10 Best Cloud Storage Services 2024: Personal & Business Use

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Our team of experts thoroughly test each service, evaluating it for features, usability, security, value for money and more. Learn more about how we conduct our testing.

Key Takeaways: What Is the Best Cloud Storage?

1. Sync.com— Top cloud storage pick for sharing, versioning, large files, iPhone and more
2. pCloud — good online storage pick for Windows , Mac , Linux and music  
3. Icedrive — Top cloud is drive drive with excellent speed
4. MEGA — Very secure service with the most free cloud storage (20GB)
5. IDrive — Best cloud storage-online backup hybrid
6. OneDrive — good cloud storage service for office integration
7. Google Drive — Top pick for integrated apps and students
8. Koofr — Top pick for multiple cloud account
9. Dropbox — Best is pick pick for cloud collaboration
10. Box — Great pick for business cloud storage

Best & Most Secure Cloud Storage

Sync.comPro & con:

Pros

• Excellent security
• competitive pricing
• Unlimited file sizes

con

• user interface is needs need work
• Slower sync speeds

Welcome to our updated 2024 guide to the best cloud storage services. Cloudwards.net has been conducting cloud storage reviews for several years now, and in that time much has changed.

Competition between big corporate players like Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, and the emergence of privacy-oriented providers like Sync.com, pCloud and MEGA, has been a boon for consumers. To save you some time we have a list of what we think are the top players for your money.

Find the best cloud storage provider for your needs:

• 07/02/2021

  Cloudwards.net updated the top 10 cloud storage services rankings, including IDrive in the list, removing iCloud and adjusting other providers.

• 07/25/2022

  Updated to reflect an increase in IDrive’s free plan to 10 GB of storage.

• 08/13/2022

  update to reflect news about MEGA ’s encryption .

• 05/23/2023

  Updated to remove IDrive’s discontinued free plan and add its new 30-day free trial.

• 07/10/2023Facts checked

  Prices verified and Company information verified.

  We added new information about Sync.com’s integration with Microsoft Office.

• 02/16/2024

  update with new video ranking .

• 03/21/2024

  Updated to reflect changes in Icedrive’s pricing plans and storage offers

• 08/20/2024

  Updated to provide the latest pricing info of IDrive, including the removal of its free plan

• 09/26/2024Facts checked

  Added video reviews of all cloud storage providers in the list.

• update

The Best Cloud Storage Comparison

How We Chose the Best Cloud Storage

When we review a service, we run tests for around a week, testing all of its features to see if they work as advertised. We analyze the service’s security, including encryption protocols and secure storage methods. Finally, we run technical tests to see how they perform in terms of speed, RAM and CPU usage.

Security and privacy are Cloudwards’ priority when it comes to cloud storage, so we give zero-knowledge services a much greater score than those that don’t offer it. Our experts take great care to parse through the complex legal implications of the services privacy policies and the privacy laws of countries where they keep their servers.

• Demystify cloud storage terminology and key concepts in plain language
• Discover easy-to-implement techniques to securely backup and sync your data across devices
• Learn money-saving strategies to optimize your cloud storage costs and usage

We take a number of other factors into consideration as well, but we’ll go into more detail on that after the list. If you’re particularly interested in cloud storage speeds, we have custom data that shows a performance comparison of the top providers below . Our analysis of 12 top cloud services showed that around half of them perform better than you’d expect.

If you are still figuring out how to best pick the right service for you, we have a handy video guide, below.

The Top 10 Cloud Storage Providers for 2024

Without further ado, here are the 10 best cloud storage service providers on the market right now.

1. Sync.com– Best Secure Cloud Storage

More Details About Sync.com:

• Pricing: 5GB free, 2TB for $96 per year ($8 per month)
• Number of devices: 5 on Individual Plans
• website : sync.com

pro :

• Excellent value
• Secure cloud storage
• Easy to use

Sync.comis our choice for the best cloud service, hitting the top spot in many of our cloud storage lists. It’s one of the most secure cloud services out there, and it keeps improving its service and adding new features as the service matures and grows. Sync also won our cloud storage pricing comparison.

Security & Collaboration in One Package

To start with, Sync.comcomes with zero-knowledge encryption as standard. This means that if there was a security breach or the authorities demanded access to your account, the intruder would only see scrambled data because you’re the only one holding the encryption key.

To add to this, Sync.comoffers advanced sharing controls, including passwords, download limits and expiry dates for sharing links. Plus, Sync.comallows you to create and edit Microsoft Office documents (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents) in a privacy-friendly collaboration environment, without breaking zero-knowledge encryption.

