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Comparison of OneDrive for Business Plans

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What is OneDrive for Business?

OneDrive for Business is used for file sharing and storage. You can store your files in OneDrive for Business, and access it from anywhere from any device. The files can be shared with other people on a permission basis.

OneDrive for Business is a suitable replacement for ‘My Documents’ folder of your local computer. Since each user can get unlimited storage at mere $10/month (see the plans below), why pay thousands of dollars in physical SAN storage? With your data files stored in the cloud, you avoid the possibility of data corruption due to hardware failure.

* Unlimited OneDrive storage for subscriptions of five or more users. Microsoft will provide initial 5 TB of OneDrive storage per user.

• ✓ Free consultation call
• ✓ 24/7 expert support
• ✓ Talk to Microsoft-certified experts

Why use OneDrive for Business?

OneDrive for Business is a better substitute for your physical storage devices. Here’s why:

Save massive storage costs

Integrate with other microsoft products, avail onedrive for business with.

OneDrive for Business (Plan 1) is available with following plans:

• Office 365 Business
• Office 365 Business Premium
• Office 365 ProPlus
• All Office 365 Enterprise plans: E1, E3, E5
• Plan 1 – With 1 TB storage
• Plan 2 – Unlimited storage (see the storage limits in plan above)

Use massive storage space

• 1000 hours of high-definition video
• 15,000 hours of online gaming
• 20,000 hours of HD audio
• Over 60,000 high resolution images
• Over a million e-books in your digital library
• Over a million Microsoft Office files including documents, spreadsheets, slides

Store 360 o panoramic images

Can you replace your company’s file server with onedrive for business.

You can move your user home folders, roaming profile folders, existing My Sites to OneDrive for Business. However, if you want to completely move your company’s file server, we suggest you to combine OneDrive for Business with SharePoint sites for better granular control of access rights and server settings. In case of individual user files, OneDrive for Business is perfect storage for you. It is similar to a personal library which can be shared only after permissions granted by you.

Now you may think, that’s all fine but is there anyone who is actually using OneDrive for Business? Well, here’s a little fact for you:

A Microsoft study reveals that more than 85% of Fortune 500 companies including Accenture, DBS, Textron, Shire use OneDrive for Business as their primary storage.

Businesses are rapidly transitioning towards cloud for every facet of technology including file sharing and storage. If you do not catch up now, you will be lost behind in this ever-changing technology scene.

So, what are you waiting for? Get OneDrive for Business now!

Need help? Call our experts who will help you find the right OneDrive for Business plan for you.

ALL OUR ONEDRIVE FOR BUSINESS PLANS INCLUDE

Free end-user support, 24/7 support via phone, chat, email, online knowledge base, savings on it costs, annual commitment, fully automatic updates, regular data backups, minimum 1 tb of online storage, security and reliability, tier-1 partner expertise, onedrive for business – frequently asked questions (faqs).

OneDrive for Business is a web service that offers resources for collaboration, communication and storage. It can be a one-stop storage solution for every file be it photos, videos, and documents. Store the files securely in one place and access them from anywhere. Using OneDrive for official purpose is known as OneDrive for Business.

What is the advantage of using OneDrive for Business?

The most basic advantages of OneDrive for business are – save a backup copy of your files, access your files from anywhere, easy switching between different devices, sharing files and collaborate with your colleagues from anywhere, and free access to Office Online.

Can I share my files or subfolders via OneDrive for Business?

Yes. It is possible to share your files and subfolders through OneDrive with a simple drag and drop. If you want to share an existing file stored in OneDrive to other people, you can simply click the ‘Share’ button, choose ‘Invite People’ and type the email addresses of the people you want to share files within the organization. You can also control access permissions in the drop-down menus.

What are the security features in OneDrive for Business?

Like all other Office 365 products, OneDrive for Business comes with a security guaranteed by Microsoft. It also has a specific security feature called OneDrive Personal Vault, which allows you to protect files with 2-step authentication. The steps can be biometrics with face or fingerprint recognition, PIN or OTP sent on your registered device. With Personal Vault, the security for OneDrive goes a notch higher.

What OneDrive for Business plan is suitable for my organization – Plan 1 or Plan 2?

Selecting the right OneDrive for Business plans depends on your business requirements. Large enterprises who have strict compliance requirements tend to go for Plan 2 as it offers advanced security and robust compliance features. In addition to all the features of Plan 1, Plan 2 includes unlimited storage space* (see conditions in the table), and compliance features like In-Place Hold and Data Loss Protection (DLP). If you are not very much concerned about the compliance features, you can opt for Plan 1.

How does OneDrive for Business work?

Getting started with OneDrive for Business is simple. Move files from your PC to OneDrive for Business by moving or copying them. The new files can be saved in OneDrive to Business so that it can be accessed from any device. All the business documents can be automatically saved to OneDrive for Business, so they are always backed up.

What is the difference between OneDrive vs OneDrive for Business? Are they same?

OneDrive is used for storing your personal files online which is managed by you. OneDrive for Business gives each member of your team a place to store documents, collaborate with colleagues, share files with SharePoint and is managed by your organization.

Like all other Office 365 products, OneDrive for Business comes with security guaranteed by Microsoft. It also has a specific security feature called OneDrive Personal Vault, which allows you to protect files with 2-step authentication. The steps can be biometrics with face or fingerprint recognition, PIN or OTP sent on your registered device. With Personal Vault, the security for OneDrive goes a notch higher.

Can I access OneDrive for Business from a web browser?

