The Best Cloud Storage for iPhone & iPad in 2025: Back Up Your Apps and Photos
iPhone users have cloud-based storage services built into iCloud Drive. However, there are better options than iCloud Drive, as we will discuss below. We highlight several alternatives with great features, excellent security or stringent privacy. To help you decide, we list the best cloud storage for iPhone.
Written by Jason Stagnitto (Writer, Script Writer, Course Writer)
Reviewed by Valentina Bravo (Managing Editor)
Facts checked by Jasna Mishevska (Lead Fact-Checking Editor)
Last Updated:
All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.
Key Takeaways: The best cloud storage services for iPhone and other iOS devices
- Sync.com — The best overall cloud storage service for iPhone
- pCloud — Excellent security and privacy that’s great for photos and videos
- Icedrive — Great iOS app integration, along with a secure and private user design
- Dropbox — Strong collaboration tools with many third-party integrations
- Internxt — Excellent affordability, security and usability
Facts & Expert Analysis
- iCloud’s Free 5GB: Although iCloud Drive starts you off with 5GB of free cloud storage, you’ll find you eat it up quickly if you take a lot of photos or videos.
- An Alternative Service Is Better: With one of the options on this list, you’ll not only have more storage space but also enjoy better integration with other platforms and services.
- What to Look For: For a pain-free iPhone cloud storage experience, you want a service that will easily upload from your camera and iCloud Drive, includes file sync and has strong security and privacy.
Anyone who uses an iPhone regularly likely has data taking up a lot of space. For iPhones without much storage, data management could be a problem. A cloud storage service stores your precious data and frees up space on your device. Fortunately, you can’t go wrong if you choose from the best cloud storage services. To help you choose, we focus on the best cloud storage for iPhone.
iPhone users are probably familiar with iCloud Drive, as it’s a core feature across many of Apple’s devices. However, for features like advanced file sharing, collaboration or privacy, iCloud Drive isn’t the best option. Choosing one of the following cloud storage providers will ensure that you get the features, storage and security you need.
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06/25/2022
Updated Sync.com’s plans and pricing information.
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05/18/2023
Updated with new information regarding Icedrive’s zero-knowledge encryption.
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02/21/2024 Facts checked
This article was rewritten to include updated features and pricing.
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03/29/2024
Updated to reflect changes in Icedrive’s pricing plans and storage offers
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12/27/2024 Facts checked
Added video comparing Google Drive and iCloud, the two biggest mobile cloud storage providers.
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02/21/2025 Facts checked
This article was updated to include more details about important cloud storage features and Sync.com’s security and functionality.
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04/19/2025 Facts checked
We updated the article to include Internxt as an affordable cloud storage provider.
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05/27/2025 Facts checked
We updated this article with more details about pCloud’s functionality with iOS.
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09/01/2025 Facts checked
We expanded our coverage of Icedrive and added more details about what to look for in a cloud service for iPhone.
Discover Whether iCloud Is Right for Your iPhone or if You Need an Alternative:
200GB$2.65 / month(All Plans)
$1 / month(All Plans)
2TB$4.17 / month(All Plans)
1TB – 5TB$4.92 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 30TB$1.67 / month(All Plans)
2TB – 5TB$9.99 / month(All Plans)
3TB – 100TB$9.78 / month(All Plans)
1TB – 5TB$1.30 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 6TB$1.67 / month(All Plans)
30GB – 5TB$7 / month(All Plans)
Unlimited GB$17.50 / month(All Plans)
10GB – 20TB$0.50 / month(All Plans)
50GB – 12TB$0.99 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 10TB$0.83 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 30TB$1.67 / month(All Plans)
Unlimited GB$4.17 / month(All Plans)
2TB – 3TB$12 / month(All Plans)
1GB – 100GB$1.50 / month(All Plans)
1TB – 2TB$8.33 / month(All Plans)
500GB – 2TB$7.08 / month(All Plans)
500GB – 2TB$2.99 / month(All Plans)
10GB – 1TB$1.67 / month(All Plans)
200GB – 3TB$1 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 5TB$6.90 / month(All Plans)
1TB$8.25 / month(All Plans)
10GB – 500GB$5.83 / month(All Plans)
200GB – 3TB$1.38 / month(All Plans)
2TB$3 / month(All Plans)
1TB – 4TB$8.33 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 5TB$1.67 / month(All Plans)
150GB – 10TB$1.25 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 1TB$7.49 / month(All Plans)
50GB – 1TB$3 / month(All Plans)
50GB – 1TB$5.83 / month(All Plans)
500GB – 2TB$5 / month(All Plans)
100GB – 10TB$0.93 / month(All Plans)
250GB – 4TB$30.44 / month(All Plans)
While every iPhone comes with iCloud Drive built in, many users find themselves frustrated by its limited 5GB of free storage, basic sharing capabilities and lack of advanced privacy features.
