Best Free Cloud Storage in 2025

Key Takeaways: These Are the Best Free Cloud Storage Providers

1. pCloud — Offers 10GB of free cloud storage, with excellent file-sharing and media playback features.
2. Sync.com — Provides 5GB of free cloud storage, with strong encryption and privacy-focused features.
3. Icedrive — Grants 10GB of free cloud storage, with a sleek interface and fast speeds.
4. MEGA — Gives 20GB of free cloud storage, with end-to-end encryption and additional bonuses for referrals.
5. Google Drive — Comes with 15GB of free cloud storage shared across Google services like Gmail and Google Photos.
6. Filen — Offers 20GB of free cloud storage — expandable to 50GB with referrals — with client-side encryption.
7. Koofr — Provides 10GB of free cloud storage, with easy integration with other cloud accounts.
8. TeraBox — The only service with a gargantuan 1TB of free cloud storage.
9. OneDrive — Includes 5GB of free cloud storage tied to Microsoft services and productivity tools.
10. Dropbox — Gives 2GB of free cloud storage, with smooth file syncing and well-crafted apps.
11. iCloud — Offers 5GB of free cloud storage for Apple users, and is integrated into the Apple ecosystem.
12. Degoo — Provides 20GB of free cloud storage but has ads and few features.

Facts & Expert Analysis About Free Online Storage:

• Average storage capacity: Free cloud storage services offer around 10GB of storage on average, with a few outliers that offer much less or much more.
• Largest free cloud storage plan: With 1TB of free storage, TeraBox offers the largest free cloud storage plan out of the box, though its privacy and security are lacking. On the other hand, Filen is a secure alternative that makes it easy to get up to 50GB of free storage via referrals.
• Safety of free cloud storage: Free cloud storage is safe to use, as long as it comes from a reputable provider and not an unknown service that claims to offer 100GB or 1TB of storage for free.

Best Free Cloud Storage

www.pcloud.com

2TB$4.17 / month

(save 24%) (All Plans)

Editor’s ChoiceVisit pCloudReview

If you’re strapped for cash but still need cloud storage space, you’re likely looking for free storage. Unfortunately, the free cloud storage scene can be confusing, with many options out there. Don’t worry, though. We’ve put together this list of the 12 best free cloud storage services to help you find the right one.

We’ll weigh different factors, such as the amount of free storage space, speed performance, security and ease of use, as well as the limitations cloud storage providers put on their free plans. Our top choice is pCloud, a secure, free cloud service that ranks second on our list of the best cloud storage. Read on for the full list and detailed reviews of each service.

Cloudwards’ Choice: pCloud

Aleksandar Kochovski is a Cloudwards expert in cloud storage.

pCloud is my choice for the best free cloud storage. As someone who works with video editing, I appreciate the lack of file size limits. In addition, as one of the few people who still purchases albums, I love pCloud’s music player, which sorts your music and lets you create playlists. I’m also a fan of the virtual drive, which I feel is superior to other syncing methods. 

You can get 10GB of free cloud storage with pCloud, and all paid plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

www.pcloud.com

2TB$4.17 / month

(save 24%) (All Plans)

Editor’s ChoiceVisit pCloudReview

Which Cloud Storage Gives the Most Free Space?

TeraBox gives you 1TB of free cloud storage, which is more than any other legitimate competitor. However, no free cloud storage service can afford to offer 1TB of storage for each user without making sacrifices; it simply isn’t economically feasible. 

Cloud services offering unusually large amounts of free storage space—or even unlimited storage for free—usually turn out to be insecure at best (as is the case with TeraBox) or scams at worst. 

If a deal sounds too good to be true, it just might be. The service could share some of your information with third parties (like TeraBox), or the service might delete your data (as alleged with Degoo), or it could even just shut down without warning (like Treasure Cloud).

How to Choose the Best Cloud Storage Services for Free 

There are a few steps you can take to find the best service for your needs and make sure you don’t fall for a free cloud storage scam. These are the top factors to consider when choosing a free cloud storage solution:

• Free storage space: Evaluate your storage needs. Most cloud services give you around 10GB of free storage. If you need more than that, go with MEGA for 20GB. Alternatively, you can pay for a cheap cloud storage plan if 20GB still isn’t enough.
• Security: The service you choose must be encrypted; this is non-negotiable. Services like MediaFire, which doesn’t mention anything about encryption on its website, are untrustworthy. Look for two-factor authentication for extra security.
• Privacy: The ultimate privacy feature is client-side encryption (also referred to as zero-knowledge encryption), which prevents the cloud company from seeing the contents of your files. Another plus is if the company’s servers are based in the EU or in a country with strong privacy laws.
• Feature limitations: Cloud services usually limit features or speeds on free plans. Make sure the features you need are not locked behind a paywall.

Free vs Paid Cloud Storage: What to Consider

Although free plans are usually quite similar to their paid counterparts, there are a few areas where you often see limitations or reduced features for free cloud storage:

• Limited Storage: The most obvious limitation of free cloud storage is the limited storage space. It’s rare to find a provider that offers more than 20GB of free storage, with most providers offering between 5GB and 10GB.
• Transfer Quotas: Another limitation that some providers impose on free users are transfer quotas. An example of this is MEGA, where free users can upload or download only a few GB of data before you go into a “timeout” (the amount varies by location, as MEGA imposes limits based on your IP address location).
• Client-Side Encryption & Vaults: Some providers like Icedrive restrict client-side encryption to a single location/folder, which is exclusive to their paid plans. Similarly, many cloud providers offer “vaults” that enjoy extra protection (usually in the form of 2FA and password-protection) and these are usually reserved for paid accounts.
• File Versioning: One of the most common limitations for free cloud storage compared to the services’ paid plans is a tightening of file versioning. This means the provider stores a lower number of past versions of your files for recovery (for example, Box offers one file version on the free plan, compared to 10 versions on the next plan). Another option is that those versions are stored for a shorter amount of time (for example, Koofr keeps file versions for 120 days on the free plan but two years on paid plans).
• Automatic Backup: Although most cloud storage providers don’t offer automatic backup (that’s more of an online backup feature), those that do often limit this to paying customers.
• Sharing Features: Sharing features are commonly restricted on free plans. The most common restriction here is usually removing access to password protection and expiry dates for shared links, but some providers even limit the amount of data you can share per month, or disable types of file sharing altogether.
• Collaboration Features: Advanced collaboration features, such as document viewers or Microsoft 365 integration, are frequently placed behind a paywall.
• Other Advanced Features: Cloud storage providers that offer advanced features like ransomware protection, third-party cloud integration, chat clients, VPNs and password managers often restrict or outright remove these features for free members.
• Priority Support: Unsurprisingly, paying customers get a much higher priority from support staff.

The Best Cloud Storage Free Plan Comparison Table

Provider	Free Storage Default	Free Storage Max	Transfer Limit	Sharing Features	File Versioning	Client-Side Encryption	Ad Supported?	Other Limits
	2GB	7GB after setup, 10GB with 3 referrals	None	No password protection or expiration dates for shared links	Same as paid accounts.			None
	5GB	25GB with 20 referrals	None	Max 3 shared folders/links; max 20 downloads per day	30 days			No M365 integration & limited file previews
	10GB	10GB	50GB per month	Same as paid accounts	Same as paid accounts.			None
	20GB	30GB without referrals, 5GB per referral and no limit on the amount of  referrals	5GB per day average	No password protection or expiration dates for shared links. Can only share with other MEGA users.	30 days			Video chat limits. No access to password manager or VPN.
	20GB	50GB with referrals (10GB per referral)	None	No public sharing links.	Same as paid accounts.			None
	15GB	15GB	None	Same as paid accounts.	Same as paid accounts.	NA		None
	10GB	10GB	50GB per month	Sharing limited to 10 other Koofr users or 10 public links with 24-hour expiry.	120 days			1 Koofr Vault Safe Box; 2 external cloud connections
	1TB (1024GB)	1TB (1024GB)	None	Only 20 files per month	Same as paid accounts	NA		Reduced speeds. 4GB file size limit. 480p video playback. No video upload on mobile. No image editing. No cloud unzip. No cloud decompression. No data-saving mode.
	5GB	5GB	None	No password protection or expiration dates for shared links.	None	NA		Max 3 files in the vault. No multipage scanning tool. No automatic backup. No ransomware protection.
	2GB	18GB with referrals (500GB per referral, max 32 referrals)	None	2GB file-size limit for Dropbox Transfer	None	NA		No Vault access. Max 3 signature in Dropbox Sign. No remote device wipe.
	5GB	5GB	None	Same as paid plans	Same as paid plans	NA		None
	20GB	25GB with referrals (250MB per referral)	None	NA	NA			Account deleted after 90 days of inactivity. 256MB file-size limit. No web application. Only 3 devices can upload files. Reduced file replication.