Yes. You can access your OneDrive for Business from a web browser, or you can download an app. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS operating systems. With standalone OneDrive for Business, you also get web-based versions of MS Office.

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Understanding OneDrive storage plans, capacity and key limitations

How information is stored and accessed plays an integral role in how we collaborate and work. In this blog, we’ll cover the growing appeal of OneDrive storage and its available storage plans, OneDrive storage capacity and file size limits, how you can go about adding storage capacity when needed, and key service limitations to be aware of.

The evolution of OneDrive storage

Microsoft OneDrive has evolved considerably since it was first released in 2007 as Windows Live SkyDrive. Initially, SkyDrive storage capacities were limited to 5GB and soon increased to 25GB. File size limits were initially set to 50MB and increased to 100MB in 2011. SkyDrive was renamed OneDrive in 2014. Recent changes to OneDrive have significantly increased both the maximum storage capacity and the file size limits.

How much space do you get on OneDrive?

Microsoft has provided several OneDrive plans to choose from for both home and business use. The plans offer considerable flexibility and storage size options.

Home storage plans

The Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans includes Microsoft Office applications for each person as well. Microsoft 365 subscribers can also purchase additional storage. For example, another 1TB of storage can be added for $9.99 per month. In addition, Microsoft 365 subscribers have an unlimited personal vault, 30-day file restoration, increased sharing limits, password-protected sharing links, and expiring sharing links.

Business storage plans

The OneDrive for Business (Plan 2) and Microsoft 365 Business plans include advanced data loss prevention, data retention, eDiscovery, sensitivity labels, and compliance offerings. The Microsoft 365 Business plans include Office integration, email and calendaring, and teamwork and communication features. Administrators can increase storage capacity to 5TB per user and then request additional storage up to 25TB per user by contacting Microsoft Support. SharePoint team sites can be provisioned for storage if a user needs more than 25TB.

For current plans and pricing, view the  Compare OneDrive storage pricing and plans  on Microsoft.

What can you store on OneDrive?

As a user, you can store photos, documents, videos and practically all file types in OneDrive.

All Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans and Business storage plans support file sizes up to 100GB. In January 2021,  Microsoft announced  that the supported file size was increased to 250GB. General availability for 250GB file size is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

OneDrive supports up to 50,000 major versions and 511 minor versions.

OneDrive allows storage of almost all file names and file types. The exceptions are listed below in the limitations.

Limitations:

• Characters that aren’t allowed in file and folder names in OneDrive for home, OneDrive for work or school and SharePoint in Microsoft 365 are: ” * : < > ? / \ |
• Leading and trailing spaces in file or folder names also aren’t allowed.
• These names aren’t allowed for files or folders: .lock, CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM0 – COM9, LPT0 – LPT9, _vti_, desktop.ini, any filename starting with ~$.
• Temporary TMP files will not be synced to OneDrive.
• Outlook .PST files are supported; however, they are synced less frequently compared to other file types to reduce network traffic.

To learn more about file and sync limits, see  SharePoint limits  and  Invalid file names and file types .

Technically, there are very few limitations with OneDrive storage. OneDrive users should also consider the Code of Conduct in the  Microsoft Services Agreement . Many of these rules are practical and common sense. A few of the rules are listed below for reference.

i. Don’t do anything illegal. ii. Don’t engage in any activity that exploits, harms, or threatens to harm children. iii. Don’t send spam or engage in phishing. v. Don’t engage in activity that is fraudulent, false or misleading viii. Don’t infringe upon the rights of others ix. Don’t engage in activity that violates the privacy of others. x. Don’t help others break these rules.

How do I add storage to OneDrive?

OneDrive Home storage plan users can purchase additional storage online within their existing plan. A Microsoft 365 plan provides the best value for storage and allows an individual user to increase storage up to 2TB.

Microsoft provides premium OneDrive plans to increase storage for individual users. To increase to a Premium OneDrive storage plan, click on the Premium OneDrive button in OneDrive Online.

The Microsoft 365 Family plan details will then be displayed. You can then scroll down to view plan options and add more storage.

Business storage plans are managed by the organization’s administrators. As stated earlier, administrators can increase OneDrive storage capacity to 5TB per user and then request additional storage up to 25TB per user by contacting Microsoft support.

The seamless integration of OneDrive into Microsoft 365 has helped OneDrive become a premier enterprise-grade platform for working with, storing, and sharing content. When it comes to OneDrive storage specifics, Microsoft provides several OneDrive plans to choose from for both home and business use. Home storage plans provide up to 2TB max storage per person. Business storage plans on the other hand provide up to 25TB max storage per person. Both plans provide for configuration options to increase storage as needed. There are very few limitations for what can be stored on the OneDrive service. The Code of Conduct section in the Microsoft Service Agreement provides a set of rules and regulations you can reference for how the OneDrive service should be used.

For more insight, check out our articles on  How to use OneDrive ,  The ins and outs of OneDrive file sharing  and  The top benefits of using OneDrive .

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Manage your OneDrive for work or school storage

You can manage your OneDrive for work or school to see how much space you’re using and free up space if you’re getting close to your storage limit.

If you don't have permissions to update storage, contact your site administrator. See Understanding permission levels for more info on permissions.

To manage your personal OneDrive storage, read  How does Microsoft storage work?

Manage your storage in the OneDrive sync app

This shows an overview of the OneDrive storage available. Select Manage storage .

Note:  After deleting items, you must permanently delete these items in the Recycle Bin to free up space for other items. See  Delete files or folders in OneDrive  for more info.  

