The Cheapest Cloud Storage Services in 2024: Getting Deals on Your Personal Online Storage
Looking for the cheapest cloud storage out there? We’ve looked at all the best options and made a list of the ones that are the best value for the money.
Written by Aleksander Hougen (Co-Chief Editor)
Reviewed by Sandra Pattison (Writer, Editor)
Facts checked by Jasna Mishevska (Lead Fact-Checking Editor)
Last Updated: 2024-08-31T10:27:34+00:00
All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.
Key Takeaways: Cheapest Cloud Storage
- Sync.com — Overall best cloud storage with the best value for the money.
- Icedrive — Well-designed cloud storage with a cheap 1TB plan and lifetime deals.
- pCloud — Cheap cloud storage held back by the extra cost of private encryption.
- Google Drive — Excellent for collaboration, if not for privacy.
- MEGA — Secure cloud storage with a generous free plan.
Cost is easily one of the most important factors to consider when choosing between all the different cloud storage services out there. With different price points and storage space allotments, it can be difficult to figure out where you’ll get the best value. Luckily, this guide to the cheapest cloud storage will help you do just that.
Finding the cheapest cloud storage deals for you will depend a great deal on how much storage you actually need. Most cloud storage services offer at least a few different plans, and some are a lot better value than others.
For example, if you need a huge amount of storage, then Icedrive’s 5TB plan is probably your best bet, whereas MEGA’s 20GB free plan might be enough for others.
All of the cheapest cloud storage options listed below also appeared on our list of best cloud storage overall, since getting a lot of cheap storage isn’t worth it if the software doesn’t stack up (check out our Degoo review for an example).
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06/24/2022
Updated Sync.com’s plans and pricing, including month-by-month plans.
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08/25/2022 Facts checked
List updated to more accurately reflect current prices and value
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05/24/2023
Updated with new Icedrive and pCloud lifetime plan information
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12/08/2023
Reformatted the article for clarity.
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03/29/2024
Updated to reflect changes in Icedrive’s pricing plans and storage offers
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08/31/2024
Added video reviews for cloud storage providers in the list.
Top Affordable Cloud Storage Services
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What Makes the Best Cheap Cloud Storage Service?
We’ll obviously be focusing heavily on price and value for this ranking, but we also want to make sure that any service we recommend comes with a solid feature set, good security and solid privacy protections.
When looking purely at value, Sync.com is the winner, as you can see in our cloud storage pricing comparison. Icedrive and pCloud aren’t far behind, and all three are feature-rich cloud storage services with excellent security and privacy.
Next is Google Drive, which is great for collaboration and ease of use, at the cost of privacy. Finally there’s MEGA, which is a bit more expensive than the other entries on the list, but it still provides better value than the likes of Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive. It also has the most generous free plan out of all of them, and nothing is cheaper than free.
The 5 Cheapest Cloud Storage Providers
Without further ado, let’s dig into the top five cheapest cloud storage services, starting with Sync.com.
1. Sync.com
More details about Sync.com:
- Pricing: 5GB for free, 2TB for $96 per year. Unlimited storage starting at $360 per year
- Provider website: sync.com
Pros:
- Best value for money
- Feature-rich
- Great security & privacy
Cons:
- Mediocre speeds
- No monthly billing
As mentioned, Sync.com provides more bang for your buck than any other major cloud storage platform. Its standout plan gives you 2TB of storage space for $96 per year, which breaks down to $4 per TB per month.
If you really need a lot of storage, then its 6TB plan is an even better deal. At $240 per year, the monthly price for 1TB of storage is $3.33, which makes it some of the cheapest online storage that isn’t unlimited.
With storage that cheap, it’s easy to assume that Sync.com skimps out on some other area. Fortunately, that’s not the case (as you can see in our Sync.com review).
The service comes with all the features you’d expect, from advanced file-sharing controls to Microsoft Office integration and an extensive versioning policy. It also gets top marks in both security and privacy, featuring end-to-end encryption for all files.
Unlimited Cloud Storage
Although unlimited storage plans are fairly common in the online backup space (read our Backblaze review, for example), it’s rare for a true cloud storage service to offer this option.
Although it’s intended for small businesses, Sync.com for Teams offers an unlimited plan that you can still sign up for as an individual, though the minimum requirement of two users brings the cost to $30 per month ($360 per year).
Besides offering the best deals on cloud storage from a value standpoint, Sync.com also manages to succeed in almost every other area (such as earning a spot in our best cloud storage for Android). The one hiccup it suffers (besides the lack of monthly plans) is its speed, which is noticeably slower than all the others on this list.
Still, we think it’s more than fair to say that Sync.com is the best cheap cloud storage out there.