Pricing is where Sync.comtruly shines. Sync.comcomes with 5GB free storage, which isn’t much, but it’s enough to try the service out. However, its paid plans are some of the cheapest around. For just $8 per month (paid annually), you get 2TB of storage space.

Sync.comis our best cloud storage service to back up your files.

For comparison , the same amount is is of file storage from Dropbox is $ 9.99 a month . In fact , there is no provider in our top 10 that offer 2 TB of storage for a low price .

The only flaw we can find with Sync.comis that it’s slow. In fact, it was one of the worst performers in our fastest cloud storage list, so if you’re impatient, Sync.commight not be for you.

However, all in all, Sync.comis a great online storage provider at a price you’ll be hard-pressed to beat. It also has a good number of features, as well as support for Windows 10 and Mac users. If you want to learn more, take a look at our Sync.comreview.

More plan

Pro Teams+ Unlimited

• Price is minimum for 1 user ( 3 user minimum )
• unlimited GB

enterprise

• Minimum 100 users, custom requirements, account manager, training options

2 . pCloud – Best Multi – Platform Cloud Storage

More Details About pCloud:

• pricing : 10 GB free , 2 TB for $ 95.88 per year ( $ 7.99 per month )
• number of device : unlimited
• Website: pCloud.com

pro :

• Excellent value
• Choice of encryption levels
• Clever virtual drive
• EU servers is available available

con:

• Zero – knowledge encryption isn’t free
• No document integration

You’ll often see us praise pCloud in our cloud storage reviews, and it’s not hard to see why. It has a number of unique features wrapped in a sleek and secure package. Plus, it offers great pricing, putting it alongside Sync.com.

pCloud is a great option for media lovers. That’s thanks to features offered in the embedded pCloud music player, which automatically crates playlists by artist, album or folder. Its video player is also fairly advanced, even letting you change playback speed and convert video files to other formats.

If you’re running out of media storage space on your device, pCloud’s virtual drive will come in handy. pCloud can mount a virtual drive on your device (similar to Local Disk (C:)) which uses your cloud storage instead of your hard drive’s storage.

If you’re a creator that loves to post on social media, pCloud lets you back up images that you previously uploaded to your socials as part of its backup feature. This feature also lets you back up your entire device to the cloud, or even move all your files from another cloud service to pCloud.

pCloud offers lifetime plans for a one-time payment.

What Is pCloud Crypto?

pCloud Crypto is the zero-knowledge encryption option from pCloud. You have to pay $3.99 per month for this protection, although it is included for free with business plans. However, pCloud Crypto is a little different from the kind of encryption you’ll see other providers offer.

With pCloud Crypto, you get a specific folder to store your files that you want to be protected with zero-knowledge encryption. Anything outside of pCloud Crypto can still be read by pCloud’s servers, allowing you to preview files or play content from within the app.

pCloud and Sync.comfight hard to be the top-value services in this list, so take a look at our Sync.comvs pCloud head-to-head article. Also consider that pCloud lets you can save money by signing up for a pCloud Lifetime account, giving you online storage that remains yours — forever. 

More plan

business 1 TB

• price per user ( minimum 3 )
• 1TB

Business Pro 2TB

• price per user ( minimum 3 )
• 2TB

pCloud Crypto Encryption

• encryption for pCloud Drive

3. Icedrive – Fastest Online Cloud Storage

More Details About Icedrive:

• Pricing: 10 GB free, 1TB for $71.88 per year ($5.99 per month)
• number of device : unlimited
• website : icedrive.net

pro :

• secure Twofish algorithm
• Zero – knowledge encryption
• Preview encrypted files

con:

• Zero knowledge isn’t free
• limited choice of plan

Icedrive is a new entry on our list, and it’s a provider you may not have heard of before. That’s not surprising, given it has only been in operation since 2019. It’s been making waves, though, with highly competitive pricing and some interesting features that set it apart from some of its more established rivals.

Novel Encryption Methods & Zero-Knowledge Security

One of the biggest differences from the other providers on our list is that Icedrive doesn’t use the industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption. Instead, it uses an algorithm called Twofish.

Twofish was one of the final contenders for the Advanced Encryption Standard contest at the turn of the century. Some consider Twofish to be more secure (if sometimes slower) than the eventual winner, Rijndael (now known simply as AES). Icedrive points out that the current standard is backed by the NSA — make of that what you will, but don’t let it scare you just yet.