Manage storage from the OneDrive website

On the OneDrive website when signed in with your work or school account, view the storage used and what's available on the left side navigation. Click on the usage value to redirect to the largest files in OneDrive page.  

How does Microsoft storage work for a personal account?

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Exclusive: Microsoft quietly ends unlimited cloud storage option on OneDrive

Microsoft no longer offers OneDrive for Busines (Plan 2), with new users now capped to 1TB by default

Microsoft has killed unlimited storage from its OneDrive business plans, with organisations now limited to just 1TB per user on default configurations.

OneDrive for Business (Plan 2) was popular with large organizations that needed a limitless storage capacity to, for example, manage a countless and growing number of media files, like videos or artistic assets. One of the best unlimited storage deals out there, it was available for approximately $10 per user, per month, excluding tax.

But Microsoft appaears to have eliminated this option entirely for new customers at some point between 28 July and 14 July , according to Archive.org, with new users instead only limited to OneDrive for Business (Plan 1). This caps each user to 1TB by default, but this can rise to 5TB depending on the number of users on the plan. Nevertheless, it’s a far cry from the unlimited storage option that potential customers could once opt for.

OneDrive limits

“In response to customer demand, Microsoft has streamlined the purchasing process for customers who use OneDrive for Business standalone plans,” a spokesperson told TechRadar Pro. “Customers currently on these plans will still be able to add seats and renew their license.”

Customers can now only purchase OneDrive plan for Business (Plan 1) for $5 per user, per month, if they want to use OneDrive without the rest of the Microsoft 365 suite. Otherwise, the Microsoft 365 Business Basic package costs $6 per user per month, with Microsoft 365 Business Standard costing $12.50 per user per month. All packages, however, limit OneDrive storage to a default of 1TB max.

OneDrive for business (plan 2) offered customers unlimited storage, but only if they qualified. Organizations, first of all, needed five or more users with a OneDrive for business (plan 2) subscription, with Microsoft providing an initial limit of 1TB per user. Admins, though, could raise this to 5TB per user. 

Customers could then contact Microsoft support directly to request additional storage, up to 25TB per user, should they need it. Beyond that, storage would be provisioned as 25TB SharePoint team sites to individual users.

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While OneDrive no longer offers unlimited storage, there are plenty of other options out there, including offers from Box, Carbonite, OpenDrive, and others Check out the best unlimited cloud storage dealS for more details.

• OneDrive vs Box: Which is best?
• Google Drive vs OneDrive: Which is best?
• Best free cloud storage around today

Keumars Afifi-Sabet is the Technology Editor for Live Science. He has written for a variety of publications including ITPro, The Week Digital and ComputerActive. He has worked as a technology journalist for more than five years, having previously held the role of features editor with ITPro. In his previous role, he oversaw the commissioning and publishing of long form in areas including AI, cyber security, cloud computing and digital transformation.

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Business standard plan -unable to increase onedrive for business storage from 1TB to 5TB

Business standard was one of the qualifying plan for unlimited storage. Now , we cant increase the storage even using powershell command. From admin center we can increase the storage at tenant level but user level even if we switch to org storage it still show as 1024 gb Even in powershell command run successfully to increase storage but the storage dont increase

OneDrive Management OneDrive: A Microsoft file hosting and synchronization service. Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something. 1,143 questions Sign in to follow

i am a Microsoft user , I am doing as a legal student, i have to work so many field thats why I need so much storage there is no any trustable sites other than Microsoft.

I have the same issue. I set maximum storage last year for my tenant to 5TB. I used to work because one on my user could store more that 3TB in his OneDrive. But it seams that things have changed recently because all user are back to 1TB storage limit again.

I have just bought a OneDrive plan 2 and assigned it to my user with more that 3TB of storage in his OneDrive but nothing changes.

I'm in contact with Microsoft support but they don't answer to me (asking for screenshots, ...etc.) and gives no hand...

Looks like a bug or a change in their policy.

Did you turn off the sub license Ondrive for business plan 1 and then assign the Buisiness plan 2 ?

I have no OneDrive business plan 1 licence, so I assigned the Buisiness plan 2 to my user

You're right we get SPO plan 1 which includes the Onedrive 1 TB storage. One of the client fixed the issue by assign ODB plan 2 it should work

I purshased a Sharpoint plan 2 licence and assigned it to my user and he can again use a 5TB storage on his OneDrive

Thank you a lot for your help

I should be speaking with Microsoft today about this change in licencing

Onedrive for business plan 2 should also work. SPO2 and ODB2 have same cost so do check the missing features . I mean If everything is there is SPO2 why will someone go for ODB Plan 2

Small business plan storage details will be updated soon : https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/OfficeDocs-O365ServiceDescriptions/issues/662

Thanks for helping other users! :D

14 additional answers

We have the same problem in the O365 tenant of one of our customers. More than 20 users have Microsoft 365 Business Standard licenses assigned and they all had 5 TB OneDrive storage after we increased the default storage in SharePoint Admin Center one year ago. And it had worked not only for Enterprise licenses before, but for Business licenses as well.

But suddenly, since last week, the storage for more and more users (not all though) drops from 5 TB to 1 TB and cannot even be individually increased by Powershell cmdlet " Set-SPOSite -Identity https://[tenant]-my.sharepoint.com/personal/[user] -StorageQuota 5242880 ". After executing this command, the storage just remains at 1024 GB. If you try to increase it via the GUI in admin center, it says: "Maximum storage limit for this user is 1024 GB".

Even more strange is that some of the concerned users had way more storage in use before the drop, so that the usage bar in the Admin Center now says "426.1111 % of 1024 GB in use".