- 5GB
- 2TB
- 6TB
More plans
- Price per user
- 1TB
- Price per user
- Unlimited GB
- Minimum 100 users, custom requirements, account manager, training options
2. Icedrive
![Ultimate Icedrive Review [2024 Pros and Cons Revealed]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iVGsDxYVV-Y/maxresdefault.jpg)
More details about Icedrive:
- Pricing: 10GB for free, 1TB for $71.88 (one-year plan)
- Provider website: icedrive.net
Pros:
- Well-designed & easy to use
- Lightning-fast speeds
- Great security & privacy
Cons:
- No private encryption on free plan
- Lacks collaboration features
Based in the U.K., Icedrive is another great cloud storage option if you’re looking for value. In many ways, it’s even better than Sync.com if you’re happy with 1TB of storage space. That will cost you $71.88 per year, which means you’re paying $5.99 per month per terabyte of storage.
However, it’s with the 3TB that Icedrive really comes into its own in terms of value. At just $131.88 per year, this means you only pay more or less about $3 per month per terabyte, which is incredibly good value for the money.
Lifetime Access to Cloud Storage
Beyond the reasonable prices for monthly or yearly subscription plans, Icedrive is also one of the few cloud storage providers to offer lifetime deals.
Although it’s hard to know exactly how long a cloud storage provider will stick around, the cost of a lifetime subscription to the 512GB plan is just $299, meaning you break even in five years when taking into account the monthly or yearly rates. If you want more storage, you can purchase Stack 100 which has 128GB of storage, or Stack 500, which has 512GB worth of storage.
Like Sync.com, Icedrive doesn’t make any significant sacrifices in security, privacy or features (aside from collaboration) to achieve its great value. It also offers far better speeds than Sync.com. In fact, Icedrive is the fastest cloud storage service we’ve tested. Learn more about everything Icedrive does right (and the few things it doesn’t) in our Icedrive review.
- Bandwidth limit: 50GB
- 10GB
- Bandwidth limit: 250GB
- 100GB
- Bandwidth limit: 2TB
- 1TB
More plans
- Bandwidth limit: 8TB
- 3TB
- 512GB
- 2TB
- 10TB
- Additional 128GB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
- 128GB
- Additional 512GB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
- 512GB
- Additional 2TB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
- 2TB
3. pCloud
More details about pCloud:
- Pricing: Up to 10GB for free, 2TB for $99.99 per year
- Provider website: pcloud.com
Pros:
- Lots of features
- Excellent security & privacy
- Very fast cloud service
Cons:
- Zero-knowledge costs extra
- Lacks collaboration features
pCloud is another cheap cloud storage service that features prominently in most of our rankings. It’s packed with advanced features, boasts incredible speeds and doesn’t skimp at all when it comes to security and privacy.
In terms of value, pCloud’s 2TB plan offers the same price per terabyte as Icedrive’s 1TB plan: costing $4.17 per terabyte per month, or $99.99 per year.
All that said, there’s a significant caveat that comes with pCloud’s price, and that’s that zero-knowledge encryption is sold separately at $49.99 per year, bringing the per-terabyte price up to $6.24 per month.
pCloud’s Lifetime Plans
Besides Icedrive, pCloud is the only other cloud storage provider on this list to offer a lifetime option for its subscription plans. At $399 for 2TB, it’s cheaper than Icedrive’s closest plan, but it also comes with two thirds of the storage, meaning you break even in four years. Unfortunately, zero-knowledge encryption still isn’t included, and lifetime access to that will run you an extra $125.
All things being equal, pCloud usually takes the number two spot in our cloud storage rankings, but in this case it’s held back by the not-insignificant increase in cost for anyone who wants privately encrypted files. Still, there are many great reasons to go with pCloud, which you can learn all about in our pCloud review.
- 10GB
- 500GB
- 2TB
More plans
- + FREE Encryption
- 2TB
- + FREE Encryption
- 10TB
- Price per user (minimum 3)
- 1TB
- Price per user (minimum 3)
- 2TB
- Encryption for pCloud Drive
4. Google Drive
More details about Google Drive:
- Pricing: 15GB for free, 2TB for $99.99 per year
- Provider website: google.com/drive
Pros:
- Great collaboration features
- Wide range of storage plans
- Fast
Cons:
- Major privacy concerns
- No zero-knowledge security
- No block-level sync
Google Drive is easily the most popular cloud storage service in the world, a fact that it owes to its affordable price and most of all convenience. Its 2TB plan comes in at $99.99 per year, which averages out to $4.17 per terabyte of storage per month — exactly the same as Icedrive and pCloud.
Google Drive essentially forms the backbone of Google’s whole suite of web apps, meaning you probably have an account already, even if you’ve never used it directly. This ubiquity and ease of use is the service’s greatest strength, as it allows for a whole range of possibilities in terms of integrations and collaboration with others. Check out our Google Drive review to learn more.
Collaboration vs Privacy
With its integration with the wider Google Workspace ecosystem, Google Drive is easily one of the best cloud storage services for collaboration, especially if you’re already using other Google services like Google Docs.
However, deep collaboration features often come with a loss of privacy, and Google is a company that’s infamous for its terrible stance on user privacy and a history riddled with scandals.