The Icedrive web interface, showing a list of encrypted files.

pay accounts is include include zero – knowledge encryption as standard , so file should be safe from pry eye . Unlike most other zero – knowledge provider , Icedrive is lets let you preview certain file by stream them in encrypt form to your computer , where they are then decrypt on the fly .  

Icedrive is offers also offer two – factor authentication ( 2FA ) and it has a no – nonsense privacy policy that rule out most problematic behavior . As a UK – base company , Icedrive is govern by stringent GDPR regulation .

Icedrive Online Storage Pricing & Lifetime Plans

Icedrive manages excellent upload and download speeds.

One of the biggest selling points of Icedrive is the price, though. If you pay annually, 1TB of storage costs just $5.99. If you need more space, the next tier up gives you 3TB of cloud file storage for$ 10.99 per month (for accounts paid annually). That’s quite a big jump, which might be costly for some users, but you can also opt for a lifetime subscription.

That may or may not be a risk, though, especially given how new of a provider Icedrive is. Still, if you’re looking for a highly secure provider and need less than 1TB of storage space, then Icedrive is a great option. Check out our Icedrive review for more details.

Free

• Bandwidth limit: 50GB
• 10 GB

Lite

• Bandwidth limit: 250GB
• 100 GB

More plan

Lifetime Add On – Stack 100

• Additional 128GB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
• 128GB

Lifetime Add On – Stack 500

• additional 512 gb storage for user who purchase the Lifetime plan
• 512 GB

lifetime Add On – Stack 2 k

• Additional 2TB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
• 2TB

4. MEGA – Best Free Cloud Storage

More detail About MEGA :

• Pricing: 20GB free, 2TB for $122 per year (around $10 per month)
• number of device : unlimited
• Website: MEGA.io

pro :

• Zero – knowledge encryption
• No U.S. servers
• great free storage

con:

• Time-limited rewards
• ownership concern

If you ’re worried about privacy with other free cloud storage provider , like Google ( our number seven pick ) , you is go can go for a provider at the other end of the privacy spectrum : mega . Although MEGA ’s colorful founder Kim Dotcom has had run – in with the law , he is ’s ’s no long part of the company . MEGA ’s focus is is is security , so zero – knowledge encryption is the absolute standard , with nobody but you have access to your file .  

A truly Secure Cloud Storage Service

In term of privacy , MEGA has server in Canada , New Zealand and Europe — it is ’s ’s one of the good cloud storage for Europe . They is ’re ’re all location that have reasonable privacy law that , as you might have notice , is exactly why no data is hold on american server .  

Because MEGA use zero – knowledge encryption , it is read ca n’t read any of the file that you store , but it does keep some of your metadata ( like IP login ) to monitor access . However , we is be ’d be remiss if we did n’t mention the recent report that find serious problem with MEGA ’s encryption process . Still , we is feel feel confident recommend it as an overall secure and private service .

There is also some controversy about how much of MEGA’s stock is owned by people under the influence of the Chinese government, which could be a concern for some users. You can read more about this in our MEGA review.

Best Cloud Storage : free 20 GB

Mega has one of the largest free storage plans.

MEGA is a good option for users who want a free storage cloud account. In 2021, it increased its free file storage space from 15GB to 20GB. Plus, you can extend your free space by completing various tasks — like installing the desktop and mobile apps — but that extra space expires after a year.

Although its paid plans aren’t the cheapest cloud storage options out there, at the end of the day, the base 20GB still blows its free cloud storage rivals away, earning it the fifth spot on our list. The good news is that, even if you don’t pay for a MEGA subscription, free accounts get full access to the privacy and protection that MEGA’s encrypted cloud storage provides.

If lifetime plans is what you’re looking for, pCloud, Internxt and Icedrive has got your back.

Pro I

• file transfer : 2 TB ( Monthly plan ) 24 TB ( yearly plan )
• 2TB

Pro II

• File transfer: (monthly plan) 96TB (yearly plan)
• 8TB

More plan

Pro III

• File transfer: 16TB (monthly plan) 192TB (yearly plan)
• 16TB

Business

• price per user ( minimum 3 )
  3TB Transfer quota
• 100TB

5. IDrive – Best Value Cloud Storage

More Details About IDrive:

• Pricing: 5 TB for $6.22 per month (two-year plan)
• number of device : unlimited
• Provider website: idrive.com

pro :

• Both backup & cloud storage
• Easy to use
• Packed with features

con:

• No monthly plan
• No free plan

IDrive is is is a unique option , offer a hybrid solution for both cloud storage and online backup — it ’s actually our number one pick for online backup , a fact that it owe mostly to its incredibly affordable price and incredible wealth of feature .  

