android apps, do the same job. Crawling a whole site requires Archive-It, a paid subscription for organisations. The help page also notes that some sites prohibit crawling, so not every page can be saved.
Cost and funding
Individuals pay nothing. According to Wikipedia the organisation relies on donations, grants, partnerships and web-crawling services such as Archive-It; its Form 990 data show $26.8 million revenue in 2024. Internet Archive's own post on the trillion-page milestone mentions 200,000 unique donors.
More analysis
Risks and limits
Internet Archive lost the Hachette lawsuit over digital book lending: the district court ruled for the publishers in March 2023, and on 4 September 2024 the Second Circuit upheld the rejection of its fair-use defence. In October 2024 attackers defaced the site and knocked it offline with DDoS attacks. Trustpilot reviewers also cite server errors, removed content and unanswered emails. Wikipedia reports that by February 2026 some news publishers, including The Guardian and The New York Times, had begun blocking the Wayback Machine over concerns about AI scraping of captures.
Versus alternatives
Wikipedia is a community-written encyclopedia, while Internet Archive keeps original copies. The two complement each other: per the official post, the Archive has used the Wayback Machine to fix more than 28 million broken Wikipedia links. No other service covered here archives the web at a comparable scale.
Screenshots
Plans & pricing
Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026
Free
PersonalFree
Browsing, downloading and saving pages to the Wayback Machine is free. Archive-It is a separate paid subscription for organisations, with technical and web-archivist support; the help page does not list a price.
- Free plan limits
- Everything aimed at individuals is free. Save Page Now saves a single page at a time and cannot crawl a whole site. Wikipedia notes that since October 2019 users have been limited to 15 archival requests and retrievals per minute.
- Free trial
- No free trial
Cancellation & refunds
There is no paid plan for individuals, so refunds do not apply. The nonprofit is funded by donations, grants and services such as Archive-It.
Privacy
The help centre says the Archive does not keep the IP address of people who submit pages through Save Page Now, so submissions are anonymous. Another help page states that archive.org does not use tracking cookies and that, in most cases, its servers log only a truncated hash of the IP combined with a daily key rather than the IP itself. Reading and downloading public content needs no account. The major mark against it is the 2024 breach: Wikipedia reports that about 31 million accounts had their email addresses and bcrypt-hashed passwords stolen.
Internet Archive alternatives
Frequently asked questions
Is Internet Archive free?
Yes, it is free for individuals. Only Archive-It, the web-crawling service for organisations, is a separate paid subscription.
How do I save a page to the Wayback Machine?
Enter the URL in the Save Page Now box at archive.org/web, or use a browser extension or the iOS or Android app. Only one page is saved at a time.
Can a site owner ask for removal?
Yes. Email [email protected] with the URLs and the period to exclude. The help page makes no promise about the outcome in advance. Copyright claims go through the separate Copyright Policy.
Has account data ever been exposed?
Yes. According to Wikipedia, a 2024 breach exposed the email addresses and bcrypt-hashed passwords of about 31 million accounts.
Review evidence & sources11
Scores
- Ease of use
- 6.5
- Features
- 8.6
- Value for money
- 9.0
- Performance
- 5.5
- Support
- 5.5
- Privacy & security
- 6.0
Why this score
Saving a page is quick: paste a URL into Save Page Now or click the extension. But Trustpilot reviews criticise search within the collection, and the iOS app is rated just 2.2/5. The interface is English-only.
Why this score
Web captures since 1996, Save Page Now, three public APIs (SavePageNow, Availability, CDX), Archive-It, Open Library and a multimedia collection; few services match the scope. Held below 9 because book lending was narrowed after the Hachette case and some news publishers now block the Wayback Machine.
Why this score
Free for individuals; no paid plan is needed for the main features.
Why this score
The site went down after the October 2024 attacks and ran read-only, with Save Page Now disabled, from 14 October to 4 November; it went offline again after the 18 November 2025 Cloudflare disruption. Trustpilot also has many complaints about 429/502 errors.
Why this score
There is a help centre and email, but Trustpilot reviewers describe unanswered or unhelpful replies; no chat or phone channel was found.
Why this score
No tracking cookies, hashed rather than raw IP logging and no IP retention for Save Page Now, but the 2024 breach of 31 million accounts weighs heavily against it.
What users say
- Google Play (United States) - Wayback Machine3.6/5 · 1,125
- Trustpilot (Internet Archive)2.7/5 · 84
- App Store (United States) - Wayback Machine2.2/5 · 290
Sources
- Vendor-providedInternet Archive blog: one trillion web pagesNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedHelp Center: Save pages in the Wayback MachineNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedHelp Center: removal requestsNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedHelp Center: What is a view? (cookies and IP logging)Nov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedInternet Archive Help CenterNov 10, 2026
- Community-reportedWikipedia: Internet ArchiveNov 10, 2026
- Community-reportedWikipedia: Wayback MachineNov 10, 2026
- storeApp Store: Wayback MachineNov 10, 2026
- storeGoogle Play: Wayback MachineNov 10, 2026
- review-siteTrustpilot: Internet ArchiveNov 10, 2026
- pressCopyright Alliance: Second Circuit ruling (2024-09-06)Nov 10, 2026
Specs & compatibility
- Developer
- Internet Archive
- Headquarters
- United States
- Launched
- 1996
- Category
- Community
Capabilities
- Public API
- Mobile app
- Integrations
Platforms
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Browser extension
- API
Interface languages
- English
Integrations
- Wikipedia
- WordPress (Wayback Machine Link Fixer)
Support
- Help center
Change history
- Feature.A celebration in San Francisco marks the Wayback Machine passing one trillion archived web pages.
- Update.The music labels' lawsuit over the Great 78 Project is settled.
- Update.A DDoS attack takes the site down as the breach of about 31 million accounts, which dated from September, becomes public. The site returns read-only on 14 October, with Save Page Now disabled until 4 November.
Full change history (8)
- Update.The Second Circuit affirms the rejection of Internet Archive's fair-use defence.
- Update.A court rules for the publishers in Hachette v. Internet Archive over digital book lending.
- Feature.Save Page Now is introduced, letting anyone archive a URL and get a permanent link.
- Launch.The Wayback Machine launches to the public.
- Launch.Brewster Kahle founds Internet Archive as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
About the author
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