I created a support ticket with Microsoft and they called me back two days ago. It is a problem in their backend, Microsoft is trying to fix it until 14th March 2022. Let's hope it works then again!

Please let me know if they fix, even I am awaiting to see if they revert the changes for small business

Right now they updated service description for small business as 1 TB but they are still working on it. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/onedrive-for-business-service-description?redirectedfrom=MSDN

Very interested in a follow up on this as well. Had the same experience. Opened a ticket but didn't get it fixed, and gave me a different answer. No mention of a backend issue, or March 14 fix.

They must be doing a rolling update on tenants, we just started receiving emails saying we were over limit as of April 08, 2022. I opened a case with Microsoft and am trying to understand why there was not a notice or a grandfathering of licenses bought under the original terms.

Microsoft is unwilling to resolve this for us. We have around 30 licenses on this particular tenant. Some are E3,most are Business Standard.

I got a final call from Microsoft support today. Unfortunately, she had no good news: Microsoft updated his OneDrive capacity policy for Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium. All Business licenses are from now on only eligible for 1 TB. The option to upgrade them to 5 TB is not available anymore. Only E3 oder E5 licenses still have the possibility for 5 TB.

If we want 5 TB or more with Business licenses, we should assign OneDrive Plan 2 licenses to the users. That's the only way to get 5 TB back. I already purchased a OneDrive Plan 2 license to test it for one user and it works. He has 5 TB again.

Quite frustrating, but at least we have certainty now. It's not a bug, it's on purpose by Microsoft.

Hello, did you ordered just one licence of OneDrive Plan 2 for 5TB to one user or you ordered 5 licences or more?

Hello David, every OneDrive Plan 2 license comes along with 5 TB storage for this particular user where you assign the license. That's why we only purchased two OneDrive Plan 2 licenses and assigned them to two users. Each of them has now 5 TB.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/set-default-storage-space

"If your organization has a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription and five (5) or more users, you can change the storage space to more than 5 TB. To discuss your needs, contact Microsoft support. You must assign at least one license to a user before you can increase the default OneDrive storage space." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADEO7gK6hWU

Hi @O365 Buddy , Did you find the reason of your problem to increase storage for OneDrive? Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

No, either this is bug in UI or Microsoft changed the Terms for small business

Either ways, Microsoft have to fix it and publish relevant details

Hi, I suggest you refer to this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-sg/microsoft-365/onedrive/compare-onedrive-plans?rtc=1&activetab=tab:primaryr2

Only OneDrive for Business (Plan 2) can use Unlimited individual cloud storage: *Unlimited individual cloud storage for qualifying plans for subscriptions of five or more users, otherwise 1 TB/user. Microsoft will initially provide 1 TB/user of OneDrive for Business storage, which admins can increase to 5 TB/user. Request additional storage by contacting Microsoft support. Storage up to 25 TB/user is provisioned in OneDrive for Business. Beyond 25 TB, storage is provisioned as 25 TB SharePoint team sites to individual users.

You can check the detail version plan about your OneDrive for Business. Hope the information is helpful.

So, Currently only OneDrive for business plan 2, Sharepoint online Plan 2, E3 and E5 plan are entitle for 5 TB storage. Small Business plan Basic, Standard, Premium, Sharpeoint plan 1 and any subscription with OneDrive for business plan 1 or sharepoint plan 1 we cannot have 5TB storage ven though we have 5+licnese.

I think so.

If you have any idea or feedback about this behavior, you can give a feedback or suggestion to Microsoft. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-office-2b102d44-b43f-4dd2-9ff4-23cf144cfb11 Microsoft values your opinion. Your feedback goes directly to our engineers and helps us shape the future of Microsoft products and services for all our users.

I had the same problem I opened a support ticket and this is the response all users dropped suddenly from 5120kb to 1024kb without notice

This is not a recent update of Microsoft's policy, it's this way for many years. However, it worked before without a problem, and the 1 TB are not enforced because some accounts have strange maximum capacities like 4325.002 GB, see my post below.

I also don't believe that Microsoft would perform such a drastic change that affects so many tenants without announcing it beforehand.

Add storage to your Microsoft 365 subscription

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Get up to 2 TB of storage

Add up to an additional 1 TB of storage to the 1 TB included with your Microsoft 365 subscription.

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Best Cloud Storage Services: Personal & Business Storage Providers in 2024

Cloudwards.net may earn a small commission from some purchases made through our site. However, any earnings do not affect how we review services. Learn more about our editorial integrity and research process .

Choosing the best cloud storage provider is difficult. This guide shows the 10 top cloud storage services for cost, safety and collaboration features, covering personal cloud storage and business file storage solutions.

Last Updated: 03 Apr'24 2024-04-03T08:37:49+00:00

All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.

• Sync.com — Top cloud storage pick for sharing, versioning, large files, iPhone and more
• pCloud — Best online storage pick for Windows, Mac, Linux and music  
• Icedrive — Top cloud drive with excellent speeds
• MEGA — Very secure service with the most free cloud storage (20GB)
• IDrive — Best cloud storage-online backup hybrid
• OneDrive — Best cloud storage service for Office integration
• Google Drive — Top pick for integrated apps and students
• Koofr — Top pick for multiple cloud accounts
• Dropbox — Best pick for cloud collaboration
• Box — Great pick for business cloud storage

• Excellent security
• Competitive pricing
• Unlimited file sizes
• User interface needs work
• Slower sync speeds

Welcome to our updated 2024 guide to the best cloud storage services. Cloudwards.net has been conducting cloud storage reviews for several years now, and in that time much has changed.