Detailed Cloud Storage Speed Comparison

We run stringent speed tests here at Cloudwards. For cloud storage, we use a 5GB test folder with various file types and sizes. We upload and download the folder twice over a 100 Mbps symmetrical connection (throttled from 1 Gbps to ensure stability), then average the results. We also monitor the upload and download process, noting any quirks or specifics.

For this article, we took the results of our fastest cloud storage guide and included the free services (for example, TeraBox has two speed options for paid vs free plans, and SmugMug doesn’t have a free plan). Most services were similarly fast for downloads. The results of our upload test were more varied, with a wider margin between the top and bottom results. 

We run our tests from Dublin, Ireland, which makes transfers from European services faster due to proximity. Here are our test results.

#	Cloud Service:	Average Upload Speed
1.		0:07:09 (very fast)
2.		0:07:15 (very fast)
3.		0:07:18 (fast)
4.		0:07:20 (fast)
5.		0:07:31 (average)
6.		0:08:29 (average)
7.		0:08:32 (average)
8.	**	0:08:51 (average)
9.		0:10:04 (slow)
10.		0:11:18 (slow)
11.		0:12:25 (very slow)
12.	*	0:16:55 (very slow)

#	Cloud Service:	Average Download Speed
1.		0:07:09 (very fast)
2.		0:07:15 (very fast)
3.		0:07:18 (fast)
4.		0:07:20 (fast)
5.		0:07:31 (average)
6.		0:08:29 (average)
7.		0:08:32 (average)
8.		0:08:51 (average)
9.		0:10:04 (slow)
10.	*	0:11:18 (slow)
11.		0:12:25 (very slow)
12.	**	0:16:55 (very slow)

*Degoo lacks a desktop app, so we were limited to uploading through the web app using a 1GB test folder, then multiplied the time by five. This is not fully comparable to the other services.
**TeraBox offers two speed options, a slower speed for the free plan and faster speeds on the paid plan.

1. pCloud— Best Free Cloud Storage

The Ultimate pCloud Review | Is Lifetime Cloud Storage Worth It In 2024?

www.pcloud.com

2TB$4.17 / month

(save 24%) (All Plans)

Editor’s ChoiceVisit pCloudReview

Access your files anywhere, anytime. Cloud storage deals: Save 24% on 2TB of cloud storage with pCloud. 

Pros:

• Kodi integration
• Backup feature included
• Advanced music features

Cons:

• No document editing
• Paid client-side encryption

pCloud Free Plan

According to our experts, pCloud is the best free cloud storage provider. It offers up to 10GB of storage, but getting the full amount requires some legwork. 

Getting to 7GB is easy enough, you just have to complete a simple beginner’s tutorial after you log in for the first time. The remaining 3GB requires you to invite three friends to pCloud. Luckily, all they need to do is verify their email to count as an invite, they don’t have to pay a dime.

pCloud Free Plan Limitations

The biggest limitation to pCloud’s free plan is the lack of client-side encryption. That said, this feature is sold separately even for users on the paid plan, so technically this has less to do with the free plan itself and more to do with pCloud’s overall approach to encryption. This has long been practically our main gripe with pCloud, but it’s not exclusive to the free plan.

Besides the client-side encryption, the only pCloud features you miss out on on the free plan are some advanced sharing settings, namely password-protection and expiration dates for shared links.

Who Is pCloud For?

Being the best free cloud storage, we recommend pCloud to anyone looking for free storage, provided 10GB is enough. It’s one of the few providers that offers a dedicated Linux client (and all major operating systems), which is why we consider it the best cloud storage for Linux, both for free and paid storage.

pCloud’s excellent media player and lack of video compression makes it the best option for video production, though you’ll likely run out of free storage quickly when working with raw videos. The media player also makes it the best free cloud storage for music, for those who prefer to actually own their tracks rather than rely on streaming services.

What Does pCloud Do?

According to our experts, pCloud is the best free cloud storage provider. It’s great for storing music in the cloud thanks to its advanced music player, which lets you stream songs directly. It also integrates with Kodi to offer a fully featured entertainment package. This, plus its lack of file size limits, makes pCloud one of the best cloud storage options for video.

Though pCloud offers 10GB of free storage in total, you get only 2GB out of the box. There are a few minor tasks you need to complete to unlock the rest of the storage, such as installing the apps.

pCloud Hands-On Testing

If you want to sync files between all your devices, the pCloud desktop app offers a classic sync folder. You can upload files to the cloud and sync them just by copying the file to this folder. 

If you want to save some space, you can also mount a virtual drive, which lets you access cloud files by temporarily downloading them. Alternatively, you can even use pCloud’s backup feature to back up folders you don’t want to sync to the cloud.

Notes From the Lab: pCloud Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:08:36	0:08:28	0:08:32 (slow)
Download	0:07:18	0:07:25	0:07:22 (fast)

Despite once being one of the fastest cloud storage services, pCloud’s speed performance dropped in our last testing round. Though it impacted CPU load only slightly, it fell below our average for upload speeds and was just above average for downloads, landing it somewhere in the middle of our test group for overall performance.

Notes From the Lab: pCloud Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes (paid add-on), single folder
Encryption at rest	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	Switzerland, EU, U.S.
Applicable privacy laws	DPA, GDPR (EU servers only)

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Swiss privacy laws
• Two-factor authentication
• GDPR compliance (EU users)
• Client-side encryption (single folder, not free)
• Additional password protection for Crypto files

pCloud is one of the most secure cloud storage providers, but users will be disappointed to learn that client-side encryption is not included with any plan. Instead, you have to purchase a subscription to pCloud Crypto — its private encryption add-on. Thankfully, you can choose to store your data in the EU, where GDPR regulations ensure your privacy.

pCloud Pricing & Value

As with most cloud services, pCloud’s 2TB plan is its best value. pCloud offers 2TB of storage for just $8.33 per month if you subscribe for a year up front — a pretty sweet deal considering all the features you get. You can also get a 2TB lifetime plan for a one-time payment of $399. Check out our full pCloud review for more.

Editor’s Choice

Free

• 10GB

FREE

Premium 500GB

• 500GB

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$4.99/month

Save 9%

1-year plan

$4.17/month

$49.99 billed every year

Save 24%

Lifetime plan

$5.53/month

$199 one time payment, Monthly price for 3 years of use

Premium Plus 2TB

• 2TB

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$9.99/month

Save 9%

1-year plan

$8.33/month

$99.99 billed every year

Save 24%

Lifetime plan

$11.08/month

$399 one time payment, Monthly price for 3 years of use

More plans

Ultra 10TB

• 10TB

Lifetime plan

$33.06/month

$1190 one time payment, Monthly price for 3 years of use

Family 2TB Lifetime

• + FREE Encryption
• 2TB

one time payment

$595

Family 10TB Lifetime

• + FREE Encryption
• 10TB

one time payment

$1499

Business 1TB

• Price per user (minimum 3)
• 1TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$9.99/month

1-year plan

$7.99/month

$95.88 billed every year

Save 20%

Business Pro 2TB

• Price per user (minimum 3)
• 2TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$19.98/month

1-year plan

$15.98/month

$191.76 billed every year

Save 20%

pCloud Crypto Encryption

• Encryption for pCloud Drive

1-year plan

1-year plan

$4.17/month

$49.99 billed every year

one time payment

$150

2. Sync.com— Best Free Cloud Storage for Personal Use

Sync.com Review | The Most Secure Cloud Storage Available?

www.sync.com

200GB$2.65 / month

(save 40%) (All Plans)

Visit Sync.comReview

Keep your files secure for cheap and get an annual 2TB of cloud storage for only $57.60 with Sync.com

Pros:

• Client-side encryption
• Great value for money
• Offers unlimited cloud storage
• Integrates with Microsoft Office

Cons:

• Free plan is only 5GB
• Slower than competitors

Sync.com Free Plan

Sync.com offers 5GB of free storage by default. You can refer friends to gain additional free storage, for a maximum of 25GB after 20 referrals. Those you refer simply have to sign up for a free account, and the extra bonus is that both people get the additional 1GB storage.

