The Best Free and Paid Cloud Storage Services

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When it comes to your important data, you should always have a backup. And then a backup of that backup. Cloud storage services shouldn't be your whole strategy here, but they can help with that. Sometimes, you just don't have enough physical space to store all the photos you've taken over your life, or all your ebooks and work documents. Plus, there is the convenience factor of syncing your files between all the devices that you use, so that a document you drafted up on your iPad can instantly show up on your Mac or your Windows PC.

That said, picking a cloud storage service isn't as easy as it used to be. Now that so much of our cloud usage is tied to platforms and ecosystems, your cloud service will really depend on the devices you use.

Google One

If you're all in on the Android or Google ecosystem, Google One would be the best plan for you. With every Google account, you get 15GB storage for free that's distributed between services like Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. But you can add more storage at just $.99 a month for 100GB and $2.99 for 200GB.

With Google One, your Photos are backed up to Google automatically, you're able to upload and share large files on Google Drive, and you won't have to worry about running out of storage in Gmail. Google Drive's web app is solid, and there are desktop app options too. Plus, the per TB rates are quite competitive, and even cheaper than Microsoft's.

The 2 TB Premium plan might be best for most users. It's $10 per month, or $100 per year, and supports family sharing (as do the cheaper plans). Plus, you get 10% back on purchases from the Google Store and Google Workspace Premium. If 2TB isn't enough, you can add additional storage all the way up to 30TB, though at a cost of up to $150/year.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft’s policy of stuffing every possible value-added service into a single plan is still going strong. This is why Microsoft 365 is so popular with businesses. A single plan provides you with access to the entire Office suite and Microsoft Teams for Enterprise, shared with multiple users. Every user gets 5GB OneDrive storage for free, and a Microsoft 365 subscription boosts that up to 1TB. Sadly, unlike with Google One, there are no plans in between these options.

While 365's enterprise offerings are popular, the Microsoft 365 Family plan offers a similar package for individuals. This plan supports all the paid Office apps, Copilot AI, and 6TB of storage space, split across 6 accounts, making it a great deal for family users, or for splitting with your friends. It costs $12.99 per month, or $129.99 per year.

If you don't want to use multiple accounts, the per TB value for a single account at $9.99/month doesn't make the most sense. In that case, it's better to look at alternatives.

iDrive

iDrive is a popular choice when it comes to data backups, or storing copies of whole drives on the cloud. But while it's not a pure storage solution, its file sharing and collaboration features make it competitive with the other choices on this list. The service provides a generous 10GB plan for free.

A downside is there's no productivity suite built-in here, since individual files aren't really the focus with this service, but a benefit to the backup mindset is that iDrive does provide end-to-end encryption, although it needs to be enabled by the user. And if you forget your encryption key, you’ll lose access to all your files.

Still, you can use iDrive to upload data from your computer, and you can share it with others. The 5TB plan will cost you $69.96 for the first year. There’s also a 10TB plan for $105 for the first year.

Proton Unlimited

If what you're looking for is security, and you don't need a lot of features, Proton might be for you. The Proton Unlimited plan gives you access to Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Docs, and gives you 500GB of storage space for either $12.99 per month or $120 per year. The 1TB Proton Duo plan will cost you $15 per month instead. When it comes to free storage, Proton only offers 1GB space for free users.

That's more expensive than established cloud syncing services, but what Proton offers you is extra peace of mind. You get encrypted storage, and no one, including Proton, has access to your files. Plus, the company is based in Switzerland, so strict Swiss privacy rules and laws apply here.

Sync

Sync offers a dependable cloud storage alternative to the big companies. It keeps things extremely simple. It's just about storing and syncing files between devices and between different platforms. There are on add-ons, no mail accounts, no document apps, nothing. Like the good-old days of Dropbox.

The free plan gives you 5GB space, and you get 2TB storage for $96/year, which is around the same price as iCloud+ or Google Drive. Here, you get client-side encryption, so Sync can't access your data. Sync offers simple and lightweight apps for Mac and Windows and there are mobile clients, too. Anything you transfer to the Sync folder on your device will show up in your Sync account instantly. There are no file limits here, too. Now that Dropbox has become so bloated (more on that later), Sync offers a simpler alternative that is easy to use.

pCloud

pCloud is another secure cloud backup provider that has two things going for it. The first is that it offers 10GB of storage space for free—this is way more than most of its competitors. Second is that it offers lifetime cloud storage for a one-time fee. This is a good choice for users who don’t like paying a monthly fee. 

At time of writing, you can get 500GB space for $199 and 2TB storage space for $399. pCloud also has annual plans, but at $99 per year for 2TB storage space, it’s not something I would recommend (you can get a Google One or iCloud+ plans for the same rate).

iCloud+

iCloud+ is designed for users in the Apple ecosystem, which is where it makes the most sense. iCloud+ is useful not just as a storage service, but it's where users' settings and device data are backed up, too. If you're all-in on the Apple ecosystem, it might make sense to use iCloud+ as your default cloud storage provider, as it makes it easy to sync photos, videos, and documents from your Mac. iCloud+ is another service that focuses highly on privacy, offering end-to-end encryption.

A free iCloud account gets you 5GB storage, and Cloud+ offers flexible plans, too, starting at $0.99 for 50GB storage. The 2TB plan for $9.99 per month or $99 per year might be the sweet spot for most users, as it comes with family sharing (the 200GB plan can be shared with family as well). Though, I wouldn't recommend iCloud+ if you're even slightly cross-platform, or you want to frequently access files from the web browser, as the Windows app and the iCloud+ website are not great, especially when compared to the rivals on this list.

Why I don't recommend Dropbox

One name that's missing from this list is Dropbox. In the previous decade, Dropbox became the go-to option for simple, cross-platform storage that didn't cost a king's ransom, or even anything at all. Now, a free Dropbox account can only run on three devices, is limited to 2GB data, and has lower transfer speeds compared to their paid plans.

The app has also pivoted to being more business focused, with lots of support for third-party integration. Its storage plans are no longer the cheapest or the most varied. The 2TB plan costs $11.99/month while both iCloud and Google One are cheaper.

The simple-to-use aspect is gone as well. The Mac app, for example, has faced so many issues with reliability that we recommend you use a third-party app instead. Combine all these issues, and it no longer makes sense to use Dropbox in a personal capacity.