Competition between big corporate players like Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, and the emergence of privacy-oriented providers like Sync.com, pCloud and MEGA, has been a boon for consumers. To save you some time we have a list of what we think are the top players for your money.

Find the best cloud storage provider for your needs:

• 1000 GB / 1TB
• 2000 GB / 2TB
• 3000 GB / 3TB or more
• Basic encryption is fine
• Zero-knowledge encryption
• Sync Folder
• File Link Sharing
• Folder Sharing
• Subscription
• one-time payment

Updated to remove IDrive’s discontinued free plan and add its new 30-day free trial.

Updated to reflect news about MEGA’s encryption.

Updated to reflect an increase in IDrive’s free plan to 10GB of storage.

Cloudwards.net updated the top 10 cloud storage services rankings, including IDrive in the list, removing iCloud and adjusting other providers.

We added new information about Sync.com’s integration with Microsoft Office.

Updated with new video ranking.

Updated to reflect changes in Icedrive’s pricing plans and storage offers

The Best Cloud Storage Comparison

How we chose the best cloud storage.

When we review a service, we run tests for around a week, testing all of its features to see if they work as advertised. We analyze the service’s security, including encryption protocols and secure storage methods. Finally, we run technical tests to see how they perform in terms of speed, RAM and CPU usage.

Security and privacy are Cloudwards’ priority when it comes to cloud storage, so we give zero-knowledge services a much greater score than those that don’t offer it. Our experts take great care to parse through the complex legal implications of the services privacy policies and the privacy laws of countries where they keep their servers.

Cloud Storage Courses

Check out our cloud storage courses and grab a limited-time offer. Registration available now!

We take a number of other factors into consideration as well, but we’ll go into more detail on that after the list. If you’re particularly interested in cloud storage speeds, we have custom data that shows a performance comparison of the top providers below . Our analysis of 12 top cloud services showed that around half of them perform better than you’d expect.

If you are still figuring out how to best pick the right service for you, we have a handy video guide, below.

The Top 10 Cloud Storage Providers for 2024

Without further ado, here are the 10 best cloud storage service providers on the market right now.

1. Sync.com – Best Secure Cloud Storage

More Details About Sync.com:

• Pricing: 5GB free, 2TB for $96 per year ($8 per month)
• Number of devices: 5 on Individual Plans
• Website: Sync.com
• Excellent value
• Secure cloud storage
• Easy to use
• Slower than some rivals

Sync.com is our choice for the best cloud service, hitting the top spot in many of our cloud storage lists. It’s one of the most secure cloud services out there, and it keeps improving its service and adding new features as the service matures and grows. Sync also won our cloud storage pricing comparison .

Security & Collaboration in One Package

To start with, Sync.com comes with zero-knowledge encryption as standard. This means that if there was a security breach or the authorities demanded access to your account, the intruder would only see scrambled data because you’re the only one holding the encryption key.

To add to this, Sync.com offers advanced sharing controls, including passwords, download limits and expiry dates for sharing links. Plus, Sync.com allows you to create and edit Microsoft Office documents (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents) in a privacy-friendly collaboration environment, without breaking zero-knowledge encryption.

Sync.com Pricing & Free Storage

Pricing is where Sync.com truly shines. Sync.com comes with 5GB free storage , which isn’t much, but it’s enough to try the service out. However, its paid plans are some of the cheapest around. For just $8 per month (paid annually), you get 2TB of storage space.

For comparison, the same amount of file storage from Dropbox is $9.99 a month. In fact, there is no provider in our top 10 that offers 2TB of storage for a lower price.

The only flaw we can find with Sync.com is that it’s slow. In fact, it was one of the worst performers in our fastest cloud storage list , so if you’re impatient, Sync.com might not be for you.

However, all in all, Sync.com is a great online storage provider at a price you’ll be hard-pressed to beat. It also has a good number of features, as well as support for Windows 10 and Mac users. If you want to learn more, take a look at our Sync.com review .

• Price per user
• Unlimited GB

2. pCloud – Best Multi-Platform Cloud Storage

More Details About pCloud:

• Pricing: 10GB free, 2TB for $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month)
• Number of devices: Unlimited
• Website: pCloud.com
• Choice of encryption levels
• Clever virtual drive
• EU servers available
• Zero-knowledge encryption isn’t free
• No document integration

You’ll often see us praise pCloud in our cloud storage reviews, and it’s not hard to see why. It has a number of unique features wrapped in a sleek and secure package. Plus, it offers great pricing, putting it alongside Sync.com .

Top-Shelf Media & Sharing Capabilities

pCloud is a great option for media lovers . That’s thanks to features offered in the embedded pCloud music player, which automatically crates playlists by artist, album or folder. Its video player is also fairly advanced, even letting you change playback speed and convert video files to other formats.

If you’re running out of media storage space on your device, pCloud’s virtual drive will come in handy. pCloud can mount a virtual drive on your device (similar to Local Disk (C:)) which uses your cloud storage instead of your hard drive’s storage.

If you’re a creator that loves to post on social media, pCloud lets you back up images that you previously uploaded to your socials as part of its backup feature. This feature also lets you back up your entire device to the cloud, or even move all your files from another cloud service to pCloud.

What Is pCloud Crypto?

pCloud doesn’t offer zero-knowledge encryption out of the box, which is a downside. You’d have to pay $3.99 per month for this protection — called pCloud Crypto — although it is included for free with business plans. However, pCloud Crypto is a little different from the kind of encryption you’ll see other providers offer.