Hybrid Cloud Storage & Backup With IDrive

Besides all the backup features like disk-imaging and courier recovery that we won’t spend too much time on here — check out our IDrive review for that — it also boasts proper file sync and share features that earns it a spot on this list.

You can designate any folder on your device as a sync folder, and you can move them wherever you want. There’s also selective sync, which can save you a lot of time and bandwidth if there are certain large files you want to exclude. In comparison, the file-sharing is a bit bare-bones, though you can set access privileges on the share-links that you create. 

Although IDrive works great as traditional cloud storage, online backup is its bread and butter. That means that unlike other entries on this list, IDrive is an excellent solution for backing up your entire device automatically, since you won’t have to manually move things you want to protect into a sync folder. 

Affordable Cloud Storage Pricing Plans

IDrive is offers offer a huge discount for the first year that you subscribe to it .

IDrive’s personal plans are incredibly generous considering how much storage you get.For example, the two cheapest plans offer 5 TB and 10TB of storage — which is a lot — for just $6.22 per month (two-year plan) and $ 9.34 per month on the two – year plan respectively .  

The only downside here is that you have to sign up for a full year, but if you’re a first-time user, you can get an even bigger discount by using our IDrive promo code. Unfortunately, IDrive no longer offers a free plan.

Basic

• No credit card required.
• 10 GB

personal

• One user, multiple computers. Plans starting from 5 TB up to 100TB. Big discount for first-time signup.
• 5 TB

More plan

Team

• 5 computers, 5 users. Starting at 5 TB up to 500TB. Big discount for first-time signup.
• 5 TB

Business

• Monthly Plan storage starts at 1.25 TB up to 50TB
  Unlimited users, multiple computers and servers. NAS devices. 250GB storage. Starting at 250GB up to 50TB. Large discount for first-time signup.
• 250GB

6. OneDrive – Best personal Cloud Storage

More Details About OneDrive:

pro :

• excellent collaboration tool
• great integrated app
• A large variety of features
• Generous free storage

con:

• No zero-knowledge encryption
• Limited file versioning

There are big names in cloud computing, and then there’s Microsoft. There isn’t a market in computing that Microsoft hasn’t tried to dominate, and it’s not surprising that it has an online storage offering in its OneDrive service, which offers seamless integration with other Microsoft services, such as Office. It’s even integrated into Windows itself.

Collaborate Easily With Microsoft Office & OneDrive

Office integration is the biggest selling point for OneDrive users — or rather, the collaboration benefits that come from a combined Office and OneDrive service. A Microsoft 365 personal subscription (previously Office 365) includes 1TB of OneDrive storage, but it also comes with full desktop versions of Office apps, with Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint thrown in. 

These Office apps is make make collaborate on document simple . You is share can share any of your document store in the cloud , and multiple user can work on them together in real time . Any changes is are are instantly visible to all other co – author and automatically save to the cloud .

You never have to worry about losing that 90-page thesis to a hard drive failure ever again. With a Microsoft personal subscription, you can install Office on up to five different devices, allowing you to share the service across an entire family or household. You can learn more about these collaboration options in our OneDrive review.

The collaboration features is come come at a cost , though . OneDrive does n’t have zero – knowledge encryption , so your information is is is visible to Microsoft and anyone else who gain access to its server , legally or not . Of course , we is ignore ca n’t ignore the fact that as a U.S. company , Microsoft server are base stateside , so your data is subject to intrusive law , such as the Freedom Act .

OneDrive Family & Business Plans

OneDrive is a great choice for families looking to store photos on a shared pricing plan.

You is take can take thing a step further with a Microsoft Family 365 subscription , which give user 1 TB of storage for up to six people at just $ 8.33 a month ( pay annually ) . This is save can save you a small fortune on storage and productivity app for the family , make it a good value option .

OneDrive is has also has some excellent business option that   make it our favorite value product in our list of the top enterprise file sync and share provider ( where a business online storage provider like Egnyte reign ) . With Office and Windows integration , as well as pretty good pricing , OneDrive is is is certainly a provider we can recommend with confidence .