The decision often comes down to sticking with Apple’s seamless but restricted ecosystem or branching out to third-party services that offer more storage, better security and enhanced collaboration tools — but potentially sacrifice some of that native iOS integration you’re used to.
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Cloudwards Editor’s Choice: Sync.com
Sync.com is our top cloud storage service choice for iPhone, as it integrates well with the mobile app, is easy to use and provides excellent security and privacy. Sync.com protects everything you store from your iPhone by using zero-knowledge encryption. You can easily upload photos from your camera or transfer photos over from iCloud.
How to Choose the Best Cloud Storage for iPhone
Since we are looking at the best cloud storage for iPhone, we looked at how well the mobile app integrates with the Apple device. The more functionality and interaction, the better the overall experience. Cross-platform compatibility is also important if you need to access files from non-Apple devices like Windows PCs or Android phones.
Advanced cloud services even support cross-app content editing through iOS extensions, allowing you to modify cloud-stored files directly within third-party apps without creating local copies that consume iPhone storage.
There are a few other considerations to keep in mind when choosing a cloud storage service for iPhone. For example, mobile networks average 50 Mbps for downloads and 11.3 Mbps for uploads as of 2024, which can impact your backup speeds and overall experience. Check if the service uses bandwidth throttling, which could slow down large file uploads and downloads.
Some cloud storage providers offer progressive web apps (PWAs) as alternatives to native apps, providing near-native performance with less storage impact on iPhones with limited capacity.
Advanced backup configuration options, such as the ability to exclude specific files or file types from automated backups, can help you optimize storage space and ensure only essential data is backed up.
Plus, block-level sync capabilities can significantly speed up subsequent backups by uploading only changed portions of files rather than entire files. This makes cloud storage more efficient when working with large files on limited mobile data plans, though not all providers offer this feature on iOS.
Some providers also offer enhanced photo management features like timeline views, which make it easier to organize and browse your photo backups chronologically.
Robust account recovery options beyond standard email verification are important to keep in mind as well. Features such as hardware key support or trusted contact verification provide critical security layers when storing sensitive iPhone data in cloud environments.
Many premium cloud storage services also offer GDPR compliance certification, ensuring European users’ data rights are protected when backing up iPhone content to servers potentially located outside their jurisdiction.
We considered the following features as well:
- File sync: When you add, remove or make changes, file sync keeps your data updated. Selective sync lets you choose which folders to sync to your iPhone, helping manage storage space on your device.
- File sharing: File sharing lets you share files from your account with anyone.
- File recovery: Version history features let you recover previous versions of files if you make unwanted changes or need to reference older drafts. Robust file recovery options allow you to restore accidentally deleted files within a specified time period.
- Security: Security protects your data from cyberattacks while it’s stored on servers or transferred between devices.
- Privacy: Privacy keeps your data secure from unauthorized access.
- Storage space: The more storage space you have, the more data you can store in the cloud.
The 5 Best Cloud Storage Services for iPhone Compared
| Cloud App: | Free Storage | Price | Security | End-to-End Encryption | Collaboration | Sharing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5GB | $4.80 per month (one-year plan) 2TB | AES-256 TLS/SSL | * | Microsoft Office | |
| 10GB | $99.99 (one-year plan) 2TB | AES-256 TLS/SSL | * | ||
| 10GB | $59 (one-year plan) 1TB | Twofish TLS/SSL | |||
| 2GB | $9.99 per month (one-year plan) 2TB | AES-256 TLS/SSL | Google Workspace Microsoft 365 Native apps App marketplace | ||
| 1GB | $1.30 per month (one-year plan) 1TB | Kyber-512 TLS/SSL | * |
1. Sync.com — Best Cloud Storage for iPhone
Pros:
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Excellent iPhone integration
- Automatic camera uploads
Cons:
- Slower speeds
The Sync.com iOS app makes file sharing and synchronization with your other devices easy. The app’s homepage shows your content, and clicking on the three dots next to a file or folder pulls up a menu with options that include sharing, copying and moving. A “plus” button at the bottom lets you create a new folder or document, and upload a file or image.