With pCloud Crypto, you get a specific folder to store your files that you want to be protected with zero-knowledge encryption. Anything outside of pCloud Crypto can still be read by pCloud’s servers, allowing you to preview files or play content from within the app.

pCloud and Sync.com fight hard to be the top-value services in this list, so take a look at our Sync.com vs pCloud head-to-head article. Also consider that pCloud lets you can save money by signing up for a pCloud Lifetime account , giving you online storage that remains yours — forever. 

• + FREE Encryption
• Price per user (minimum 3)
• Encryption for pCloud Drive

3. Icedrive – Fastest Online Cloud Storage

More Details About Icedrive:

• Pricing: 10GB free, 1TB for $71.88 per year ( $5.99 per month)
• Website: Icedrive.net
• Secure Twofish algorithm
• Preview encrypted files
• Zero knowledge isn’t free
• Limited choice of plans

Icedrive is a new entry on our list, and it’s a provider you may not have heard of before. That’s not surprising, given it has only been in operation since 2019. It’s been making waves, though, with highly competitive pricing and some interesting features that set it apart from some of its more established rivals.

Novel Encryption Methods & Zero-Knowledge Security

One of the biggest differences from the other providers on our list is that Icedrive doesn’t use the industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption. Instead, it uses an algorithm called Twofish.

Twofish was one of the final contenders for the Advanced Encryption Standard contest at the turn of the century. Some consider Twofish to be more secure (if sometimes slower) than the eventual winner, Rijndael (now known simply as AES). Icedrive points out that the current standard is backed by the NSA — make of that what you will, but don’t let it scare you just yet.

Paid accounts include zero-knowledge encryption as standard, so files should be safe from prying eyes. Unlike most other zero-knowledge providers, Icedrive lets you preview certain files by streaming them in encrypted form to your computer, where they are then decrypted on the fly. 

Icedrive also offers two-factor authentication (2FA) and it has a no-nonsense privacy policy that rules out most problematic behaviors. As a UK-based company, Icedrive is governed by stringent GDPR regulations.

Icedrive Online Storage Pricing & Lifetime Plans

One of the biggest selling points of Icedrive is the price, though. If you pay annually, 1TB of storage costs just $5.99 . If you need more space, the next tier up gives you 3TB of cloud file storage for $10.99 per month (for accounts paid annually). That’s quite a big jump, which might be costly for some users, but you can also opt for a lifetime subscription.

That may or may not be a risk, though, especially given how new of a provider Icedrive is. Still, if you’re looking for a highly secure provider and need less than 1TB of storage space, then Icedrive is a great option. Check out our Icedrive review for more details.

• Bandwidth limit: 50GB
• Bandwidth limit: 250GB
• Bandwidth limit: 2TB
• Bandwidth limit: 8TB
• Additional 128GB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
• Additional 512GB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan
• Additional 2TB storage for users who purchased the Lifetime Plan

4. MEGA – Best Free Cloud Storage

More Details About MEGA:

• Pricing: 20GB free, 2TB for $122 per year (around $10 per month)
• Website: MEGA.io
• No U.S. servers
• Great free storage
• Time-limited rewards
• Ownership concerns

If you’re worried about privacy with other free cloud storage providers, like Google (our number seven pick), you can go for a provider at the other end of the privacy spectrum: MEGA. Although MEGA’s colorful founder Kim Dotcom has had run-ins with the law, he’s no longer part of the company. MEGA’s focus is security, so zero-knowledge encryption is the absolute standard, with nobody but you having access to your files. 

A Truly Secure Cloud Storage Service

In terms of privacy, MEGA has servers in Canada, New Zealand and Europe — it’s one of the best cloud storage for Europe . They’re all locations that have reasonable privacy laws that, as you might have noticed, is exactly why no data is held on American servers. 

Because MEGA uses zero-knowledge encryption, it can’t read any of the files that you store, but it does keep some of your metadata (like IP logins) to monitor access. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the recent report that found serious problems with MEGA’s encryption process. Still, we feel confident recommending it as an overall secure and private service.

There is also some controversy about how much of MEGA’s stock is owned by people under the influence of the Chinese government, which could be a concern for some users. You can read more about this in our MEGA review .

Best Cloud Storage: Free 20GB

MEGA is a good option for users who want a free storage cloud account. In 2021, it increased its free file storage space from 15GB to 20GB. Plus, you can extend your free space by completing various tasks — like installing the desktop and mobile apps — but that extra space expires after a year.

Although its paid plans aren’t the cheapest cloud storage options out there, at the end of the day, the base 20GB still blows its free cloud storage rivals away, earning it the fifth spot on our list. The good news is that, even if you don’t pay for a MEGA subscription, free accounts get full access to the privacy and protection that MEGA’s encrypted cloud storage provides.

If lifetime plans is what you’re looking for, pCloud, Internxt and Icedrive has got your back.

• File transfer: 2TB (Monthly plan) 24TB (yearly plan)
• File transfer: (monthly plan) 96TB (yearly plan)
• File transfer: 16TB (monthly plan) 192TB (yearly plan)
• Price per user (minimum 3) 3TB Transfer quota

5. IDrive – Best Value Cloud Storage

More Details About IDrive:

• Pricing: 10GB free, 5TB for $6.22 per month (two-year plan)
• Provider website: idrive.com
• Both backup & cloud storage
• Packed with features
• No monthly plan

IDrive is a unique option, offering a hybrid solution for both cloud storage and online backup — it’s actually our number one pick for online backup, a fact that it owes mostly to its incredibly affordable prices and incredible wealth of features. 