Sync.com Free Plan Limitations

Compared to pCloud, Sync.com’s free plan has quite a few limitations. Free users can create only three shared folders and share three items through links, and these links are limited to 20 individual downloads per day. File versioning is also restricted down to a 30-day history, compared to 180 or 365 days on the paid plans.

Some collaboration and productivity features are also stripped out. Most file previews, especially for documents, are also exclusive to the paid plans, with free users only getting previews for a few basic image and text file formats.

Who Is Sync.com For?

Sync.com is one of the few services to extend client-side encryption even to free users, which makes it the best free encrypted cloud storage for security-minded users. This ironclad approach to security also makes it the best free cloud storage for lawyers, as well as the best free cloud file sharing for small business.

For teams willing to go beyond the free plan, Sync.com’s Teams+ plan is the best unlimited cloud storage for small businesses through a combination of security and native integration with Microsoft 365.

What Does Sync.com Do?

Though Sync.com tops our list of best cloud storage providers, its relatively small 5GB free plan plants it firmly in second place this time around. However, despite its modest free offering, Sync.com is still a privacy powerhouse. It offers private encryption for all your files, even if you’re a free user, making it the best cloud storage with client-side encryption.

Sync.com is also great for productivity, letting you edit and collaborate on Microsoft Office documents within a secure environment. If you need secure file sharing, Sync.com gives you a broad range of options, including setting passwords and expiry dates for sharing links, limiting or disabling downloads, and activating notifications for activity on shared files.

Sync.com Hands-On Testing

Sync.com offers apps for all major operating systems apart from Linux. It uses the traditional sync folder method for file syncing, but sadly there’s no option to sync other folders on your device. Mobile users can access and upload files remotely, and the apps can automatically upload your photos to the cloud, but that’s about all they do.

While the web interface is solidly designed, we don’t recommend using it to upload files, as it breaks the client-side encryption by including an intermediary to handle your keys and encrypt your files. Sync.com still can’t access your files, but it adds unnecessary complications and opens a potential vector for cyberattacks.

Notes From the Lab: Sync.com Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:10:20	0:09:47	0:10:04 (very slow)
Download	0:15:17	0:14:55	0:15:06 (very slow)

Sync.com has never been known for its speed, and our latest round of tests reinforces that. Its speeds can be unstable when uploading multiple small files, though it handles larger files well. Its download speeds are more consistent but still not as fast as we’d like. Our testers noted that the indexing stage alone took an entire minute on our virtual machine setup.

However, it’s worth noting that Sync.com does not have European servers, and we run our speed tests from a virtual server in Ireland; speeds could be faster in North America.

Notes From the Lab: Sync.com Security & Privacy Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes, whole storage
Encryption at rest	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	Canada
Applicable privacy laws	PIPEDA

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Client-side encryption
• Two-factor authentication
• HIPAA compliance possible
• GDPR compliance (EU users)
• Canadian privacy laws (PIPEDA)
• Collaboration in zero-knowledge environment
• Duplicate files across servers for data loss protection

In addition to offering client-side encryption, Sync.com is based in Canada, where a law called PIPEDA protects your privacy. The service is also HIPAA compliant, which means it’s deemed secure enough to store sensitive medical information. It even duplicates your files across multiple servers to protect your data from natural disasters.

Sync.com Pricing & Value

A free account with Sync.com comes with only 5GB of storage, but its paid plans are among the most affordable. You can get 2TB of cloud storage space for just $4.80 per month on a yearly plan. Sync.com is also one of the few providers to offer unlimited storage space. Read our full Sync.com review for more.

30-days money-back guarantee

Free

• 5GB

FREE

Personal

• 200GB

1-year plan

$2.65/month

$60 $31.80 billed every year

Save 40%

Pro Solo Basic

• 2TB

1-year plan

$4.80/month

$96 $57.60 billed every year

Save 40%

More plans

Pro Solo Professional

• 6TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$24/month

1-year plan

$11.67/month

$240 $140 billed every year

Save 51%

Pro Teams Standard

• Price includes 3 users
• 1TB

1-year plan

$18/month

$216 billed every year

Pro Teams+ Unlimited

• Monthly price for 1 user (3 users minimum) Yearly price for 3 users
• Unlimited GB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$15/month

Save 59%

1-year plan

$36.67/month

$540 $440 billed every year

Enterprise

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

Contact support for pricing

3. Icedrive— Fastest Secure Cloud Storage Platform

Ultimate Icedrive Review [2024 Pros and Cons Revealed]

icedrive.net

100GB – 3TB$2.99 / month

(save 40%) (All Plans)

Visit Icedrive Review

Enjoy blazing-fast speeds with Icedrive’s 3TB cloud storage plan at a 27% discount.

Pros:

• Fastest uploads
• Client-side encryption folder
• Lifetime cloud storage plans

Cons:

• No client-side encryption on free plan
• No collaboration or productivity features
• Client-side encryption storage localized to one folder

Icedrive Free Plan

Icedrive offers 10GB of free storage, end of story. There are no tasks you have to complete or friends to refer to unlock everything.

Icedrive Free Plan Limitations

The most notable absence on Icedrive’s free plan is client-side encryption. Icedrive limits this to a single folder, which is accessible only on a paid plan. The only other limit is a 50GB monthly bandwidth limit, meaning you can only upload or download that much data in a month. Considering its five times the available free storage, it’s an unlikely cap to hit.

Who Is Icedrive For?

Icedrive’s free plan is a great choice for anyone who wants 10GB of fully-featured cloud storage. It’s the fastest free cloud storage, and the paid plans are some of the best cheap cloud storage for those on a budget. If you are upgrading to a paid plan, the client-side encryption also makes it one of the best cloud storage options for the privacy-minded.

What Does Icedrive Do?

Icedrive is a simple cloud storage service that aims to provide a sleek user experience, rather than overwhelming users with extra features. It’s pretty fast as well, making it the best cloud storage for balancing speed and features. 

Its free plan comes with 10GB of cloud storage and, thankfully, has few limitations on features. However, one limitation is the lack of client-side encryption for free users, so those seeking free privacy would be better served by Sync.com. 

Icedrive Hands-On Testing

Icedrive has apps for all major operating systems, featuring some of the best UI design we’ve seen in our years of reviewing cloud storage. As for file syncing, you have a few options. The first is the classic sync folder method, with the added option to sync any folder on your device.

One feature Icedrive shares with pCloud is the inclusion of a virtual drive that can help save space on your device. The desktop app also has a portable version that requires no installation. 

Notes From the Lab: Icedrive Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:07:12	0:07:06	0:07:09 (very fast)
Download	0:07:11	0:07:41	0:07:26 (average)

As we mentioned, Icedrive is really fast. Much larger names with worldwide server networks are usually the fastest, but Icedrive managed to crack the top three in our latest test, showing the second-fastest uploads. However, downloads were average. Additionally, CPU and RAM usage were a bit high during testing, though the CPU load eased off quickly.

Notes From the Lab: Icedrive Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes (not on free accounts), single folderwhole storage
Encryption at rest	Twofish 256-bit
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	U.K., EU, U.S.
Applicable privacy laws	GDPR (EU servers only)

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Two-factor authentication
• GDPR compliance (EU users)
• Less common Twofish encryption
• Client-side encryption (single folder, not free)

Like pCloud, Icedrive offers private encryption on paid plans, but just for one folder. Thanks to servers in Germany, Icedrive complies with the GDPR. However, users closer to the U.S. will have their files stored in the States, which is not ideal. Icedrive uses Twofish encryption, which is theoretically harder to crack than the standard AES-256 that most competitors use.