Despite offering the same value as Icedrive and pCloud, Google’s spotty privacy record means that it will always occupy a lower spot on any ranking. That said, if you’re not overly concerned with the privacy of your files and more interested in being able to collaborate with other people, Google Drive lets you do just that without charging an arm and a leg.
- Free plan
- 15GB
- 100GB
- *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 plans
- 2TB
- 2TB
- 5TB
- 10TB
- 20TB
- 30TB
5. MEGA
More details about MEGA:
- Pricing: 20GB free (expandable to 35GB for one year), 2TB for about $100 per year
- Provider website: mega.io
Pros:
- Lots of free storage space
- Great value on largest plan
- Focus on security & privacy
Cons:
- A little difficult to use
- Price relies on exchange rates
- Lacks collaboration features
Finally, there’s MEGA, the personal cloud storage solution descended from the now-defunct Megaupload. Note that the service only offers its prices in euros, so the exact price in U.S. dollars will vary depending on the exact exchange rate. Its 2TB plan costs 9.99 euro per month, which converts to $10.15 at the time of writing, meaning you pay $5.07 per terabyte per month.
It should be noted that this is an unusually beneficial exchange rate for anyone paying for MEGA in U.S. dollars, as the value of the euro has traditionally been significantly higher in relation to the dollar. Still, it’s decent value for the money even at the worst of times.
Once you look at MEGA’s largest plan, though, the value proposition moves from “decent” to “amazing.” At just $30.48 (29.99 euro) per month for 16TB of storage, you end up paying only $1.90 per terabyte per month.
Lots of Free Cloud Storage Space
As mentioned briefly, MEGA offers an incredibly generous amount of free storage space. Just by signing up for a free account, you get 20GB of storage space.
MEGA also earned a spot in our best cloud storage for large files, and one of the reasons is because its free storage can be expanded by an additional 15GB of space for one year without any fees. You simply need to complete basic tasks such as installing the desktop and mobile clients, and adding a phone number for two-factor authentication. You also gain 5GB of storage (valid for one year) for each person you refer to the service.
Despite a recently discovered security flaw in MEGA’s architecture, the service’s focus on secure and private file storage at a reasonable price certainly earns it a spot on this list. It offers a wide range of security features across operating systems, which we cover in depth in our full MEGA review.
- 20GB
- File transfer: 2TB (Monthly plan) 24TB (yearly plan)
- 2TB
- File transfer: (monthly plan) 96TB (yearly plan)
- 8TB
More plans
- File transfer: 16TB (monthly plan) 192TB (yearly plan)
- 16TB
- Price per user (minimum 3) 3TB Transfer quota
- 100TB
Honorable Mention: Backup at an Affordable Price
Besides our top five, there is one more service that we’d like to shine a light on, as it offers a gigabyte-to-dollar ratio that dwarves any of the options above.
IDrive
Although it’s not technically a cloud storage service (it falls more into the realm of online backup), we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least mention IDrive. As you can see in our IDrive review, it doesn’t have the advanced features of the other entries on this list, but with 5TB of storage at a cost of just $69.66 for the first year, it’s in a league of its own in terms of value.
Although there are other backup services like Carbonite or Backblaze that offer unlimited storage for a similar price, these are even more bare-bones than IDrive, which at least features some rudimentary sync and share functionality. If you’re not looking for a lot of bells and whistles, but you need a whole lot of storage, IDrive might be what you’re looking for.
- No credit card required.
- 10GB
- One user.
- 100GB
- One user, multiple computers. Plans starting from 5TB up to 100TB. Big discount for first-time signup.
- 5TB
More plans
- 5 computers, 5 users. Starting at 5TB up to 500TB. Big discount for first-time signup.
- 5TB
- Monthly Plan storage starts at 1.25TB 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
Final Thoughts: Affordable Storage Options
With that honorable mention, we’ve reached the end of our ranking. Sync.com takes the top spot as it’s both the best cloud storage overall, and the one that offers the best value on its primary plan.
Icedrive and pCloud are the next two best cloud storage deals. If you need more storage than most, then the former is your best choice, but the latter is held back by the extra cost of private encryption.
Next is Google Drive, which offers cheap online storage and access to a wide range of collaboration tools at the cost of user privacy. Of course, nothing is cheaper than free, so if all you’re looking for is a small amount of storage, MEGA might be your best bet (or check out some of the other best free cloud storage services).
What did you think of our list of the cheapest cloud storage? Do you agree with our top picks, or do you think we missed one that deserves the spotlight? Let us know in the comments below, and as always, thank you for reading.
Icedrive offers the cheapest 1TB of cloud storage at $4.17 per month when billed annually. That said, Sync.com offers better value with its 2TB plan at $8 per month. If you consider online backup, then IDrive is the cheapest with 5TB for just $59.62 for the first year.
Sync.com is the best cloud storage provider overall, as well as the one that provides the best value for a medium-sized storage plan.
MEGA offers the most free storage out of any reputable cloud storage service. You get 20GB of free cloud storage space just by signing up, which can easily be extended to 35GB of free space for the first year.