- What Makes a Cloud Storage Deal the Best?
- Best Deal in Cloud Storage: Sync.com
- Other Reasons We Like Sync.com
Best Deals in Cloud Storage: How to Get More For Less
Are you looking for cheap cloud storage? You’re in luck. Competition in the cloud storage market is fierce and because it’s something of a commodity product, there’s plenty of value to be found for the discerning nerd.
Rather than paying $10 a month for 1TB of storage with Dropbox, you can get twice that amount for $2 less if you know where to look. Or, if you only need 500GB, there’s really no need to pay for storage you’re not going to use.
Below, we’ve pulled from our top of the range providers to find the best cloud storage deals today. More than just bargain-bin Dropbox alternatives, each cloud storage solution we picked offers a strong user experience in its own right, making them perfect picks to expand your storage capacity without shrinking your bank account.
If you’re really looking to save, don’t forget to also check out our picks for the best free cloud storage plans.
Best Deals in Cloud Storage 2020
- 1
- Sync Folder
- File Link Sharing
- Folder Sharing
- Versioning
- 2
- Sync Folder
- File Link Sharing
- Folder Sharing
- Versioning
- 3
- Sync Folder
- File Link Sharing
- Folder Sharing
- Versioning
- 4
- Sync Folder
- File Link Sharing
- Folder Sharing
- Versioning
- 5
- Sync Folder
- File Link Sharing
- Folder Sharing
- Versioning
What Makes a Cloud Storage Deal the Best?
In making our selections, we didn’t exactly start with the bottom line. The truth is there are plenty of cheap options out there that attract with their price tag but don’t don’t deliver when it comes to quality.
A good example is MEGA cloud storage. While you can get 50GB of cloud storage for free with MEGA, the service itself is full of bugs, hard to use and more than a little sluggish when it comes to sync speed, as you can read about in our full MEGA review.
With quality in mind, we started by focusing on solutions that are well-designed and worthy of being mentioned in our best cloud services 2020 roundup. Only then did we consider the cost of service compared to the amount of storage received.
In addition to price, we also gave some weight to variety, as some cloud storage services offer multiple different price points, while others, like Dropbox, force you to go from free to 1TB and offer nothing beyond that.
That said, let’s get to the good deals.
Best Deal in Cloud Storage: Sync.com
Sync.com jumped right out at us as an easy pick for the best deal in cloud storage. It’s 2TB plan will set you back just $8 a month. That’s a big reason why we also recommend it as one of the best cloud storage picks for photos, which tend to take up lots of space.
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Free
| |
Personal Mini
| 1-year plan $ 5.00/ month $60.00 billed every year |
Pro Solo Basic
| 1-year plan $ 8.00/ month $96.00 billed every year |
Pro Solo Standard
| 1-year plan $ 10.00/ month $120.00 billed every year |
Pro Solo Plus
| 1-year plan $ 15.00/ month $180.00 billed every year |
Pro Teams Standard
| 1-year plan $ 5.00/ month $60.00 billed every year |
Pro Teams Plus
| 1-year plan $ 8.00/ month $96.00 billed every year |
Pro Teams Advanced
| 1-year plan $ 15.00/ month $180.00 billed every year |
While that’s a hard deal to pass up, Sync.com also has a cheaper, 500GB plan for those that don’t need that much storage. While not quite as good a deal, the price tag only works out to a little over $4 per month.
The downside of Sync.com is that the service doesn’t actually offer month-to-month options: you’re going to have to pay for a year in advance. However, if any cloud storage service can justify a commitment, this is probably the one.
You can at least try Sync.com out before you pay up by registering for a free, 5GB account. Sync.com also has one of the best referral programs in cloud storage, with 1GB of extra storage granted for everyone you convince to sign up, and no cap on how many referrals you can make.
Other Reasons We Like Sync.com
Sync.com stands as one of the most secure cloud storage options out there, if not the most secure. In part, that’s thanks to the fact that provides private, client-side end-to-end encryption, meaning that only you or those you choose to share content with can decrypt your files. We ranked it as our choice for best zero-knowledge cloud storage.
Also, as you can read in our Sync.com review, the service has some great file-sharing features that help keep your documents, pictures and videos out of unwanted hands. These include sensible additions that too many other cloud storage solutions overlook, like password-protected links, link expiry dates and download limits.
Basically, it’s like the Fort Knox of cloud storage, but way cheaper. It also has a great free 5GB plan.