Icedrive Pricing & Value

Icedrive’s free tier comes with 10GB of cloud storage space, and its paid plans are among the cheapest cloud storage offered. You can get 3TB of storage for $8.99 on a two-year plan, and you can sign up for a lifetime plan if you want to save even more. Read our Icedrive review for more.

14-days money-back guarantee

Free

• Bandwidth limit: 50GB
• 10GB

FREE

Lite

• Bandwidth limit: 250GB
• 100GB

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$4.99/month

1-year plan

$3.99/month

$47.88 billed every year

Save 20%

2-year plan

$2.99/month

$71.76 billed every 2 years

Save 40%

Pro I

• Bandwidth limit: 2TB
• 1TB

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$7.99/month

1-year plan

$5.99/month

$71.88 billed every year

Save 25%

2-year plan

$4.99/month

$119.76 billed every 2 years

Save 37%

More plans

Pro III

• Bandwidth limit: 8TB
• 3TB

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$14.99/month

1-year plan

$10.99/month

$131.88 billed every year

Save 26%

2-year plan

$8.99/month

$215.76 billed every 2 years

Save 40%

Lifetime – LIFE 500

• 512GB

one time payment

$299

Lifetime – LIFE 2K

• 2TB

one time payment

$479

Lifetime – LIFE 10K

• 10TB

one time payment

$1199

Lifetime Add On – Stack 100

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

one time payment

$79

Lifetime Add On – Stack 500

• Additional 512GB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
• 512GB

one time payment

$199

Lifetime Add On – Stack 2K

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

one time payment

$399

4. MEGA— Biggest Free Cloud Storage for Security

Is MEGA Actually Worth It? | 2024 MEGA Cloud Storage Review

mega.io

2TB – 100TB$8.76 / month

(save 16%) (All Plans)

Visit MEGAReview

Pros:

• Large free plan
• Encrypted sharing links
• 100GB for regular paid plans

Cons:

• Lacks features
• Paid plans are expensive
• No third-party integrations

MEGA Free Plan

MEGA’s free plan offers 20GB of storage, and has long been the largest free cloud storage provider, though that honor has now been stolen by Terabox (more on that later). If you install the applications and share a file, the storage gets upped to 30GB for one year. 

There’s also a very generous referral program, where every person you invite who installs the MEGA desktop or mobile app nets you 5GB of additional storage. Unfortunately, the additional storage only lasts a year, but there’s no limit to how many people you can invite.

MEGA Free Plan Limitations

The biggest limitation of MEGA’s free plan is the transfer quota. There’s no exact number applied to all users, but MEGA states that the average daily transfer quota for free users is around 5GB. This means roughly 150GB of transfers per month, which should be enough for most users. If it isn’t  enough, there are ways to bypass MEGA’s transfer limits.

Sharing is also restricted on the free plan, as free users don’t have access to password protection or expiration dates for their shared links. They also can’t share their transfer quota with non-MEGA members, meaning anyone you share a file with will also need to sign up for a MEGA account to download it.

Free users get file versioning for 30 days, which is significantly less than the 90 to 180 days offered by the paid plan. MEGA also imposes some limits on its additional applications, namely its password manager and VPN, neither of which are available on the free plan.

Finally, free users can use MEGA’s video chat for calls up to only one hour, and there’s a 100-member limit to video or audio calls.

Who Is MEGA For?

With client-side encryption even on the free plan, MEGA is the most secure cloud storage for free users who need more than 5GB of storage. It’s also the best free cloud storage for power-users, owing to its large free storage capacity and fairly unobtrusive limits.

What Does MEGA Do?

Much like its name suggests, MEGA is the free cloud storage provider with the largest free plan — at least out of those we can safely deem secure. This generous free online storage provider offers 20GB of storage for free users, expandable to 30GB for a year. You can expand your free storage further with referrals, though each expansion lasts only a year.

MEGA is known for its massive storage plans (to the tune of 10PB — yes, petabytes), but it offers a couple of other goodies as well. It’s decently secure, with client-side encryption protecting all of your files, even on a free plan. It also has an encrypted chat client and offers sharing links. Paid users get access to a password manager.

MEGA Hands-On Testing

MEGA offers support for Windows, Mac and Linux devices, as well as mobile devices running iOS and Android. MEGA’s desktop apps aren’t very easy to use, as there’s no sync folder option, and setting up syncs can be complicated for new users. Thankfully, its browser extension works well and is much easier to grasp.

Notes From the Lab: MEGA Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:07:16	0:07:24	0:07:20 (fast)
Download	0:08:14	0:08:02	0:08:08 (slow)

MEGA is not the fastest cloud storage provider, but it’s decent. In fact, it ranks right in the middle of our testing lineup. Our testers noted that MEGA had minimal impact on CPU and RAM.

Notes From the Lab: MEGA Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes, whole storage
Encryption at rest	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	EU, Canada, New Zealand, Japan
Applicable privacy laws	GDPR (EU), PIPEDA (Canada), Privacy Act (NZ)

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Open-source apps
• Client-side encryption
• Encrypted sharing links
• Two-factor authentication
• Password manager (paid users only)
• GDPR compliance (extends to all users)
• End-to-end encrypted text and video chat

Though MEGA is zero-knowledge, its architecture has been audited and proven to have some vulnerabilities under certain circumstances. Thankfully, these vulnerabilities have since been patched out, making MEGA a truly secure storage option. Plus, MEGA complies with the GDPR and even extends this protection to users outside the EU.

MEGA Pricing & Value

MEGA’s generous free plan is its standout feature. Its paid subscriptions can be pricey, but its high-capacity plans are a unique offer on the market. MEGA’s best deal is its 2TB plan, which costs $8.76 per month on a yearly subscription. Read our full MEGA review for more.

Free

• 20GB

FREE

Pro I

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

1-month plan

1-month plan

$10.50/month

1-year plan

$8.76/month

$105.07 billed every year

Save 16%

Pro II

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

1-month plan

1-month plan

$21.01/month

1-year plan

$17.51/month

$210.15 billed every year

Save 16%

More plans

Pro III

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

1-month plan

1-month plan

$31.51/month

1-year plan

$26.27/month

$315.23 billed every year

Save 16%

Business

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

1-month plan

$15.75/month

5. Google Drive— Best Cloud Storage for Collaboration

Is Google Drive Worth It In 2024? Updated Google Drive Review

www.google.com

100GB – 30TB$1.67 / month

(save 16%) (All Plans)

Visit Google DriveReview

Pros:

• Google Workspace integration
• Great sharing & collaboration tools
• Video player with advanced features

Cons:

• No Linux support
• No client-side encryption
• Google harvests user data

Google Drive Free Plan

Google Drive is among the more generous cloud storage providers, offering 15GB of storage without requiring any additional actions from the user.

Google Drive Free Plan Limitations

Google Drive is the first provider on our list that doesn’t impose any additional limitations on free users beyond the 15GB storage limit. All features on the paid plans are also available on the free plan.

Who Is Google Drive For?

Google Drive is the best free cloud storage for Google Workspace users, because of its seamless integration with other Google applications like Google Docs, Google Photos and Gmail, among others.

The 15GB of storage also makes it one of the best free cloud storage for video, and its fast speeds puts it in the ranking for the best cloud storage with fast upload and download speeds.

What Does Google Drive Do?

Google is a global household name, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that its cloud storage service ranks on our list of the best free cloud storage. Google Drive is a cloud storage juggernaut, with more than three billion users worldwide. It is the storage hub for all Google apps, like Google Docs and Gmail. Anyone with a Gmail account also has a Drive account. 

It’s a great service for collaboration for your files online, offering secure file sharing, offline access and many other productivity benefits. Besides deep integrations with Google Workspace apps, it also has a store for integrations with third-party apps, expanding Google Drive’s functionality even further. Best of all, a Google Drive free plan comes with 15GB of free storage and has no limitations on features.

Google Drive Hands-On Testing

Google Drive has multiple apps, including Mac and Windows desktop apps (no Linux support, sadly), and mobile apps for Android and iOS. However, the desktop app is pretty barebones, and our readers often complain about its poor syncing. This solidifies that Google Drive is meant to be used in a browser, in conjunction with other Google apps.