The “settings” menu gives users plenty of flexibility, such as the option to add a passcode, clear cached files or manage active uploads. However, the standout feature is the camera choices. You can enable camera uploads, make it so uploads happen only on WiFi or allow background uploading, among other possibilities.
The latest version of Sync.com’s iOS app features significantly improved camera upload functionality when running in the background, making it more reliable for automatic photo and video backup from your iPhone.
For Mac users who want to sync their iPhone data with their computer, note that Sync.com’s CloudFiles now requires OS X 13 or later, ensuring better integration with newer Apple ecosystems.
Sync.com Hands-On Testing
Using Sync.com on an iPhone is a simplified experience. Items are logically arranged, and the look and feel mixes Sync.com’s style with iPhone functionality. The UI doesn’t feel dated compared to the web interface.
Another area where the iOS app shines is with previews. You can play videos, listen to music and view your images. There’s an option to edit photos, but it doesn’t do much. When you click on the “pencil” icon, no other options exist for changing your images.
Notes From the Lab: Sync.com Speed Test Results
| ↕️ | 1st Test | 2nd Test | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upload | 0:09:48 | 0:18:30 | 0:14:09 |
| Download | 0:15:11 | 0:15:03 | 0:15:10 |
Speed isn’t where Sync.com excels, as that is a typical trade-off for tight security and privacy. Uploads and downloads averaged over 14 minutes during our tests using 5GB of mixed data.
| Encryption Type: | Protocols |
|---|---|
| Encryption at rest | AES 256-bit |
| Encryption in transit | TLS/SSL |
Security and privacy are highlights for Sync.com mainly due to zero-knowledge encryption that protects your entire account. This client-side encryption ensures your files are encrypted before they leave your device, providing maximum security for sensitive data.
Sync.com has enhanced its security features for teams with mandatory password protection and expiry date controls for shared content. Administrators can now enforce organization-wide sharing policies, making it an excellent choice for businesses concerned about data security on iOS devices.
Enterprise plans include proxy integration capabilities that allow organizations to maintain security protocols when employees access company files from personal iPhones outside corporate networks.
For additional peace of mind, Sync.com duplicates your files across multiple servers, protecting your precious iPhone photos and videos against data loss even in the event of server failures or natural disasters.
Sync.com Pricing & Value
The most affordable paid plan is the Solo Basic plan. It comes with 2TB of storage and costs $57.60 per year. All new plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee. Additionally, you can try the Solo Pro Professional plan — which has 6TB of data — free for 30 days.
To learn more, check out our Sync.com review. You can create a free cloud storage account with 5GB to try out Sync.com.
- 5GB
- 2TB
More plans
- 6TB
- per user, per month, billed annually
- 1TB
- Priced per user (3 users minimum)
- Unlimited GB
- Minimum 100 users, custom requirements, account manager, training options
2. pCloud — Best Cloud Storage for Multimedia
Pros:
- Excellent iOS integration
- Great file sharing
- Real-time file sync
Cons:
- Poor collaboration
- Private encryption costs extra
pCloud does a great job of making its iOS app feel like Apple designed it. It functions as more than just a cloud storage service. If the option is enabled, you can airdrop files to other Apple devices and print using WiFi. The sharing and export tools mirror what you see when performing the same tasks using iOS apps.
The latest iOS app version includes a document-scanning feature that allows you to scan physical documents and save them directly to your pCloud account, further enhancing its functionality as a comprehensive mobile storage solution.
Photos and videos are where the iPhone pCloud app truly shines, though. Videos have light editing features, with the main function being to crop and trim. Photos have similar functionality, with the ability to mark up or add text. Any changes you make to videos or photos instantly sync with your pCloud account.
Unlike some competitors that strip EXIF data during upload, pCloud maintains full photo metadata from iPhone images, including location coordinates, camera settings and timestamps that photographers rely on for organizing their work. Organizing photos and videos is thus more intuitive, as your content maintains the same organizational hierarchy it had on your device.