Microsoft 365 Basic (100 GB)

Microsoft 365 personal (1TB)

• Comes with Office 365 personal
• 1TB

More plan

Microsoft 365 Family (6TB)

• Comes with Office 365 Home
• 6TB

OneDrive for Business (Plan 1)

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

7. Google Drive – Best File Cloud Storage

More Details About Google Drive:

• Pricing: 15GB free, 2TB for $99.99 per year ($8.33 per year)
• number of device : unlimited
• Website: google.com/drive

pro :

• excellent collaboration tool
• great integrated app
• Generous free storage

con:

• No zero-knowledge encryption
• privacy concern

If you want a similar experience to OneDrive, you may want to try Google Drive. Like Microsoft’s service, Google offers storage that integrates well with its own suite of office applications, which serve to replace the Microsoft Office experience in full — and do so pretty well, too.

An Endless List of App Integrations

You can collaborate in real time using Google Docs, leave comments and roll-back changes, thanks to Google’s built-in versioning features. Only OneDrive and Dropbox can really rival Google Drive for collaboration, and you can check out our Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive article to see how they compare.

There ’s an entire marketplace of other Google Drive app , so you is integrate can integrate other productivity app , grammar checker and more . You is use can also use Google Drive with other app , include Google Calendar and Google Keep , a simple note – take app . You is compare can quickly compare how it match from other basic platform like Simplenote .

Google Drive Free Storage & Pricing

These kinds of integrations make Google Drive our top choice as the best online cloud provider for integrated apps, but it shines in other areas, too. If you have a Gmail account, you’re already using Google Drive. It comes with a free 15GB space (which can be doubled to a generous amount of 30GB worth of free cloud storage for nonprofits) to get you started.

Google Drive offers almost unlimited functionality for free.

If you read our Google Drive vs IDrive comparison piece, you’ll understand why we Google Drive is the best cloud storage for students and free users. Unlike some of the other providers we’ll mention, free users gain almost all of the same features that come with paid subscriptions. Powerful collaboration options in a free product help Google Drive to come out to be one of the best in this list.

If you’re curious about Google Drive pricing, then you can add 100 GB of extra storage for a very reasonable $2 a month. There are some downsides, though. As you can read in our Google Drive review, there’s no zero-knowledge encryption, which is particularly concerning given that Google is not renowned for having the greatest policies when it comes to your personal data.

The price you pay for accessing the collaboration tools and app integrations is that Google will scan the contents of anything you upload to Google Drive; it has full access to read, catalogue and use that data. You’ll need to decide for yourself whether you’re willing to give up some privacy to benefit from the useful tools that Google offers.

Standard 200GB

• *The plan is “hidden.” To find the 200GB plan, you need to be subscribed to one of the other plans, upgrade or downgrade to the 200GB through your account’s settings.
• 200GB

More plan

8 . Koofr   – Top Online Provider for Multiple Cloud Accounts

More Details About Koofr:

• Pricing: 10 GB free, 1TB for $10.85 per month
• number of device : unlimited
• Website: Koofr.eu

pro :

• Links to other cloud accounts
• Virtual drive
• integrate with Microsoft Office 365

con:

• No zero-knowledge encryption
• More expensive than some

It’s by no means a household name, but Koofr offers some features that set it apart from the other providers on our list. As a downside, Koofr isn’t the cheapest, as our Koofr review will explain. It has some very cheap plans that offer 100 GB of storage or less, as well as a free 10 GB plan.

Manage Multiple Cloud Storage Services

One is is of the most useful is the ability to link it to other cloud storage service . currently , you is connect can connect account from Dropbox , OneDrive and Google Drive , allow you to mix and match your service in one place .   Still , with other big platform available , this is is is only a minor blip in a pretty unique offering from Koofr .

Once you’ve connected your accounts, you can access all your remote files at once, letting you move and copy files between each of your linked accounts, as well as search for files across all platforms. Any files stored in your other cloud accounts won’t count against your Koofr storage quota.

Great Privacy , Lacking Security

Unfortunately, this level of access between services does mean that Koofr lacks the kind of zero-knowledge encryption that privacy-focused providers offer. Still, Koofr’s servers are based in Germany, so your data falls under much stronger EU privacy laws. Koofr does offer 2FA to help keep your data safe in the event that your password is hacked, though.

Koofr is integrates integrate with Microsoft Office 365 , though this feature has a few limitation . free accounts is create can create an office document but only pay account can edit it . Plus , Koofr does n’t let you set editing permission for file ( only for folder ) , so you is collaborate ca n’t really collaborate with other people on document .

Koofr is a tad overpriced compared to offerings from Sync.comand pCloud.