Its mobile app is a bit fussy, as it doesn’t automatically upload photos — you need to install Google Photos for that. Note that photo syncing is two-way, so if you have syncing on and you delete a photo from your phone, it’s gone from the cloud as well.

Notes From the Lab: Google Drive Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:07:05	0:07:25	0:07:15 (fast)
Download	0:07:16	0:07:19	0:07:18 (fast)

Google Drive’s speeds are seriously impressive, logging the second highest overall score in our testing. The desktop app had a high impact on our CPU, which decreased gradually as testing went on.

Notes From the Lab: Google Drive Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	No
Encryption at rest	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	U.S.
Applicable privacy laws	None

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Hardened servers
• Two-factor authentication
• Independent security audits

There’s no question that Google Drive is secure, as it is a crucial part of Google’s multi-billion-dollar operation. However, Google Drive is not private. There is no client-side encryption, which means Google can (and will) scan all your files for any information it might find useful for its advertising business. 

Google Drive Pricing & Value

If you want to upgrade your 15GB free plan, you can get 2TB of Google Drive storage for $8.33 per month on a yearly plan, which is decently affordable. However, keep in mind that when using any Google product, you pay the full price with your personal data, not dollars. Read our full Google Drive review for the scoop.

15GB

• Free plan
• 15GB

FREE

Basic 100GB

• 100GB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$1.99/month

1-year plan

$1.67/month

$19.99 billed every year

Save 16%

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

1-month plan

1-month plan

$2.99/month

1-year plan

$2.50/month

$29.99 billed every year

Save 16%

More plans

Premium 2TB

• 2TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$9.99/month

1-year plan

$8.33/month

$99.99 billed every year

Save 16%

AI Premium 2TB

• 2TB

1-month plan

$19.99/month

Premium 5TB

• 5TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$24.99/month

1-year plan

$20.83/month

$249.99 billed every year

Save 16%

Premium 10TB

• 10TB

1-month plan

$49.99/month

Premium 20TB

• 20TB

1-month plan

$99.99/month

Premium 30TB

• 30TB

1-month plan

$149.99/month

6. Filen — Best Secure Cloud Storage

Why is Nobody Talking About This Cloud Storage!? | Filen Review

filen.io

100GB – 10TB$0.83 / month

(save 17%) (All Plans)

Visit FilenReview

Pros:

• Open-source apps
• Generous referral program
• Client-side encryption for all files

Cons:

• Limited collaboration

Filen Free Plan

Although Filen only advertises 10GB of free storage, signing up through a referral link (such as the one you’ll find here) actually gives you 20GB of free storage, making Filen one of the most generous free cloud storage providers alongside MEGA and Terabox.

Filen also has the most generous referral program out there. For each person you invite (who only needs to sign up for a free account) you get a whopping 10GB of extra free storage, which is also given to the person you invited. There’s a 30GB limit to this program, meaning if you invite three friends, you’ll have 50GB of free storage total.

Filen Free Plan Limitations

Besides the storage capacity, Filen’s free plan has almost no extra limitations. There’s no bandwidth restrictions for uploads or downloads, and client-side encryption is included as well. The only feature that doesn’t exist on the free plan is that you can’t create public links for sharing, but you can still share files or folders privately with other users.

Who Is Filen For?

Filen is the best secure free cloud storage for personal files, as it offers a large amount of free storage space that can be greatly expanded, coupled with ironclad security and privacy. 

What Does Filen Do?

FIlen is a client-side-encryption cloud storage service that puts security and privacy at the center of its philosophy. It doesn’t have as many features as other providers on this list, particularly as it relates to collaboration. That said, for personal cloud storage and security-minded users, it’s a perfect fit.

Filen Hands-On Testing

Filen offers apps for Windows, Mac and Linux on desktop, and for Android and iOS on mobile. It even has a fully scriptable command-line interface for the techies out there. Filen’s desktop app looks and functions nearly identically to the web app, with the addition of a separate tab to set up syncs and the option to create a network drive.

Although Filen doesn’t create a sync folder on your computer, it does let you sync any folder on it. The setup is a bit complicated, but it’s the most flexible one we’ve seen. You can upload files only to the cloud, sync files both ways or sync only from the cloud to your device. There are also options for local and cloud-based backups, similar to cloud backup software.

Notes From the Lab: Filen Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:13:06	0:11:43	0:12:25 (very slow)
Download	0:07:47	0:08:10	0:07:59 (average)

Filen’s upload speeds are among the worst, with only one other service having slower uploads. Thankfully, downloads are reasonably fast and CPU load is low while performing tasks.

Notes From the Lab: Filen Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes, whole storage
Encryption at rest	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	EU
Applicable privacy laws	GDPR

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Encrypted notes
• Hardened servers
• Open-source apps
• Client-side encryption
• Two-factor authentication
• GDPR compliance (all users)
• End-to-end encrypted text chat
• Files stored on multiple servers

Besides client-side encryption, Filen is one of the most transparent free cloud storage services we’ve tested. Its apps are open source, allowing anyone to audit them for flaws. It also offers encrypted notes and chats, but they aren’t the most useful security features. Being a German provider with EU servers, it complies fully with the GDPR.

Filen Pricing & Value

Filen’s free plan might be the real head turner, but its paid plans are equally attractive. The 2TB plan costs just $7.50 per month with a yearly commitment — the cheapest 2TB plan on this list. There are also lifetime plans, though they aren’t available year round. Read our Filen review for more.

14-days money-back guarantee

Free

• 20GB

FREE

Starter

• *prices are in Euro
• 100GB

1-year plan

1-year plan

$1/month

$11.99 billed every year

Lifetime plan

$0.83/month

$29.99 one time payment, Monthly price for 3 years of use

Save 17%

Pro I

• *prices are in Euro
• 200GB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$1.99/month

1-year plan

$1.67/month

$19.99 billed every year

Save 16%

More plans

Pro II

• *prices are in Euro
• 500GB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$3.99/month

1-year plan

$3.33/month

$39.99 billed every year

Save 16%

Pro III

• *prices are in Euro
• 2TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$8.99/month

1-year plan

$7.50/month

$89.99 billed every year

Save 16%

Pro X

• *prices are in Euro
• 10TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$39.99/month

1-year plan

$33.33/month

$399.99 billed every year

Save 16%

7. Koofr— Best for Multiple Cloud Storage Accounts

Is Koofr Worth it in 2024? Full Cloud Storage Review

koofr.eu

10GB – 20TB$0.50 / month

(All Plans)

Visit KoofrReview

Pros:

• Microsoft Office integration
• Multiple cloud management
• Remote file access without syncing

Cons:

• Very expensive

Koofr Free Plan

Koofr is another cloud provider that opts for keeping its free plan simple. The free plan offers 10GB, and there’s no way to extend or increase that quota. Koofr used to offer a referral program, but this has been discontinued.

Koofr Free Plan Limitations

Although Koofr’s free plan itself is simple, the limitations imposed on it are quite extensive. First, there’s a 50GB monthly transfer limit. Next, deleted file retention is reduced from 30 days to seven, and versioning is also limited to 120 days, versus two years on the paid plans.

You can also create only a single Koofr Vault Safe Box (the client-side encrypted part of the service) as opposed to the three to 10 safe boxes allowed on paid plans.

External cloud connections (for example to Google Drive or Dropbox) are also limited to just two, down from the nine to 30 connections available on the paid plans. Sharing is also restricted, with free users only able to share files with 10 other Koofr users as well as create 10 time-limited (24 hours) public links. The same 10-link limit also applies to upload links.

There’s also a slew of more advanced features that are removed from the free plan entirely. Most notably this includes the MS365 integration, but also a PDF management tool, a space usage analyzer, duplicate file and empty folder finders, an image editor and file labels.

Who Is Koofr For?

Because of its integration with other cloud storage providers, Koofr is the best free cloud storage for users of multiple cloud services, especially those who want to centralize their cloud storage accounts to a single location.

What Does Koofr Do?

Koofr is a unique service that lets you manage multiple providers in a single cloud storage solution. It integrates with the three major cloud providers — Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox — and lets you manage files within them. In addition, Koofr offers collaboration via Microsoft Office, as well as a client-side vault for sensitive files.