Hybrid Cloud Storage & Backup With IDrive

Besides all the backup features like disk-imaging and courier recovery that we won’t spend too much time on here — check out our IDrive review for that — it also boasts proper file sync and share features that earns it a spot on this list.

You can designate any folder on your device as a sync folder, and you can move them wherever you want. There’s also selective sync, which can save you a lot of time and bandwidth if there are certain large files you want to exclude. In comparison, the file-sharing is a bit bare-bones, though you can set access privileges on the share-links that you create. 

Although IDrive works great as traditional cloud storage, online backup is its bread and butter. That means that unlike other entries on this list, IDrive is an excellent solution for backing up your entire device automatically, since you won’t have to manually move things you want to protect into a sync folder. 

Affordable Cloud Storage Pricing Plans

One of the best aspects of IDrive is just how much storage you get for such a cheap price. IDrive’s personal plans are incredibly generous considering how much storage you get.

For example, the two cheapest plans offer 5TB and 10TB of storage — which is a lot — for just $6.22 per month (two-year plan) and $6.22 per month on the two-year plan respectively. 

The only downside here is that you have to sign up for a full year, but if you’re a first-time user, you can get an even bigger discount by using our IDrive promo code . It also has a free 30-day trial, so you can test it first.

• No credit card required.
• One user, multiple computers. Plans starting from 5TB up to 100TB. Big discount for first-time signup.
• 5 computers, 5 users. Starting at 5TB up to 500TB. Big discount for first-time signup.
• Monthly Plan storage starts at 1.25TB up to 50TB Unlimited users, multiple computers and servers. NAS devices. 250GB storage. Starting at 250GB up to 50TB. Large discount for first-time signup.

6. OneDrive – Best Personal Cloud Storage

More Details About OneDrive:

• Pricing: 5GB free, 1TB for $6.99 per month
• Website: microsoft.com/microsoft-365/onedrive
• Excellent collaboration tools
• Great integrated apps
• A large variety of features
• Generous free storage
• No zero-knowledge encryption
• Limited file versioning

There are big names in cloud computing, and then there’s Microsoft. There isn’t a market in computing that Microsoft hasn’t tried to dominate, and it’s not surprising that it has an online storage offering in its OneDrive service, which offers seamless integration with other Microsoft services, such as Office. It’s even integrated into Windows itself.

Collaborate Easily With Microsoft Office & OneDrive

Office integration is the biggest selling point for OneDrive users — or rather, the collaboration benefits that come from a combined Office and OneDrive service. A Microsoft 365 Personal subscription (previously Office 365) includes 1TB of OneDrive storage, but it also comes with full desktop versions of Office apps, with Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint thrown in. 

These Office apps make collaborating on documents simple. You can share any of your documents stored in the cloud, and multiple users can work on them together in real time. Any changes are instantly visible to all other co-authors and automatically saved to the cloud.

You never have to worry about losing that 90-page thesis to a hard drive failure ever again. With a Microsoft Personal subscription, you can install Office on up to five different devices, allowing you to share the service across an entire family or household. You can learn more about these collaboration options in our OneDrive review .

The collaboration features come at a cost, though. OneDrive doesn’t have zero-knowledge encryption, so your information is visible to Microsoft and anyone else who gains access to its servers, legally or not. Of course, we can’t ignore the fact that as a U.S. company, Microsoft servers are based stateside, so your data is subject to intrusive laws, such as the Freedom Act.

OneDrive Family & Business Plans

You can take things a step further with a Microsoft Family 365 subscription, which gives users 1TB of storage for up to six people at just $8.33 a month (paid annually). This can save you a small fortune on storage and productivity apps for the family, making it a good value option.

OneDrive also has some excellent business options that  make it our favorite value product in our list of the top enterprise file sync and share providers (where a business online storage provider like Egnyte reigns). With Office and Windows integration, as well as pretty good pricing, OneDrive is certainly a provider we can recommend with confidence.

• For one person
• Comes with Office 365 Personal
• Comes with Office 365 Home

7. Google Drive – Best File Cloud Storage

More Details About Google Drive:

• Pricing: 15GB free, 2TB for $99.99 per year ($8.33 per year)
• Website: google.com/drive
• Privacy concerns

If you want a similar experience to OneDrive, you may want to try Google Drive. Like Microsoft’s service, Google offers storage that integrates well with its own suite of office applications, which serve to replace the Microsoft Office experience in full — and do so pretty well, too.

An Endless List of App Integrations

You can collaborate in real time using Google Docs, leave comments and roll-back changes, thanks to Google’s built-in versioning features. Only OneDrive and Dropbox can really rival Google Drive for collaboration, and you can check out our Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive article to see how they compare.

There’s an entire marketplace of other Google Drive apps, so you can integrate other productivity apps, grammar checkers and more. You can also use Google Drive with other apps, including Google Calendar and Google Keep, a simple note-taking app. You can quickly compare how it matches from other basic platforms like Simplenote .

Google Drive Free Storage & Pricing

These kinds of integrations make Google Drive our top choice as the best online cloud provider for integrated apps, but it shines in other areas, too. If you have a Gmail account, you’re already using Google Drive, with 15GB of free storage thrown in, although its pricing is reasonable if you require more.

Google Drive is the best cloud storage for students and free users, for good reasons. Unlike some of the other providers we’ll mention, free users gain almost all of the same features that come with paid subscriptions. Powerful collaboration options in a free product help Google Drive to come out to be one of the best in this list.

