5 Little-Known Free Cloud Storage Apps
Popular cloud storage services like OneDrive and Google Drive may not be right for you, and fortunately, you don't have to stick with them. Instead, try these lesser-known cloud storage alternatives.
5. pCloud
pCloud is a little-known but powerful cloud storage solution that competes directly with giants like Google Drive and Dropbox – often outdoing them in value and flexibility. Based in Switzerland, pCloud stands out for its strong privacy policies, including compliance with strict Swiss data laws and Zero-knowledge encryption.
One of pCloud's biggest draws is its lifetime plan, which gives you access to 500GB or 2TB of storage for a single payment—a rarity among cloud services. This is especially appealing if you want to avoid monthly or annual subscription costs that add up over time. But if you don't want to commit right away, pCloud gives you up to 10GB of cloud storage for free.
pCloud has apps for all major platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS), along with web access and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Brave.
4. Box
Box is one of the better alternatives to Google One . While it's primarily known for its business tools, Box also offers surprisingly robust cloud storage for personal use. For starters, you get 10GB of free storage, a 250MB single file upload limit, and only one file version.
You can upgrade to Personal Pro, which includes a higher 5GB single file upload limit, 100GB of storage, and up to 10 historical versions per file. Personal Pro costs $14/month (or $10/month if billed annually).
3. MobiDrive
MobiDrive is MobiSystems' cloud storage service that integrates seamlessly with the MobiOffice productivity suite. However, you don't need to subscribe to the productivity suite to use MobiDrive - you can use it as a standalone service. MobiDrive's generous 20GB free plan sets it apart from the pack. However, you can't upload individual files larger than 200MB on the free plan.
If you need more storage or want to upload larger files, MobiDrive has two paid plans: MobiDrive 500GB ($4.99/month, billed $59.88/year) and MobiDrive 2TB ($9.99/month, billed $119.88/year). Unlike some other services, MobiDrive's paid plans don't limit the size of your uploaded files.
2. Proton Drive
Proton Drive is a secure cloud storage service from the makers of Proton VPN and Proton Mail – a company known for its strong commitment to open source privacy and security. Based in Switzerland, Proton Drive benefits from some of the world's strictest privacy laws. The service offers end-to-end encryption by default, meaning that not even Proton can access your files. Proton's reputation for putting privacy first makes it a solid choice for anyone concerned about surveillance or data mining.
The free plan gives you 5GB of free storage, which is great to try out. For more storage, you can upgrade to 200GB for $4.99/month, 500GB for $11.99/month, or 1TB for about $23/month, with discounts for annual payments.
1. iDrive
iDrive is another reliable but lesser-known cloud storage service. The free plan gives you 10GB of storage to try out, but the real value is in the premium plans. Individual plans offer terabytes of storage options, starting at 5TB and going all the way up to 100TB.
The 5TB plan costs $9.95 per month, while the 10TB, 20TB, 50TB, and 100TB plans cost $14.95, $24.95, $49.95, and $99.95, respectively. That's already cheaper than most services, and you'll save even more if you switch to annual payments. If 5TB is too much, you can opt for the iDrive Mini plan, which comes in 100GB and 500GB plans for $2.95 per year and $9.95 per year, respectively.
From lifetime plans to absolute privacy and massive data backups, these little-known cloud storage apps don't just offer storage space - they give you control. Don't settle for the usual cloud storage apps when there are better options right here.