Koofr’s free plan is decent, with 10GB of storage offered and with no limitations on features for free users. 

Koofr Hands-On Testing

Koofr offers apps for all major mobile and desktop operating systems, as well as a command-line tool. 

Notes From the Lab: Koofr Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:07:53	0:09:04	0:08:29 (average)
Download	0:08:32	0:07:50	0:08:11 (average)

Koofr isn’t the fastest cloud storage service, posting below-average performance for both uploads and downloads. Though RAM and CPU usage was low during our testing, large files caused it to choke.

Notes From the Lab: Koofr Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes, separate vault
Encryption at rest	XSalsa20 (private vault only), AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	EU
Applicable privacy laws	GDPR

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Uses only login cookies
• Two-factor authentication
• GDPR compliance (all users)
• Client-side encryption (single folder)
• Data duplicated across three servers

Though its client-side encryption implementation doesn’t cover your whole account, Koofr is a very private service. It is based in the EU, where it also hosts its servers, so your data is protected by the GDPR. As a gesture toward increasing user trust, Koofr’s website doesn’t use any cookies, apart from one that keeps you logged in.

Koofr Pricing & Value

Koofr’s paid plans aren’t the cheapest. It’s obvious that it’s geared toward users with few storage requirements, as its smaller plans are affordable. However, prices ramp up quickly, with its 1TB plan costing $10 per month — more than twice the price per terabyte than most other providers on this list. Read our full Koofr review to learn more.

Free Starter 10GB

• 10GB

FREE

Briefcase S – 10GB

• *Prices in Euro
• 10GB

1-month plan

$0.50/month

Briefcase M – 25GB

• *Prices in Euro
• 25GB

1-month plan

$1/month

More plans

Suitcase L – 100GB

• *Prices in Euro
• 100GB

1-month plan

$2/month

Suitcase XL – 250GB

• *Prices in Euro
• 250GB

1-month plan

$4/month

Suitcase XXL – 1TB

• *Prices in Euro
• 1TB

1-month plan

$10/month

Crate XXXL – 2.5TB

• *Prices in Euro
• 3TB

1-month plan

$20/month

Crate 5XXL – 5TB

• *Prices in Euro
• 5TB

1-month plan

$35/month

Crate 10XXL – 10TB

• *Prices in Euro
• 10TB

1-month plan

$60/month

Crate 20XXL – 20TB

• *Prices in Euro
• 20TB

1-month plan

$120/month

8. TeraBox — 1TB Free Cloud Storage

Should You Still Use Dropbox in 2024? [Updated Review]

www.terabox.com

2TB$4 / month

(save 19%) (All Plans)

Visit TeraBox Review

Pros:

• 1TB cloud storage for free
• Automatically sorts files by type

Cons:

• Poor privacy
• Ads on free account
• Greatly reduced speeds for free users

TeraBox Free Plan

Terabox’s free plan is unmatched in terms of storage; namely it offers a whopping 1TB (or 1,024GB to be exact) of free storage. While you might think that should earn it the top spot on this list, there are many good reasons why it’s not, which we’ll get into now.

TeraBox Free Plan Limitations

When we first learned of Terabox’s free 1TB offer, the immediate question we had was: what’s the catch? Let us tell you, there are some significant ones. 

First of all, free users get significantly reduced speeds, especially when it comes to downloads. There’s also a pretty strict 4GB file size limit, which takes some of the usefulness out of the massive 1TB storage allotment.

Furthermore, free users can share only 20 files per month, and video playback is limited to 480p quality (and you can’t change the playback speed either).

You also can’t upload videos from the mobile app, nor can you schedule automatic backups for anything. Several other more niche features are also stripped out of the free version, including a cloud unzip function, image editing, cloud decompression, video acceleration and data-saving mode for videos.

Finally, and most annoyingly, the free plan is supported by ads, both in the web panel and the applications. While the web ads can be circumvented fairly easily using any number of ad blocking techniques, the in-app ads are much easier to avoid and ignore.

Who Is TeraBox For?

Despite its significant limitations Terabox’s 1TB free plan is the best free cloud storage for data hoarders, as no other provider can compete with the sheer size of the storage offered. That said, the significant limitations outlined above makes it hard to recommend Terabox for anything but long-term archiving of data and files.

What Does TeraBox Do?

Despite the significant limitations of the free plan, TeraBox seems like a legitimate service that offers a fantastic amount of free storage. There’s not much we can say in its favor beyond that, though, as the service is severely lacking both in terms of transparency about its security and advanced features.

TeraBox Hands-On Testing

TeraBox can be a bit of a mess to use, at least as a free user. The desktop apps (for Windows and Mac) can’t sync your files, so you still have to upload everything manually. The mobile apps (for Android and iOS) are even worse — they’re dogged by unskippable video ads. We at least appreciate that TeraBox separates files by type for easier navigation.

Notes From the Lab: TeraBox Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:08:29	0:09:12	0:08:51 (average)
Download	0:40:43	0:42:37	0:41:40 (very slow)

As we mentioned, TeraBox throttles speeds for free users, but it appears this is the case for downloads only. Its upload speeds aren’t exactly the best, but they’re just below average. However, downloads are painfully slow, and you can download only one file at a time. CPU loads are low, at least.

Notes From the Lab: TeraBox Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	No
Encryption at rest	Unknown
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	Japan
Applicable privacy laws	None

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Vault with two-factor authentication

As you might expect from a service offering so much storage for free, its privacy and security aren’t the best. Despite repeated questions from our reviewers, TeraBox remained mum on its use of at-rest encryption, so you should probably use a third-party encryption app with this provider. Its privacy policy isn’t much better, as it’s full of vague language.

TeraBox Pricing & Value

In addition to having a massive free plan, TeraBox has very affordable paid plans. Its 2TB plan costs just $47.99 on a yearly subscription, which is much cheaper than the other services on this list. Please exercise caution when using TeraBox, though — encrypt your files and keep copies of them elsewhere as well. Read our full TeraBox review for more.

Free

• 1TB

FREE

Premium

• 2TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$4.99/month

1-year plan

$4/month

$47.99 billed every year

Save 19%

9. OneDrive— Integrated Cloud Storage for Windows

www.onedrive.com

100GB – 6TB$1.67 / month

(save 16%) (All Plans)

Visit OneDriveReview

Pros:

• Paid plans come with MS Office
• Comes preinstalled with Windows

Cons:

• No client-side encryption
• Microsoft harvests user data
• Up to 1TB cloud storage only

OneDrive Free Plan

OneDrive operates on a similar scale to Google Drive, but unfortunately it offers only a third of the free storage at 5GB per free user. There’s no way to increase this allotment either, unlike for example Sync.com where you can increase your 5GB of free storage by referring friends.

OneDrive Free Plan Limitations

Unlike Google Drive, OneDrive imposes several limitations on free accounts. Free users can store only three files in OneDrive’s “vault” (a section of the app protected by an additional password and 2FA). Sharing features are also limited, with free users not having access to expiration dates and password protection for shared links.

File restore and versioning are also removed entirely from the free plan, compared to the 30 days of restore time available on the paid plans. The mobile tool to scan multipage documents also isn’t available nor can you automatically backup devices on a set schedule. Paid accounts also get access to ransomware protection, a feature not available on the free plan.

Who Is OneDrive For?

Because of its integration with other Microsoft products (such as the various Office apps), OneDrive is the best free cloud storage for Microsoft Office users. It’s also built directly into Windows 10 and 11, making the best integrated cloud storage for Windows users.

What Does OneDrive Do?

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service, coming preinstalled on Windows computers and integrating deeply with Microsoft Office and SharePoint. Like Google, Microsoft is a data hog, which means using OneDrive comes at the cost of its parent company scanning your files for personal information. Free users get only 5GB of storage.

OneDrive Hands-On Testing

OneDrive supports Windows (surprise, surprise) and Mac on desktop, plus iOS and Android on mobile. The desktop apps use the sync folder method, with no option to sync other folders. Thankfully, the “on demand” feature lets you set certain files as online-only to save space.