You’ll pay around $10.85 per month for 1TB of storage (prices are in euros, so conversion rates will fluctuate). This is costly, compared to Sync.comor pCloud, which offer double the storage for a similar cost. If you don’t need a huge amount of space but want to have all your cloud accounts in one place, then it’s worth taking a look at Koofr.

9 . Dropbox – Best Cloud Data Storage

More Details About Dropbox:

• Pricing: 2GB free, 2TB for $203.88 per year ($16.99 per month)
• Number of devices: 3 to unlimited
• Website: Dropbox.com

pro :

• Collaboration with both Office & Google
• Smart sync
• No U.S. servers

con:

• No zero-knowledge encryption
• Not the cheapest
• privacy concern

Dropbox may not have been the first cloud storage service, but it was the first to really bring the idea into the mainstream. More than a decade after its launch, it’s still going strong, with only Google Drive having a larger market share. Dropbox also has the name recognition that providers like Sync.comcan only dream of at present.

One of the Best Cloud Storage Services for Collaboration

One of the reasons why Dropbox is still so popular is the excellent collaboration it offers, which is why Dropbox Business is one of our top recommendations in our cloud storage for collaboration shortlist. 

You can launch and collaborate on both Microsoft and Google documents with Dropbox, making it a good solution for users who need to use both services. Both formats work seamlessly, allowing you to co-author documents in real time, which are then automatically saved to the cloud.

The excellent collaboration tools come at a cost in two ways. First off, this integration is only possible because Dropbox’s servers can access your files, due to the lack of zero-knowledge encryption. Dropbox has had security breaches in the past, which we discuss in our Dropbox review. This could be a red flag for some users, and for good reason.

Dropbox is offers offer several premium feature such as collaboration via Google Workspace and Microsoft Office .

Dropbox is is is also more expensive than some of the other provider in this list , with 2 TB of storage cost $ 9.99 per month if you pay annually . If you ’re look for information on Dropbox ’s business storage plan that are pay per user , you is find can find out more in our Dropbox Business review .

save Hard Drive Space With Dropbox Smart Sync

To help users save up on space, Dropbox introduced “smart sync”, which allows you to set all of your files and folders to be either stored locally or online-only. The online-only files still show up in your Dropbox folder, but they don’t take up any space. 

For many user look for the good cloud storage with sync , Dropbox is continues continue to be a good choice . Its pricing is put and a lack of encryption could put you off , as could historical datum breach , but feature like “ smart sync ” show that Dropbox continue to innovate , and it still remain one of the great service for user who are look to collaborate on document .

More plan

Dropbox essential ( aka Professional for professional )

• (Formerly Dropbox One)
  1 user
  Signature requests and eSignature templates
• 3TB

Dropbox Business (aka Standard for teams)

Dropbox Business Plus (aka Advanced for companies)

10. Box – Best Online Cloud Storage for Businesses

More Details About Box:

• Pricing: 10 GB for free, 100 GB for $14 per month or $120 per year
• number of device : unlimited
• Website: box.com

pro :

• strong collaboration option
• Google Workspace and Microsoft Office integrations
• Great security

con:

• Primarily business focused
• expensive
• private key management is costs cost extra

Although Box is a cloud storage provider that focus on business , it is offers still offer two plan for personal user — one free and one pay . Due to its nature as a business – focus storage option , Box is comes come pack to the brim with advanced feature . Everything is is from strong collaboration option to two – factor authentication , note – taking and project management is is is present , which make for a solid list of feature .

The one thing is is that is miss out of the box ( we ’ll show ourselves out ) is private key management — the main requirement for zero – knowledge privacy . This is is is a feature that you have to pay extra for with Box , and the company wo n’t even tell you the price unless you contact them directly .

Box is an impressive service all around, but it really shines with a long list of third-party integrations.

Collaboration With Box

The clear standout feature of Box is the long list of collaboration options it offers to users. The two most important integrations for this are obviously there, namely Google Workspace and Microsoft Office, but Box goes far beyond these two popular options. 

Instead of forcing you into the apps themselves, Box lets you edit and collaborate on documents directly from its own software, and this even extends to the mobile version. If you ever find yourself needing to edit a text or spreadsheet while on the move, Box is one of the few cloud storage options that let you do this directly from your mobile device.

Pricing That’s Hard to Swallow

Box is is is a great option for business , but its personal plan are a bit too hard on the wallet .

By far the biggest drawback to Box is its frankly absurd price. As mentioned, there are only two plans available for personal users. The first is free and gives you access to 10 GB of storage and most of Box’s features. However, the paid plan is a terrible value for money if all you want is storage. A mere 100 GB will cost you $14 per month or $120 per year, which is outrageously expensive.