Recent updates to pCloud’s iOS app have improved the automatic upload functionality, allowing users to preserve their local folder structure when uploading to pCloud. There is also a dedicated “upload folder” option on the iOS app’s main menu, making it easier to upload entire folder structures at once rather than individual files.
pCloud has refreshed the visual presentation of files and folders in its iOS app as well, adopting a cleaner, more modern aesthetic that improves navigation and content discovery.
Drag-and-drop support is now available on the latest iOS app version, enabling seamless file transfers between pCloud and third-party apps. This significantly improves workflow efficiency when working with multiple applications on iPad, particularly for users who move content between different services.
The iOS app update also includes a document-scanning feature that allows you to scan physical documents such as receipts, contracts or notes using your iPhone’s camera and save them directly to your pCloud account.
pCloud’s file request feature is particularly useful for iPhone users who need to collect these files from others. You can create upload links that allow people to send files directly to your pCloud account without needing to sign up themselves, streamlining the process of gathering photos from friends after events or collecting documents from colleagues while on the go.
Alternatively, pCloud Transfer is a completely free standalone service that lets iPhone users send files up to 5GB to anyone with an email address, no account required.
As a bonus, pCloud’s Kodi integration lets you stream your media library stored in the cloud directly to your TV or other Kodi-enabled devices, creating a seamless media experience for iPhone users who want to enjoy their photos and videos on larger screens.
pCloud Hands-On Testing
The iOS app is a breeze to use, with the same look and feel as the pCloud web interface. Navigation is simple and organized logically. Having the same “sharing” menu as other Apple apps makes it easy for iPhone users to download the app and begin using it immediately.
There are a few customization options, and the “settings” tab is mainly informational. The most notable tool is the option to either upload all your photos and videos, or simply upload the newer ones starting from when you first enable the feature. If you paid for the encrypted folder, it has some specific settings of its own, including an option to reset it.
Notes From the Lab: pCloud Speed Test Results
| ↕️ | 1st Test | 2nd Test | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upload | 0:08:55 | 0:07:30 | 0:08:12 |
| Download | 0:06:41 | 0:06:43 | 0:06:42 |
pCloud is one of the fastest cloud storage services, averaging eight minutes for uploads and under seven minutes for downloads in our testing.
Notes From the Lab: pCloud Security Analysis
| Encryption Type: | Protocols |
|---|---|
| Encryption at rest | AES 256-bit |
| Encryption in transit | TLS/SSL |
pCloud offers zero-knowledge encryption in the form of an encrypted folder. Every account has this folder. However, you’ll need to purchase pCloud Crypto — and a subscription as well, unless you’re a business user — to unlock this option.
Business users can select specific data residency options for regulatory compliance, ensuring iPhone backups are stored in data centers within jurisdictions that meet their organizational governance requirements.
pCloud Pricing & Value
pCloud has several choices for upgrading to a paid plan. The Premium 500GB plan costs $49.99, while the Premium Plus 2TB plan costs $99.99. pCloud also offers family plans, lifetime plans and business plans. New plans include a 10-day money-back guarantee.
You can try pCloud with 2GB of free cloud storage, and you can expand this amount to 10GB by completing a few microtasks. We cover pricing in our pCloud pricing guide and conduct a full exploration of the service in our pCloud review.
- 10GB
- 500GB
- 2TB
More plans
- 10TB
- + FREE Encryption
- 2TB
- + FREE Encryption
- 10TB
- Price per user (minimum 3)
- 1TB
- Price per user (minimum 3)
- 2TB
- Encryption for pCloud Drive
3. Icedrive — Best Cloud Storage for Ease of Use
Pros:
- Strong security & privacy
- Affordable plans
- Clean UI
Cons:
- Limited customization
- Paid zero-knowledge security
Icedrive’s iPhone app has many of the same features and functions as the web interface. You can share any folder or file by touching the three-dot menu. Options include creating a public link or sharing directly via email. When using an email address, a toggle switch is available to give recipients “editor” access.
There are several tabs, including one for accessing the encrypted folder if you paid for a plan. You can review any shared links you created, or review folders or files you identified as favorites. The “more” tab has options to view recent activity, manage deleted files, access settings or get help.