Notes From the Lab: OneDrive Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:07:26	0:07:35	0:07:31 (average)
Download	0:07:18	0:07:16	0:07:17 (very fast)

With Microsoft’s worldwide server infrastructure, it’s no surprise that its speeds were some of the fastest in our test, taking the gold for download speeds and tying with Icedrive for third place overall. RAM usage was higher than we’d like, but CPU load remained low throughout.

Notes From the Lab: OneDrive Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	No
Encryption at rest	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	U.S.
Applicable privacy laws	None

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Two-factor authentication
• Password protection for vault files

Like Google Drive, OneDrive is a poor choice for privacy-minded users. It offers no client-side encryption and adds a vault that protects only some files with an additional password. Free users get to keep only three files in their vault, though. 

OneDrive Pricing & Value

OneDrive’s pricing is a bit confusing. First of all, you can’t get more than 1TB of cloud storage on a personal plan. Second, you can’t just buy extra OneDrive storage — you have to purchase it bundled with Microsoft 365 at $8.33 per month on a yearly plan. Read our OneDrive review for more.

Want a deeper dive into OneDrive? Check out our Cloudwards OneDrive course.

Microsoft 365 Free (5GB)

• For one person
• 5GB

FREE

Microsoft 365 Basic (100GB)

• 100GB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$1.99/month

1-year plan

$1.67/month

$19.99 billed every year

Save 16%

Microsoft 365 Personal (1TB)

• Comes with Office 365 Personal
• 1TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$9.99/month

1-year plan

$8.33/month

$99.99 billed every year

Save 16%

More plans

Microsoft 365 Family (6TB)

• Comes with Office 365 Home
• 6TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$12.99/month

1-year plan

$10.83/month

$129.99 billed every year

Save 16%

OneDrive for Business (Plan 1)

• Price per user
• 1TB

1-year plan

$5/month

$60 billed every year

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

• 1TB

1-year plan

$6/month

$72 billed every year

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

• Price per user
• 1TB

1-year plan

$12.50/month

$150 billed every year

10. Dropbox — Best Cross-Platform Apps

Should You Still Use Dropbox in 2024? [Updated Review]

www.dropbox.com

2TB – 5TB$9.99 / month

(save 16%) (All Plans)

Visit DropboxReview

Pros:

• Reliable syncing
• Streamlined apps
• Microsoft Office integration
• Google Workspace integration

Cons:

• Not the cheapest
• Past security breaches

Dropbox Free Plan

Dropbox starts you out with a measly 2GB of free storage. This can be expanded up to 18GB by referring friends, but free accounts only get 500MB of storage per referral, meaning you have to invite 32 friends to reach the maximum free storage. 

Luckily, the people you refer only need to create a new account and validate their email address for it to count. Like with other services, the extra free storage is granted to both referrer and referee.

Dropbox Free Plan Limitations

Dropbox imposes some pretty severe usage limits on its free plans. You can only connect a maximum of three devices to your account, and there’s no file versioning or rewind functionality whatsoever, compared to 30 days on the cheapest paid plan.

Furthermore, there’s no access to the Vault, and you can only request three signatures per month through Dropbox Sign. There’s also no remote device wipe, meaning you have to manually remove Dropbox from devices you no longer use. Free users also have a file-size limit of 2GB when using Dropbox Transfer.

Who Is Dropbox For?

Dropbox is the best free cloud storage for beginners, especially those who don’t need a lot of storage space right away. Its intuitive design that’s been refined for almost two decades makes it incredibly easy to use. Because of the Dropbox Sign functionality, it’s also the best free cloud storage to use for contracts and agreements.

What Does Dropbox Do?

Though Dropbox is one of the better cloud storage providers out there, it sits low on our list due to offering only 2GB of cloud storage for free. You can expand this to 18.5GB via referrals, though referring people can be a tougher sell with Dropbox than with larger-capacity free services like MEGA and Filen.

However, it’s still a decent choice if you need to store only documents. In fact, it integrates with two suites of office apps: Google Workspace and Microsoft Office, making it the most flexible free cloud storage when it comes to online collaboration.

Dropbox Hands-On Testing

Dropbox offers desktop and mobile apps for all major operating systems. You can install it on multiple computers to cover all the devices you own and sync files between them. As our readers inform us, the apps are finely polished and work perfectly every time — a benefit of Dropbox’s age and maturity as a cloud storage service.

Dropbox invented the sync folder, so it’s no surprise that it’s the service’s syncing method of choice. Its “smart sync” feature is a welcome space-saving addition that lets you set files as online-only.

Notes From the Lab: Dropbox Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:07:03	0:07:32	0:07:18 (fast)
Download	0:07:16	0:07:28	0:07:22 (fast)

Dropbox’s speeds are decent, ranking fifth overall behind Icedrive and OneDrive. Keep in mind that all the services in the top five are very close in terms of performance, though. CPU load was low throughout our test run.

Notes From the Lab: Dropbox Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes (Enterprise plan only)
Encryption at rest	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	U.S.
Applicable privacy laws	None

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Two-factor authentication

Like the other U.S.-based big names, Dropbox is not the best free cloud storage for privacy. It’s had a few leaks and scandals over the years (enough to fill a Wikipedia page), and was even allegedly considered for the PRISM surveillance program. Needless to say, there’s no client-side encryption, either — at least not for personal users.

Dropbox Pricing & Value

If the previous paragraph didn’t have you scrolling down to the next provider and you’re still set on purchasing a Dropbox plan, you’ll find it’s not the cheapest cloud storage provider. Its 2TB plan costs $9.99 per month on a yearly basis. Read our full Dropbox review for more.

Free

• 1 user
• 2GB

FREE

Dropbox Plus

• 1 user
• 2TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$11.99/month

1-year plan

$9.99/month

$119.88 billed every year

Save 16%

Dropbox Family

• up to 6 users
• 2TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$19.99/month

1-year plan

$16.99/month

$203.88 billed every year

Save 15%

More plans

Dropbox Essentials (aka Professional for professionals)

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

1-month plan

1-month plan

$19.99/month

1-year plan

$16.58/month

$199 billed every year

Save 17%

Dropbox Business (aka Standard for teams)

• 3 users minimum
• 5TB

1-month plan

1-month plan

$18/month

1-year plan

$15/month

$180 billed every year

Save 16%

Dropbox Business Plus (aka Advanced for companies)

• 3 users minimum

1-month plan

1-month plan

$30/month

1-year plan

$24/month

$288 billed every year

Save 20%

Dropbox Enterprise

Contact support for pricing

11. iCloud — Free Cloud Storage Integrated With Mac & iOS

Should You Still Be Using iCloud in 2024? [FULL REVIEW WITH SPEED TESTS]

www.apple.com

50GB – 12TB$0.99 / month

(All Plans)

Visit iCloudReview

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Preinstalled on Apple devices

Cons:

• Lacks features
• Little free storage
• Had major security breaches

iCloud Free Plan

iCloud offers 5GB of free storage to anyone who creates an account, and there’s no way to expand this allotment.

iCloud Free Plan Limitations

iCloud’s free plan doesn’t come with any additional limits beyond the storage cap. That said, iCloud is incredibly barebones in terms of features even on its paid plans, so there isn’t a whole lot for Apple to place limits on anyway. 

The paid plans do add some additional features, but these are largely unrelated to cloud storage, namely iCloud Private Relay (essentially a proxy for Safari), email masking, a custom email domain and access to HomeKit Secure Video (a management platform for security camera footage).

Who Is iCloud For?

In general, we hesitate to recommend iCloud to anyone. That said, it’s the best cloud storage for Apple users who only care about ease of use and native integration with their Mac, iPhone and iPad. The exception is for U.K. users, as Apple removed advanced data protection for U.K. users after the government requested an encryption backdoor.

What Does iCloud Do?

Apple iCloud is difficult to recommend, even for free users. Its free plan gives you only 5GB of storage, is slow and has had several security scandals, including the 2014 celebrity nude photo leak. In fact, it’s not even the best cloud storage for Mac. The only positive comment we can make is that it recently added end-to-end encryption, though even that is limited.

iCloud Hands-On Testing

iCloud Drive (iCloud’s syncing app) comes preinstalled on Mac and iOS devices and supports Windows, but it lacks Android and Linux support. The desktop app uses the standard sync folder, and it uses selective syncing to save space.