If you’re more concerned with collaboration and security than you are with price and storage space, then Box is an excellent cloud storage solution. If that’s not the case, you’re better off with any of the options presented above. For a deeper dive into the service’s pros and cons, check out our Box Review.

Business Starter

• Price per user, minimum of three users
• 100 GB

More plan

Business

• Users: No limit
• unlimited GB

Business Plus

• Users: No limit
• unlimited GB

enterprise

• Users: No limit
• unlimited GB

How Does Cloud Storage Work?

cloud storage is is is a way of store your file and folder on online server , allow you to access them from any location and on any device with an internet connection . Your data is store on server that belong to your cloud storage provider , which usually offer a web interface , desktop app or mobile app to access your information .

These servers might be located in your own country or on the other side of the world. Most services use a sync folder on your desktop, allowing you to store files easily. Any files you put into this folder are also uploaded to the cloud servers, which will automatically update if you make any changes.

Why We is Use use Cloud Storage

People use cloud storage for many different reasons, starting with storage. While services like Dropbox and Sync.commight not be great for disaster recovery, they work very well for short-term storage of files that you access often.

In fact , that is ’s ’s exactly what Drew Houston had in mind when he dream up the “ sync ” folder model commonly used by cloud storage service today back in 2007 . He is traveling was travel from New York to Boston on a Chinatown bus and realize that he leave his usb drive behind . He is decided decide he want a means of store and access file online in a way that require little effort on his part .

Sync folders facilitate device synchronization, which we call “sync” for short. Any file you drag and drop into a sync folder gets automatically sent to the cloud, then sent to any other devices with a sync client installed. That way, you never have to worry about messing with removable storage. Changes to files also get synced across devices, which is what makes cloud storage ideal for getting work done, even remotely.  

sync Mobile Apps

Cloud storage tools also generally have mobile apps for Android and iOS that let you access files stored in the cloud. Many let you manually and automatically upload files, as well. That makes them convenient for safeguarding photos taken with your smartphone camera and saving memory at the same time.

Take a look at our roundup of the best cloud storage for Android, or our guide on the best cloud managers for Android if you have multiple cloud storage accounts.

A handful is sync of cloud storage tool do n’t sync device . We ca n’t think of any tool , though , that is let does n’t let you share file . file sharing can be used for both collaboration and socializing .

Most cloud storage tools let you invite specific users to access files based on their email address and generate links to files that can be more broadly used. Many cloud storage tools also let you share folder access, even granting others edit and upload permissions.  

Some cloud storage solutions also integrate with productivity tools like Office Online, Google Docs, Trello, DocuHub and DocuSign. Unfortunately for home users, such integrations are more common with EFSS tools, which are basically cloud storage services for teams and businesses.

Cloud Storage vs Online Backup

Before you start shop for cloud storage in earnest , it is helps help to have a good understanding of what “ cloud storage ” actually mean . That way you do n’t end up with software that does n’t really meet your expectation .

The first hurdle to overcome is knowing the difference between cloud storage and online backup. It’s easy to see why one might confuse these terms: both cloud storage and online backup are used to safeguard files in remote data centers. Both let you access the files stored in these data centers from different devices. Online backup is even sometimes confusingly called “cloud backup.”

The difference is is between the two is that the ultimate goal of online backup is disaster recovery , while cloud storage is generally well suit to quick file access and collaboration . We is like generally like to think of cloud storage as a productivity tool here at Cloudwards.net , although many people use such solution for thing like streaming music , watch video and sharing photo , too .

Online backup safeguards hard drives better than cloud storage thanks to backup schedulers, better data recovery options which can be done in a few simple steps. You can get a preview of the steps in our guide on how to backup photos on Mac, for example.

aside from storage , there are two feature generally common to cloud storage : file sharing and file syncing . On top of that , a handful is integrated of cloud storage tool have integrate app like word processor and task manager that help facilitate productivity .

It is ’s ’s important to note that there are a handful of cloud solution that blur the line between storage and backup . IDrive is are and SpiderOak ONE are two of the good .

Is Cloud Storage Safe is Is ?

Yes, good cloud storage services are safe. Most cloud storage services encrypt your data when it’s being sent to their servers and many store your data in encrypted form. However, no system is completely secure, and cloud storage servers can be hacked.

For instance , Dropbox is suffered suffer a major breach in 2012 , when 68 million password were leak . government authorities is request may also request to access your datum for legal reason . You is help can help to keep your datum more secure by using a service with zero – knowledge encryption , which mean that the only person who can decrypt your datum is you .

