Let’s say that you receive an urgent text asking you to add the final touches on a paper. However, there’s a catch — you cannot access the paper without your computer.
As this is such an everyday situation in our virtual reality, people turn to cloud storage increasingly. Based on a report by Cybersecurity Ventures, people, companies, organizations, and governments will have 100 zettabytes of Cloud Storage Apps data by 2025. Statistics also indicate that 50% of people use cloud storage either at the office or at home.
If you are not one of them or wish to switch cloud storage services, stepping into the world of online storage can look intimidating to you.
However, we are here to assist you. In this article, we will analyze 10 best cloud storage apps so that you can decide on your best cloud storage apps.
Also Read: Best Document Control Software
How Does Cloud Storage Operate and What Is It?
Cloud storage is a software that allows you to upload your digital files to an online remote server, allowing you to maintain a backup copy of files that you can access anywhere. cloud storage apps usually provide hot storage for frequently accessed files and cold storage for archive data, with the latter being cheaper but slower to retrieve.
What makes the best cloud storage app?
From decades of electronically storing my work and life clutter, these five features are what I believe are most important to good cloud storage apps:
There’s more to it than that, such as monthly transfer limits, the kinds of files you can store, and how storage buckets are allocated.
- Competitive pricing : Cheap doesn’t always equal cheap. You’re tempted to go with the app that has the most GBs for the fewest dollars, but do you really want to pay for more storage space than you’re going to use when you can be getting you time-saving features instead?
- Offline and multi-device availability : You need to be able to access your things where and when you want them, on all your devices everywhere—down the loo or lost in the forest.
- Organization features : The best cloud storage providers include features that let you sort, filter, search for, and organize your files with ease.
- Security and reliability : You’re going to have to protect those banking passwords, social security numbers, and crypto wallet codes, right? Just joking: don’t store those in cloud storage. For everyone, security comes second only to price, and rightly so: your stuff is your stuff, and you don’t want to share it.
List of 10 Best Cloud Storage App
1. iDrive
IDrive is somewhat of a wild card here. It’s not exactly a cloud storage apps company; actually, it’s really a backup service, but it has incorporated cloud storage into its product. IDrive’s cloud storage does not take away from your cloud backup capacity, so you basically get double the space when using both cloud storage and backup.
While IDrive’s cloud backup is one of the most feature-packed and flexible, its cloud storage is sparsely featured. Some rudimentary file-sharing abilities exist but otherwise little else.
Features:
- iDrive revert (which restores files to prior versions)
- Snapshots (which makes “snapshots” of your files for history)
- The iDrive Dashboard (which allows you to access users and files from one central point)
Pricing:
- iDrive provides:
- iDrive Personal for $79.50 per year (5 TB of data included)
- iDrive Team from $99.50 a year (supports multiple computers and users)
- iDrive Business for $99.50 a year (all users, servers, and computers are unlimited)
- Enterprise plans
Pros:
- You are able to view your files on any device
- Great user interface (UI)
- Fantastic variety of pricing plans (with discounts on your first year)
Cons:
- Some consumers complain about delayed customer service and tech.
2. pCloud
pCloud is a cloud storage apps like a Swiss army knife, especially for entertainment. Its built-in music player with all the features earns it our recommendation as the best music cloud storage, and Kodi support allows you to stream video and movies from the cloud. pCloud doesn’t have any file size restrictions, which makes it the ideal cloud storage for video editing.
In addition to these attributes, pCloud has cloud backup, where you can upload files to the cloud at an interval without syncing them. This is excellent for having an archive of files you don’t want to access too often.
Features:
- 30-day history of the trash can
- pCloud Crypto (which provides password-protecting file locking)
- Authentication using two factors
- Encryption on the client side
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption and Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Pricing:
- pCloud offers annual and lifetime subscriptions, with the Premium subscription beginning at $59.88 yearly or $500 lifetime (with 500 GB included).
- The Premium Plus at 2 TB can be had for $119.88 annually or $980 for lifetime.
- Furthermore, pCloud offers corporate and family plans as well as a free plan that comes with 10 GB storage.
Pros:
- GDPR compliant
- Great user interface
- Great for teams
Cons:
- pCloud Crypto costs extra
- More expensive than other storage options
3. Google Drive
The Google Drive offline facilities enable its users to access all the saved files and photos online even when they are experiencing poor network service.
Reading documents has become very easy now by just snapping the document and the rest is taken care of by the drive like saving them in PDF format.