The latest iOS app update has also significantly improved the “save to Icedrive” experience, providing more detailed information and error messages during file transfers while also optimizing memory usage for smoother performance when moving large files from your iPhone to the cloud.
However, Mac users should note that Icedrive’s virtual drive feature requires additional software called macFUSE for installation. While this adds an extra step compared to Windows installation, the virtual drive functionality allows you to browse your iPhone backups directly from Finder without downloading files locally.
Icedrive enhanced its sync functionality in early 2025 with a background monitor system (IceMon) that tracks changes in files and folders even when the app isn’t running on your iPhone.
When you reopen the app, these changes are automatically synced, ensuring your files remain up to date across all devices without requiring you to manually initiate sync processes. This is a significant advantage for users who frequently switch between their iPhone and other devices.
Beyond its regular apps, Icedrive also offers a portable version that requires no installation, which can be particularly convenient when you need to access your iPhone backups from someone else’s computer without leaving any trace of your account behind.
Icedrive has introduced a cloud defrag tool as well, which is accessible through the web interface. This tool optimizes your storage space and potentially improves performance when accessing files through the iOS app.
If you do run into any problems, the improved customer support system allows users to file attachments in support tickets, making it easier to share screenshots or diagnostic information when troubleshooting issues with the iOS app.
Icedrive Hands-On Testing
Using the Icedrive app on iPhone is a painless experience, as your content is logically arranged on the main page. You can organize your data by a list or grid, and you can move items around by touching the “checkbox” option in the upper-right corner. The app also remembers your preferred view type (list or grid) between sessions, providing a more consistent experience.
The app’s settings are limited, though. You can make changes only in relation to photo uploads; you can’t alter anything else about the app or your account. Otherwise, it functions as expected. You can upload photos and videos, encrypt them (if you have a paid plan) and auto-organize them by date. Other choices involve converting images to JPEGs and including live photos.
A new method for handling multi-file downloads on iOS makes it faster and more reliable to download multiple photos or documents at once to your iPhone for offline access.
Notes From the Lab: Icedrive Speed Test Results
| ↕️ | 1st Test | 2nd Test | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upload | 0:06:50 | 0:07:41 | 0:07:15 |
| Download | 0:07:06 | 0:07:07 | 0:07:06 |
Icedrive’s speeds are remarkably fast, considering its stringent encryption. We easily uploaded and downloaded 5GB of mixed data using Icedrive.
However, users should be aware that Icedrive implements bandwidth limitations. The free plan has a 50GB monthly bandwidth cap while paid plans allow 500GB of monthly bandwidth. These limits only affect your ability to download data from other accounts or share files with people that don’t have accounts. They don’t affect how much data you can download or stream from your backups each month.
encryption and two-factor authentication.
| Encryption Type: | Protocols |
|---|---|
| Encryption at rest | Twofish |
| Encryption in transit | TLS/SSL |
Icedrive uses the Twofish encryption algorithm instead of the more common AES 256-bit encryption. Technically, Twofish is the more secure option. However, AES 256-bit is in no danger of being hacked.
Other security features include comprehensive device management capabilities that allow users to view and manage all devices connected to their account.
Plus, in addition to Google Authentication and SMS verification, Icedrive supports FIDO/U2F standards, allowing you to use physical security keys for enhanced account protection when accessing your iPhone backups. This hardware-based authentication method provides stronger security than traditional two-factor methods, as it’s immune to phishing attacks and cannot be intercepted by malware on your devices.
Icedrive Pricing & Value
Icedrive offers several paid plans. If you upgrade from your iPhone, you can select the Pro I plan for 1TB of storage and costs $4.92 per month on the one-year plan. Icedrive also offers lifetime plans, and every plan includes a 14-day money-back guarantee.
For privacy-conscious iPhone users, Icedrive accepts cryptocurrency payments for their lifetime plans, adding another layer of privacy to your purchase and allowing you to maintain anonymity throughout your relationship with the service. This payment option isn’t available for the subscription plans, making it a unique consideration for those looking at lifetime commitments.
Icedrive’s cloud storage service has 10GB of free space, so it’s easy to take it for a spin. Read more about its features in our Icedrive review.