Pros:
- Zero-knowledge
- Fast syncing
- Secure file sharing
Cons:
- No 3rd-party tools
- No monthly plans
- No Linux app
pCloud
pCloud actually offers the same $8, 2TB cloud storage deal as Sync.com. That’s not surprising, given that Sync.com is probably its closest rival, as you can read about in our Sync.com vs pCloud comparison piece.
The reason we rank pCloud lower is that you have to pay extra for zero-knowledge encryption. Available through an add-on called pCloud Crypto, it’ll cost you at least $3.99 a month.
The good news, though, is that unlike Sync.com, you can go month-to-month with pCloud if paying for a year in advance doesn’t agree with you. The cost of pCloud’s 2TB plan, in that case, increases to $9.99 per month.
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Free
| |
Premium
| Lifetime plan $ 4.86/ month $175.00 one time payment, Monthly price for 3 years of use |
Premium Plus
| Lifetime plan $ 9.72/ month $350.00 one time payment, Monthly price for 3 years of use |
Business
| 1-month plan $ 9.99/ month Save 58 % 1-year plan $ 23.97/ month $287.64 billed every year |
pCloud also has a 500GB plan that’s $4.99 per month if you go month-to-month, or just under $50 if you pay for the year in advance. Of course, there’s a free plan too, which gets you 10GB of free storage.
If you’re really sold on pCloud as the best cloud storage solution for you, the service even offers lifetime plans. You can lockup that 2TB indefinitely for $350, which works out to about 2.5 years of regular pCloud payments.
Other Reasons We Like pCloud
Because it isn’t quite so locked down as Sync.com, pCloud is able to do some things that its rival can’t. That includes previewing stored files from the pCloud browser interface, and even playing music and video. We rank it as a top cloud storage pick for music.
The general user experience with pCloud, in fact, is excellent, thanks to a sleek online GUI. We detail the basics in our pCoud review if you’d like to know more before signing up. There’s also a 5GB free plan you can use to test it out.
Pros:
- Affordable plans
- Highly secure
- Stream media
Cons:
- Zero knowledge isn’t free
- Shared folders lack password protection
- No integrated apps
Amazon Drive
Amazon Drive makes our list thanks to the fact that it offers 13 different storage plans. That means you don’t have to buy more storage than you need, letting you save money for other other things, like a good VPN.
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5GB
| |
100GB Plan
| |
1TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 5.00/ month $60.00 billed every year |
2TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 10.00/ month $120.00 billed every year |
3TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 15.00/ month $180.00 billed every year |
4TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 20.00/ month $240.00 billed every year |
5TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 25.00/ month $300.00 billed every year |
6TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 30.00/ month $360.00 billed every year |
7TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 35.00/ month $420.00 billed every year |
8TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 40.00/ month $480.00 billed every year |
9TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 45.00/ month $540.00 billed every year |
10TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 50.00/ month $600.00 billed every year |
20TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 100.00/ month $1200.00 billed every year |
30TB Plan
| 1-year plan $ 150.00/ month $1800.00 billed every year |
For direct comparison to Sync.com and pCloud, a 2TB Amazon Drive plan will cost you $120 a year, so about $2 more per month than either of those services. However, unlike them, Amazon also offers a 1TB plan, which is just $60 per year.
Sweetening the deal, Amazon Prime subscribers get unlimited photo storage, which for some users will probably justifiably make Amazon Drive the best deal for them.
While the dollars make sense, Amazon Drive isn’t nearly as secure as Sync.com or pCloud. That’s because files aren’t encrypted at-rest in the Amazon servers. Owing to that, if you do decide to use Amazon Drive, we definitely recommend considering pairing it with a file encryption service like Boxcryptor.
Other Reasons We Like Amazon Drive
While lack of encryption gives us pause, it’s fair to say that Amazon Drive has improved considerably in recent years, which we talk about in our full Amazon Drive review.
One of our favorite changes is that Amazon Drive now supports block-level sync, which means that only the changed parts of files get re-copied when edits are made, rather than copying the entire file all over again. Block-level sync speeds up sync processes greatly, but right now it’s only used by a few cloud storage services, including Dropbox and Egnyte (read our Egnyte review).
Pros:
- Great subscription options
- Unlimited photo storage
- Fast file syncing
Cons:
- No at-rest encryption
- No link passwords
- No file versioning
OneDrive
OneDrive is the only cloud storage service that we can think of that actually offers a family plan and its good one. For just $9.99 a month, you get five 1TB storage plans. On top of that, you also get access to the desktop version of Microsoft Office, Office 365.