Features:
- Multiple users
- Version history
- Google Docs and Google Classroom compatibility
Pricing:
- Google Drive through “Google One” has both free and paid plans. Free plan comes with 15GB of storage space, while the paid plans offer:
- Google One Basic for $2 a month or $20 a year (includes 100 GB)
- Google One Standard for $3 per month or $30 per year (includes 200 GB)
- Google One Premium for $10 per month or $100 per year (includes 2 TB)
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Flexible pricing
- Fantastic for international teams
Cons:
- Fewer features than other options
- Not suitable for all file types
4. IceDrive
Icedrive is a cut above the rest for its well-designed and intuitive interface. It’s supported on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems, plus mobile devices that use Android and iOS. We don’t usually remark on the look of something, but Icedrive’s interface is definitely a head-turner, with trendy colors, streamlined lines and minimalist fonts.
Icedrive allows you to use a traditional sync folder but also offers some alternatives. It is possible to select between the sync folder, a virtual drive and a no-install portable application that can synchronize any folder you have on the device. Previously, the virtual drive was Windows-only, but it has lately been ported to Mac and Linux as well.
Features:
- Video and audio streaming
- Twofish algorithm encryption
- Client-side encryption
- Share link timeout
Pricing:
IceDrive has 10GB of free storage. If additional storage is needed, IceDrive’s plans are:
- IceDrive Lite for $1.67 per month or $19.99 per year (includes 150 GB storage)
- IceDrive Pro at $4.17 per month or $49.99 per year (has 1 TB of storage)
- IceDrive Pro+ starting at $15.00 monthly or $179.99 yearly (5 TB of storage included)
- IceDrive also provides a lifetime payment for every one of its plans.
Pros:
- You can share files with friends easily
- GDPR-compliant
- Password protection
Cons:
- No third-party integrations
5. Dropbox
Dropbox is the original cloud storage app, having debuted in 2008. It allows you to work together online through both Google Workspace and Microsoft Office, and it has an app store for other third-party integrations. But it’s had some major security breaches. Although it’s fixed all of them, we still struggle to recommend it for storing sensitive documents.
Dropbox’s “smart sync” also smartly controls local storage by storing infrequently used files in the cloud but keeping them accessible through your file explorer, thus keeping valuable disk space intact. The web interface also has native file preview functionality for more than 30 file formats, making it unnecessary to download files to read their contents.
Besides, Dropbox Business users are also able to use the remote device wipe feature, enabling them to secure their data by wiping lost or stolen devices .
Features:
- Real-time backup
- Smart sync
- Dropbox vault
- Remote wipe
- File recovery
- Two-step verification
Pricing:
- Dropbox Plus at $11.99 a month or $119.88 annually (comes with 2TB storage)
- Dropbox Family for $19.99 per month or $203.88 per year (offers 2TB of storage among up to six individuals)
Pros:
- Great for photos and videos
- Good cybersecurity features
Cons:
- DropBox only offers encryption on paid plans
6. OneDrive
OneDrive is one of the largest cloud storage apps. It pre-installs on all Windows PCs. While it’s not as secure as some other cloud services, it includes a variety of useful features, primarily having to do with its integration with Microsoft’s other offerings, including the Office productivity suite and SharePoint.
OneDrive apps can be accessed on iOS, Android, Windows and Mac operating systems, although the Windows users will get the optimal user experience, as there is no setup or installation required.
The desktop applications apply the sync folder approach. There is an ability to designate a few files as “on demand,” and such files will become accessible only from the cloud, freeing up hard drive space on your computer.
Features:
- User controls
- Expiration dates for old files
- Download blocks
- Custom passwords for confidential files
- Version history
Pricing:
- OneDrive is included in Microsoft 365, but can also be purchased via Microsoft’s OneDrive for Business plan. The plan costs from $5 per user a month and allows for 1 TB of storage.
Pros:
- Compatible with Microsoft Office apps
- Speedy sync time
- Good for collaboration
Cons:
- Limited security features
- Limited storage
Read more: Best Password Managers
7. Box
Box is a commercially focused cloud storage apps that has robust collaboration capabilities. Thanks to its enterprise-grade Microsoft Office and Google Workspace integration, you can edit files in the Box app itself, even on the mobile platform. Box also has native apps to work with its cloud storage alongside numerous third-party integrations.
Box has Windows, Mac, iOS and Android apps, and we typically prefer how they work. The desktop applications can be overwhelming, however, and the mobile apps upload to the root folder rather than a specific folder.