Notes From the Lab: iCloud Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:10:40	0:11:56	0:11:18 (slow)
Download	0:08:28	0:08:21	0:08:25 (slow)

iCloud had the third slowest upload speeds, fourth slowest download speeds and some of the worst overall performance in our latest round of speed tests. Our tester noted nothing unusual about the CPU load or RAM use.

Read Notes From the Lab: iCloud Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes (except email, calendar, contacts and some metadata)
Encryption at rest	AES-256 (AES-128 on older devices)
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	U.S.
Applicable privacy laws	None

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Two-factor authentication
• Client-side encryption (with exceptions)

iCloud Drive recently added client-side encryption called “advanced protection.” However, we still don’t recommend it for privacy, as its implementation is only partial. Notably, it leaves files’ original checksums unencrypted. The goal is to combat CSAM distribution and copyright violations, but it raises questions about how airtight Apple’s implementation is.

iCloud Pricing & Value

A 2TB iCloud plan costs $9.99 per month, with no long-term plans or the discounts that usually come with them. Plans go all the way up to 12TB, though we can’t recommend purchasing that much storage with a provider offering so few features. Our full iCloud review has more information on Apple’s cloud service.

5GB Plan

• 5GB

1-year plan

$0 billed every year

iCloud+ 50GB Plan

• 50GB

1-month plan

$0.99/month

iCloud+ 200GB Plan

• 200GB

1-month plan

$2.99/month

More plans

iCloud+ 2TB Plan

• 2TB

1-month plan

$9.99/month

iCloud+ 6TB

• 6TB

1-month plan

$29.99/month

iCloud+ 12TB

• 12TB

1-month plan

$59.99/month

12. Degoo — Best Free Cloud Storage for Mac & iOS

degoo.com

500GB – 5TB$2.39 / month

(All Plans)

Visit DegooReview

Pros:

• 20GB free storage

Cons:

• No file sync
• No desktop app
• Ad-supported free plan

Degoo Free Plan

Degoo, which used to offer 100GB free storage, now provides only 20GB free storage out of the box.

You can increase this to 25GB by inviting friends, but each referral only grants 250MB of extra storage, meaning you have to invite 20 people to get the additional 5GB of storage. People you invite only have to sign up for a free account, but the extra storage is only given to the referrer.

Degoo Free Plan Limitations

Degoo’s free plan has some of the most severe limitations we’ve seen from any cloud storage provider. First, you can only upload files that are 256MB or smaller in size, which is not very much.

Free accounts are also ad-supported, both in the mobile and desktop application. The web app meanwhile is completely inaccessible unless you upgrade.

There’s no client-side encryption for free users, and accounts that are inactive for 90 days are automatically deleted along with all the data stored on them. You can connect as many devices as you want, but only three of them will be able to upload files to the cloud.

Free accounts also have reduced replication of their files, but this is not noticeable for the vast majority of users.

Who Is Degoo For?

We rarely recommend Degoo to anyone, due to its severe lack of features. However, if you need more file storage capacity for free and have already exhausted all of the other options in this list, then it can serve as a decent source of some extra free storage.

What Does Degoo Do?

We’ve included Degoo on this list of free cloud storage providers, but it is actually a backup service, with no file syncing, sharing or any other features you’d normally find in a cloud storage service. Its main selling point is its 20GB free plan, which unfortunately does not come with client-side encryption, despite Degoo offering it on paid plans.

Its free plan is also severely limited, with no full-resolution photo backup and no advanced backup options. Most annoyingly, it serves you ads. We can’t recommend it over other high-capacity free cloud storage services like MEGA and Filen.

Degoo Hands-On Testing

Degoo has no desktop client, offering only a web interface and mobile apps for Android and iOS. This means there is no way to automatically upload files to the cloud, which is unfortunate, as the web interface is poorly designed.

Notes From the Lab: Degoo Speed Test Results

	First Try	Second Try	Average
Upload	0:21:40	0:12:05	0:16:55 (very slow)
Download	0:09:25	0:07:30	0:08:30 (very slow)

Degoo had the slowest uploads and the second slowest downloads in our speed test, placing it dead last on our list. The service took quite a while to get started, and it paused after each file was processed. 

Notes From the Lab: Degoo Security Analysis

Feature:	Encryption Protocols Used
Client-side encryption	Yes (paid users only)
Encryption at rest	AES-256 (AES-128 on older devices)
Encryption in transit	TLS/SSL
Jurisdiction	EU
Applicable privacy laws	GDPR, Swedish Personal Data Act

Key Security & Privacy Features:

• Two-factor authentication
• Client-side encryption (paid users only)
• GDPR compliance (suspicious application)

Degoo offers client-side encryption on paid plans, but free users have no such protection. You will certainly need it, though, as Degoo’s privacy policy allows it to freely scan your uploaded content and private information. It does this despite adhering to the GDPR. The law allows companies to do so as long as users consent, which you must do on account creation.

Degoo Pricing & Value

As this is a cloud backup service (not a fully fleshed-out cloud storage service), storage space is a bit cheaper. A 5TB Degoo plan costs just $7.99 per month on a monthly plan. However, there are still better cloud backup providers, such as Backblaze, which offers unlimited storage for cheaper. Read our full Degoo review for more. 

Free

• *Prices are in GBP
• 20GB

FREE

Pro

• *Prices are in GBP
• 500GB

1-month plan

$2.39/month

Ultimate

• *Prices are in GBP
• 5TB

1-month plan

$7.99/month

Our Methodology: How We Tested the Best Free Cloud Storage Providers

Our expert reviewers spend extensive hands-on time using all the software we test in order to give an objective assessment. When judging the quality of a service, we place the most weight on security and privacy, while also taking into account factors that directly impact most users, such as speed, usability and cost.

• Free plan: We analyze each free plan and judge it based on storage capacity and feature availability.
• Security and privacy: We look for security-related features, including encryption methods, to assess a service’s security. We also take a close look at the service’s privacy policy, looking for any dodgy language.
• Speed: We run periodic speed tests on a virtual machine by uploading and downloading a 5GB test folder to the cloud twice and averaging the results. 
• CPU and RAM usage: While running our speed tests, we use SysGauge to log and calculate average CPU loads, RAM usage and thread counts.
• Ease of use: During our week of testing, our reviewers assess how easy it is to use the service and note any oddities, peculiarities or foibles with the software.
• Price: We weigh the value of a service, including its security, speed and feature set, against its cost per terabyte to come to a conclusion about its price.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to the best free cloud storage options, your choice will ultimately depend on your specific needs. Whether you’re prioritizing generous storage limits or robust security and privacy, or simply looking for something that integrates with your productivity apps of choice, our list should have a solution for you.

pCloud took first place thanks to its large storage capacity and advanced media playback capabilities. Sync.com finished second, in no small part due to offering full coverage with client-side encryption. Speed demon Icedrive came in third.

What’s your favorite free cloud storage service? Have you used any of the services on our list? What are your opinions on them? Please let us know in the comment section below. As always, thank you for reading.

FAQ: Free Cloud Space

• Which Cloud Storage Is Best and Free?

  pCloud is the best free cloud storage service, offering 10GBof storage and an advanced media player.

• How Can I Get 100GB Storage for Free?

  You can’t get 100GB of storage for free — at least not on one account — with the exception of Terabox. Most other providers that claim to offer more than 20GB of free storage are generally scams, but you can string together multiple accounts with services offering large capacities of free cloud storage (like MEGA and Filen) and connect them using a cloud management tool like MultCloud to get to a total of 100GB of free storage.

• How to Get 1TB Free Storage?

  You can get 1TB of cloud storage for free with a TeraBox account, though we don’t fully endorse its security and privacy measures.

• How to Get 200GB for Free?

  Your best chance to get 200GB of storage for free is to use four Filen accounts, with 50GB of storage each, assuming you max out the referral quota for each account.

• Does Amazon Have Free Cloud Storage?

  Amazon has free storage through AWS and Amazon S3. Free AWS accounts have access to 5GB of S3 free storage. However, Amazon’s personal cloud storage service, Amazon Drive, shut down at the end of 2023.