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OneDrive Basic 5GB
| |
OneDrive 100GB
| |
Microsoft 365 Personal
| |
Microsoft 365 Family
| |
OneDrive for Business Plan 1
| 1-year plan $ 5.00/ month $60.00 billed every year |
OneDrive for Business Plan 2
| 1-year plan $ 10.00/ month $120.00 billed every year |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
| |
OneDrive’s single user, 1TB plan gets you access to Office 365, too, and only costs $6.99 per month. While that’s not as good a deal as Sync.com, its cheaper than it’s two biggest rivals, Dropbox and Google Drive. We have a Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive article if you’d like more advice on that front.
The downside to OneDrive is the same as with Amazon: no server-side encryption unless you’re a business user (read our OneDrive for Business review). However, it is compatible with Boxcryptor, if you’d like to take your privacy into your own hands.
Other Reasons We Like OneDrive
OneDrive is easily one of the top cloud storage tools available today when it comes to productivity. That’s thanks to its integration with Office Online and some handy file-sharing features that enable online collaboration. We’re also fans of Microsoft OneNote, one of the best online note-taking tools available.
As mentioned in our OneDrive review, Microsoft’s cloud storage service is capable of limited block-level copying, applying that feature to Microsoft Office file types. That means if you use Office, it’s great for file syncing.
Pros:
- Low-cost pricing
- Bundled with Office 365
- Great for collaboration
Cons:
- No at-rest encryption
- Manual uploads can stall
- Only NTFS supported
OpenDrive
This list wouldn’t be complete without throwing a little a praise toward the only unlimited cloud storage service available, OpenDrive. The cost of that unlimited storage is excellent, too, at just $9.95 per month or $99 per year.
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Free
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Custom (Personal)
| |
Personal
| |
Custom (Business)
| |
Business
| |
Enterprise
| |
Given that you get limitless storage for not much more than the cost of a 2TB Sync.com subscription, it’s reasonable to wonder why we didn’t make OpenDrive number one on this list, rather than number five.
We detail the issues we have with it in our full OpenDrive review, but in a nutshell, we’ve found OpenDrive sync to a bit too buggy, the user experience a bit too clumsy and the support a bit too thin.
OpenDrive also has a 500GB plan for $5 a month, but if you’re not in it for the unlimited storage, we’d definitely suggest trying other options.
Other Reasons We Like OpenDrive
OpenDrive supports zero-knowledge encryption, and it doesn’t cost extra like it does with pCloud. That means you’ll be getting a pretty secure service, although it doesn’t also support two-factor authentication or file-sharing passwords like Sync.com does.
You do get both an integrated note-taking app and task-management features with OpenDrive. Also, you can add up to four other users on an unlimited plan, getting even more value out of the service.
Pros:
- Unlimited cloud storage
- Cheap
- Backup capabilities
Cons:
- Slow sync speeds
- Occasional sync failures
- Limited support
Honorable Mention: IDrive
It’s important to recognize the difference between cloud storage and online backup, which you can read about in our article on that subject. However, if there’s one service that manages to do both well, it’s IDrive.
While we categorize IDrive as an online backup service, a single subscription actually gets you both 2TB of backup space and 2TB of cloud storage space. That’s 4TB altogether. IDrive can do much of what a traditional cloud storage can to do, including freeing up hard-drive space, syncing devices and sharing files.
Our full IDrive review will give you a better look at this service, though if you’d like to test it yourself, you can sign up for a free 5GB account. As a backup service, it’s also extremely versatile, letting you protect unlimited computers and smartphones. That, and its value, are why it IDrive features prominently in our best online backup guide.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, our picks for the best deals in cloud storage. While we’re particularly fond of Sync.com and pCloud as excellent overall solutions, value’s always a tricky thing to pin down. After all, different people have different needs.
We based much of our list on finding the best dollar-value deals pulled from the best cloud storage services overall. However, there’s plenty of room for debate here, so feel free to add your own thoughts to the comments, below, if you don’t think we were on the money.
A technophile with a love for words, Joseph Gildred utilizes his degree in comparative literature and background as an information technology analyst to ponder the future of human ingenuity. Not one to sit still for too long, Joseph joined the team because cloud technology and hopping from place to place go hand in hand. He has roots in Belgrade, Maine.