Features:
- Cloud Content Management
- Version history
- Real-time backup
- Box Sign
- Two-factor authentication
Pricing:
- A free subscription with up to 10 GB of storage is available from Box. If you want more, Box provides:
- Box Business starts at $15 a month per user.
- Box Business Plus starts at $25 a month per user.
- Box Enterprise costs $35 a month per user.
Pros:
- Integrates with over 1,500 productive apps
- Strong cybersecurity
- Great for team collaboration
Cons:
- Box’s business strategies require a minimum of three users.
- Box only complies with FedRAMP and HIPAA on enterprise plans.
8. MEGA
Just like Texas, it’s all bigger with MEGA. It provides you with more free storage than any other secure cloud storage service, and it has high-capacity paid plans that reach up to 16TB for individual users or a whopping 10PB for companies (that’s 10,000TB).
Unfortunately, MEGA does not offer much beyond a lot of storage. Password-protected encrypted share links are a bonus to its minimalist feature set. The other feature besides secure file sharing is its end-to-end encrypted chat client, though this is something that you do not really need in a cloud storage service.
Features:
- The most cloud storage for free users
- Power users needing large storage capacity
Pricing:
- MEGA provides a whopping 20 GB of free cloud storage alongside a number of premium plans starting at about $11 per month for 2 TB.
Pros:
- Ample free plan
- Encrypted sharing links
- Up to 16TB of storage for paid plans
Cons:
- Lacks features
- Expensive paid plans
- Might not be fully zero-knowledge
9. Koofr
Koofr is a zero-knowledge cloud solution with a rather distinctive feature set. It supports Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, allowing you to access and control their storage within Koofr itself.
You can even access your files remotely using the mobile app without having to upload anything to the cloud. Koofr includes Microsoft Office integration for editing documents in real time. It also includes a simple image editor which allows you to resize, crop or put a filter on pictures.
Features:
- Multi-cloud management
- Koofr Vault (zero-knowledge, client-side encryption)
- Seven-day retention of deleted files
Pricing:
- Koofr is an EU company and prices in euros, so costs to U.S. customers would be variable. Beyond a free paid plan that has 10 GB of storage, there are three paid plans, which range from 20 TB and cost from €0.50 a month to €120 a month.
Pros:
- Manage multiple clouds
- Microsoft Office integration
- Remote file access without syncing
Cons:
- Very expensive
10. Internxt
Internxt is another extremely secure cloud storage app with client-side encryption. Its apps are open-source, allowing you to review the code for vulnerabilities, backdoors or flaws (if you know how).
While Internxt is not rich in features at all, it has a backup feature much like pCloud. Better still, the service has some of the cheapest cloud storage rates available, including some very affordable lifetime plans.
Features:
- Internxt Send, for secure large file transfers
- Free password checker
- Virus scanner
- Cloud backup service
Pricing:
- Internxt offers individual and business plans. Contact sales for business plan pricing.
Pros:
- File backup
- Open-source apps
- Lifetime storage plans
Cons:
- Slow speeds
- No collaboration options
Conclusion
As it is all about availing the best free cloud storage apps, it is extremely crucial to know the features that constitute the best Cloud Management Platform. There are numerous cloud storage apps that not only offer you free online storage but also several other features. There are some cloud storages available in the market which not only offer the best user experience and amazing features but also assist users in enjoying the free services after sign up. But the above-mentioned other cloud storage is also worth signing up because all of them come with distinctive features and free storage provision.
Having given our top 10 best cloud storage apps tips, we’d also appreciate if you’d share how you store files and which of the mentioned apps would you also advise to other users?
FAQs
1.Which Cloud Storage Best for Personal Usage?
Sync.com is the top personal cloud storage due to its robust security and low costs. It’s wonderful even for data gluttons with its unlimited cloud storage plan.
2.How to Get 1TB Free Storage?
You can’t get a 1TB cloud storage deal for free by rolling the dice. While companies like TeraBox boast about their storage capacity, they tend to leave your data exposed and unencrypted. A browse through online reviews would typically show a sweep of deactivated accounts with users stranded without their data.
3.How Much Cloud Storage Do I Need?
Your cloud storage needs will depend on your use case. If you’re a content creator, you’ll likely need more than 2TB of cloud storage. The average user will be better served by a plan offering anywhere between 500GB (the size of the average laptop hard drive) and 2TB of cloud storage.
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