The best cloud storage services of 2023: Expert reviewed

Free storage: pCloud offers 4GB of free storage for starters, but you can max it out to 10GB

I’m always cautious about “lifetime” subscriptions to anything, but especially to computer services. Still, after nine years in business, I’m inclined to give the Switzerland-based pCloud the benefit of the doubt. 

I also like that pCloud comes with clients for Linux, macOS, and Windows, as well as Android and iOS smartphones. 

The pCloud offers 4GB of free storage for starters. You can also add more storage, at 1GB a go, for installing a desktop app, a smartphone app, storing your smartphone’s videos and photos to pCloud, and getting others to subscribe to pCloud. You can max this out to 10GB of free storage. 

But, if you’re really serious about your storage, you can currently get 500GB of storage forever for a one-time payment of $199. Or, $399 for 2TB. That’s a sweet deal.

Another nice feature is that pCloud comes with client-side only file encryption. With pCloud Crypto, you encrypt your files using 256-bit AES, and no one except you can read them. Oh, when they say “no one,” they mean “no one.” If you lose your password, you lose your data. These files are stored in the Crypto folder. This feature costs $4 per month, $39 per year, or $150 for a lifetime plan. It’s included for free on business plans. You can also opt to store your data in the more privacy-conscious European Union servers. 

The business service starts with 1TB for $96 per user per year. Or, you can buy a plan for the lifetime (of the company) for $175 for Premium and $350 for Premium Plus. pCloud for Business offers 1TB of storage per user, starting at $287.64 per year. Each additional user gets their own TB of storage.  

If privacy and paying once for cloud storage for a very long time strikes you as attractive, check pCloud out.