- 10GB
- 1TB
- 3TB
More plans
- 5TB
- 2TB
- Additional 1TB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
- 1TB
- Additional 5TB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
- 5TB
4. Dropbox — Best Cloud Storage for Collaboration
Pros:
- Strong iOS integration
- Great cloud features
- Excellent collaboration
Cons:
- No zero-knowledge security
- Limited free storage
Dropbox’s iPhone app integrates well with the flagship Apple device, making it easy to upload documents, photos or videos. You can send files to your Dropbox account outside of the app, which is an option on other iPhone apps like Notes or Photos. In the Messages app, you can send files to others using Dropbox without leaving the app.
Dropbox also offers extensive iOS Shortcuts integration, enabling automated workflows that can sort incoming files from other apps, convert documents between formats or batch process photos directly from your iPhone camera roll.
In addition to uploading or creating new files, including those from Dropbox Paper or Microsoft 365, you can scan a document or record audio while in the app. Document scanning capabilities let you quickly digitize physical documents using your iPhone’s camera.
Changes you make sync seamlessly to your Dropbox account, letting you move between devices with little hassle. Dropbox also creates a tab in the Files app, making it easier to sync your data using an iPhone.
Dropbox’s smart sync feature intelligently manages your iPhone storage by keeping rarely accessed files in the cloud while maintaining their visibility in your file explorer, helping to preserve precious space on your device while still giving you access to all your files.
Dropbox Hands-On Testing
When you open the Dropbox app for iPhone, it’s clear that a lot is happening. The “home” menu is full of everything but your data. To work with the files in your account, touch the “files” tab at the bottom of the screen.
The functionality of the app is noticeably robust. You can manage devices beyond your iPhone, connect a computer or handle offline files. Offline access capabilities allow you to view and edit your files even without an internet connection, with changes syncing once you’re back online. Camera uploads let you include videos, save photos in JPEG format or choose which images to store.
Notes From the Lab: Dropbox Speed Test Results
| ↕️ | 1st Test | 2nd Test | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upload | 0:08:10 | 0:07:51 | 0:08:00 |
| Download | 0:07:45 | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 |
Dropbox has no issues in the speed department — it averages 8-minute uploads and just over 7-minute downloads. During our testing, the CPU loads were minimal, and Dropbox quickly got up to top speed.
is currently only planned for business account holders.
Notes From the Lab: Dropbox Security Analysis
| Encryption Type: | Protocols |
|---|---|
| Encryption at rest | AES 256-bit |
| Encryption in transit | TLS/SSL |
Dropbox uses strong security measures to protect your data. However, despite the recent purchase of Boxcryptor, a third-party encryption software, Dropbox still doesn’t offer zero-knowledge encryption.
Dropbox Pricing & Value
Dropbox’s paid plans start at $9.99 per month, billed annually, and come with 2TB of storage. The Standard plan costs $15 per user per month and has 5TB of shared storage. Other Dropbox plans increase in size and price depending on your needs. Dropbox does not offer a money-back guarantee.
Although Dropbox is one of the more popular cloud storage services, it has a meager 2GB of free storage space (even smaller than iCloud’s 5GB worth of free tier — read more in our Dropbox vs iCloud comparison). Check out our Dropbox pricing guide if you plan to upgrade your account, or see our Dropbox review to learn more about the service.
- 1 user
- 2GB
- 1 user
- 2TB
- up to 6 users
- 2TB
More plans
- (Formerly Dropbox One) 1 user Signature requests and eSignature templates
- 3TB
- 3 users minimum
- 5TB
- 3 users minimum
5. Internxt — Best Cloud Storage for Affordability
although the iPhone app provides a limited experience.
Pros:
- Affordable paid plans
- Zero-knowledge encryption
Cons:
- No collaboration features
- Limited free storage
The Internxt app for iPhone lets you upload, download, move, view and share files. However, there isn’t much beyond these basic features. You can upload directly from your camera roll, but there’s no way to automatically back up photos that are taken outside of the app.
Internxt lets you open certain file types in the app, including images, videos and PDFs. However, we couldn’t open audio files or most documents. You can’t edit files in the app either, but you can share them. Sharing a file or folder gives you a link that you can send to anyone and delete in the app at any time.
Internxt Hands-On Testing
The Internxt iPhone app is fairly basic. There are four tabs fore recent files, all files, shared files and settings, and a button for uploads. Much like the Internxt web and desktop apps, the interface tries to stay out of your way.