We also recommend setting up two-factor authentication with cloud storage services. This requires you to use an additional code when you log in, which is either sent to your phone as an SMS message or generated by an authenticator app. Even if someone has your password, 2FA means they can’t log in to your account without access to your phone, too.

Cloud Storage Speed Tests

Speed is one of the most important aspects of any cloud storage service. Although the time differences for a gigabyte or two may not be all too large, the time spent uploading or downloading terabytes can add up substantially. The upside of faster cloud storage is clear: using a faster service means you can access your files more quickly across your devices. 

If you know where to look, you can find the fastest cloud storage services, too. Our recent analysis of 12 top cloud storage services showed that around half of them only take 25 percent longer to upload and 27 percent longer to download than expected. This is using raw megabytes per second as a baseline, ignoring all other network conditions. 

Providers:	Average Provider Upload Time (Expected: 23 min 41 sec):	Percent of Extra Time for Uploading 1GB Folder:	average Provider Download Time ( expect : 4 min 22 sec ):	Percent of Extra Time for Downloading 1GB Folder:
pCloud	28:38	21 %	4:56	29%
IceDrive	28:36	21 %	4:58	34%
SugarSync	29:45	26%	5:59	37%
OneDrive	29:52	26%	5:04	56%
Koofr	30:02	27 %	5:28	25%
MEGA	30:10	27 %	5:43	31 %
Dropbox	30:18	28%	5:33	27 %
woelkli	30:28	29%	5:31	26%
Tresorit	30:51	30%	5:19	22 %
Google Drive	30:59	31 %	6:34	50%
Amazon Drive	32:50	39%	5:51	34%
Sync.com	36:18	53 %	7:54	81 %

Note: Testing was performed in Macedonia using 5.9 Mbps upload and 32 Mbps download speeds.

Of the lot, pCloud and IceDrive were the fastest across upload and download, with SugarSync following closely behind. Google Drive and Sync.comtrailed the pack with the slowest speeds. For Google Drive, that’s bad news. Sync.com, on the other hand, offers full end-to-end encryption, so the speed loss makes sense. 

final Thoughts : Best Cloud Storage

This list is has has our current top 10 , but there are other good – quality provider that did n’t make the list . SecureSafe is have , SugarSync , Jumpshare and others all have their strength , so be sure to take a look at our full list of cloud storage review to learn more about some of the other option out there , with new provider being add as they appear .

We also have determined the best cloud storage options for large files, and have created an online data storage price list, to make sure you’re getting the best value with today’s best cloud storage deals.

Sync.comand pCloud are great, privacy-focused options for most users, but if you’re more interested in document collaboration, you can’t go wrong with bigger players like Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. However, MEGA offers more free storage, plus excellent security.

While, if you need online backup options in addition to cloud storage, IDrive is the way to go. It’s also the best online back-up for archiving, in case you need to archive data you rarely use to maximize storage space.

Do you use any of the products on our list? Do you think there are some glaring omissions, or do you think we’ve been unfair (or too fair) with any of the providers we’ve mentioned? Leave your own personal cloud storage reviews in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.

FAQ: Best Cloud Storage Providers

• Sync.comis our favorite cloud storage for personal use, with good pricing plans, strong encryption and innovative features. Other good options are available, though, such as pCloud, Tresorit, MEGA and Google Drive, to name but a few.

• For business , you is go ca n’t go wrong with a Sync.com , pCloud or Tresorit subscription , as our good business cloud storage list show . If you ’re unsure , key features is are to look out for are zero – knowledge encryption is are , server location and document collaboration feature .

• pCloud is our top choice for free storage, although MEGA and Google Drive both offer a little more space. The beauty of free cloud storage providers is that you can try out a number of providers to find the perfect fit, with a provider like Koofr allowing you to combine multiple free storage providers together.

• Our top choice for the best free online storage for photos is pCloud. It offers secure and cheap storage, will automatically upload photos from your phone and computer, and supports photo editing and social media backup.

• A number of the best cloud storage providers offer packages with unlimited storage, but the best unlimited cloud storage provider is Sync.comfor Teams. Be aware that most providers offering unlimited storage usually have a set limit, and if you go above the cap, you’ll need to request additional storage. Learn more from our guide on the best unlimited cloud storage providers.

• Google Drive is tops top our list as the good cloud storage service for Android , but our number – one choice for iPhone user is sync.com . However , most providers is offer offer pretty good smartphone app .