There aren’t many options in the settings menu. You can email support, adjust the language settings and access your trash folder from the main settings tab. If you go into the account settings page, you can upgrade your plan or change your security settings. Overall, there isn’t much you can do to change how to app functions on iPhone.
you can’t make any significant changes in the “settings” tab.
Notes From the Lab: Internxt Speed Test Results
| ↕️ | 1st Test | 2nd Test | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upload | 0:07:43 | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 |
| Download | 0:08:59 | 0:10:35 | 0:09:47 |
Internxt has fast upload speeds, quickly getting to max speed with minimal CPU impacts. The download speeds aren’t as good, but they don’t hold the app back too much. Internxt leverages a distributed content delivery network (CDN) architecture to ensure consistent download speeds for media files regardless of your iPhone’s physical location.
Notes From the Lab: Internxt Security Analysis
and a good track record when it comes to privacy.
| Encryption Type: | Protocols |
|---|---|
| Encryption at rest | Kyber 512-bit |
| Encryption in transit | TLS/SSL |
Internxt stands out for its forward-thinking security approach by implementing post-quantum cryptography in the form of Kyber-512 encryption, which is designed to protect your iPhone data against future threats from quantum computing that could potentially break traditional encryption methods.
Internxt also protects your data well with TLS/SSL encryption protocols. It’s committed to user privacy, enabling zero-knowledge encryption for all accounts and EU-based servers.
Internxt Pricing & Value
Internxt has a handful of plans if you want to purchase additional cloud storage space. All plans are a one-year subscription, though there are lifetime options.
The Essential plan has 1TB of storage and costs $1.30 per month. The Premium 3TB plan costs $2.60 per month and the Ultimate plan gives you 5TB for just $3.90 per month.
All paid Internxt plans come with a basic VPN and antivirus. There’s also a 1GB free plan so you can test the service. Our Internxt review covers the service in greater detail.
- 1GB
- Storage + VPN (FR), Antivirus, Backup & More
- 1TB
- Storage + VPN (FR, DE, PL), Antivirus, Backup & More
- 3TB
More plans
- Storage + VPN (FR, DE, PL, CA, UK), Antivirus, Backup & More
- 5TB
- Storage + VPN (FR, DE, PL), Antivirus, Backup & More
- 1TB
- Storage + VPN (FR, DE, PL, CA, UK), Antivirus, Backup & More
- 2TB
Why We Don’t Recommend Apple iCloud Drive on iPhone
iPhone users may read this article and wonder why we didn’t include iCloud Drive, which is Apple’s built-in cloud storage option that comes on every device. To its credit, iCloud Drive works seamlessly with Apple products, is easy to use and offers affordable upgrade plans. You can check out our iCloud Drive review for more information.
The main reason we can’t recommend iCloud Drive is that it pales in comparison to the cloud storage providers in the above list. It has far fewer features and limited file sharing, and it isn’t a great option for anyone who needs better privacy or collaboration tools.
For example, third-party cloud providers typically offer differential backup technology that efficiently identifies and transfers only changed data, while iCloud often duplicates files when syncing across multiple iOS devices in complex folder structures.
iCloud Drive has strong security features but uses AES 128-bit encryption, which is technically less secure than those that use AES 256-bit encryption. Privacy measures have improved since the infamous photo leak incident in 2014. However, Apple still collects data on you and shares some of it with third-party entities.
While iCloud does offer “advanced data protection” (its term for end-to-end encryption), you must manually enable it through your iPhone’s settings menu, and it’s not available in all regions.
Final Thoughts
Every iPhone comes with iCloud Drive preinstalled. However, there are better options to support your cloud storage needs. We give that nod to Sync.com, which we consider to be the best cloud storage option. Other great choices are pCloud, Icedrive, Dropbox and Internxt. Choosing any of these providers will give you a great cloud storage service.
Is iCloud Drive enough to meet your needs? If not, have you used one of the cloud storage services in this list? What is your choice as the best cloud storage for iPhone? Let us know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading our article.
FAQ: Best Cloud Storage for iPhone
Sync.com is an excellent cloud storage alternative for iPhone. It has great features, excellent security and zero-knowledge encryption that protects your entire account.
Sync.com is the best cloud storage choice for iOS devices. It is a secure, private and affordable option.