If you’re curious about Google Drive pricing, then you can add 100GB of extra storage for a very reasonable $2 a month. There are some downsides, though. As you can read in our Google Drive review , there’s no zero-knowledge encryption, which is particularly concerning given that Google is not renowned for having the greatest policies when it comes to your personal data .

The price you pay for accessing the collaboration tools and app integrations is that Google will scan the contents of anything you upload to Google Drive; it has full access to read, catalogue and use that data. You’ll need to decide for yourself whether you’re willing to give up some privacy to benefit from the useful tools that Google offers.

• *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.

8. Koofr  – Top Online Provider for Multiple Cloud Accounts

More Details About Koofr:

• Pricing: 10GB free, 1TB for $10.85 per month
• Website: Koofr.eu
• Links to other cloud accounts
• Virtual drive
• Integrates with Microsoft Office 365
• More expensive than some

It’s by no means a household name, but Koofr offers some features that set it apart from the other providers on our list. As a downside, Koofr isn’t the cheapest, as our Koofr review will explain. It has some very cheap plans that offer 100GB of storage or less, as well as a free 10GB plan.

Manage Multiple Cloud Storage Services

One of the most useful is the ability to link it to other cloud storage services. Currently, you can connect accounts from Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive, allowing you to mix and match your services in one place. Still, with other big platforms available, this is only a minor blip in a pretty unique offering from Koofr.

Once you’ve connected your accounts, you can access all your remote files at once, letting you move and copy files between each of your linked accounts, as well as search for files across all platforms. Any files stored in your other cloud accounts won’t count against your Koofr storage quota.

Great Privacy, Lacking Security

Unfortunately, this level of access between services does mean that Koofr lacks the kind of zero-knowledge encryption that privacy-focused providers offer. Still, Koofr’s servers are based in Germany, so your data falls under much stronger EU privacy laws. Koofr does offer 2FA to help keep your data safe in the event that your password is hacked, though.

Koofr integrates with Microsoft Office 365, though this feature has a few limitations. Free accounts can create an Office document but only paid accounts can edit it. Plus, Koofr doesn’t let you set editing permissions for files (only for folders), so you can’t really collaborate with other people on documents.

You’ll pay around $10.85 per month for 1TB of storage (prices are in euros, so conversion rates will fluctuate). This is costly, compared to Sync.com or pCloud, which offer double the storage for a similar cost. If you don’t need a huge amount of space but want to have all your cloud accounts in one place, then it’s worth taking a look at Koofr.

• *Prices in Euro

9. Dropbox – Best Cloud Data Storage

More Details About Dropbox:

• Pricing: 2GB free, 2TB for $203.88 per year ($16.99 per month)
• Number of devices: 3 to unlimited
• Website: Dropbox.com
• Collaboration with both Office & Google
• Not the cheapest

Dropbox may not have been the first cloud storage service, but it was the first to really bring the idea into the mainstream. More than a decade after its launch, it’s still going strong, with only Google Drive having a larger market share. Dropbox also has the name recognition that providers like Sync.com can only dream of at present.

One of the Best Cloud Storage Services for Collaboration

One of the reasons why Dropbox is still so popular is the excellent collaboration it offers, which is why Dropbox Business is one of our top recommendations in our cloud storage for collaboration shortlist. 

You can launch and collaborate on both Microsoft and Google documents with Dropbox, making it a good solution for users who need to use both services. Both formats work seamlessly, allowing you to co-author documents in real time, which are then automatically saved to the cloud.

The excellent collaboration tools come at a cost in two ways. First off, this integration is only possible because Dropbox’s servers can access your files, due to the lack of zero-knowledge encryption. Dropbox has had security breaches in the past, which we discuss in our Dropbox review . This could be a red flag for some users, and for good reason.

Dropbox is also more expensive than some of the other providers in this list, with 2TB of storage costing $9.99 per month if you pay annually. If you’re looking for information on Dropbox’s business storage plans that are paid per user, you can find out more in our Dropbox Business review .

Save Hard Drive Space With Dropbox Smart Sync

To help users save up on space, Dropbox introduced “smart sync”, which allows you to set all of your files and folders to be either stored locally or online-only. The online-only files still show up in your Dropbox folder, but they don’t take up any space. 

For many users looking for the best cloud storage with sync, Dropbox continues to be a good choice. Its pricing and a lack of encryption could put you off, as could historical data breaches, but features like “smart sync” show that Dropbox continues to innovate, and it still remains one of the greatest services for users who are looking to collaborate on documents.

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

10. Box – Best Online Cloud Storage for Businesses

More Details About Box:

• Pricing: 10GB for free, 100GB for $14 per month or $120 per year
• Website: box.com
• Strong collaboration options
• Google Workspace and Microsoft Office integrations
• Great security
• Primarily business focused
• Private key management costs extra

Although Box is a cloud storage provider that focuses on businesses, it still offers two plans for personal users — one free and one paid. Due to its nature as a business-focused storage option, Box comes packed to the brim with advanced features. Everything from strong collaboration options to two-factor authentication, note-taking and project management is present, which makes for a solid list of features.

The one thing that is missing out of the box (we’ll show ourselves out) is private key management — the main requirement for zero-knowledge privacy. This is a feature that you have to pay extra for with Box, and the company won’t even tell you the price unless you contact them directly.

Collaboration With Box

The clear standout feature of Box is the long list of collaboration options it offers to users. The two most important integrations for this are obviously there, namely Google Workspace and Microsoft Office, but Box goes far beyond these two popular options. 

Instead of forcing you into the apps themselves, Box lets you edit and collaborate on documents directly from its own software, and this even extends to the mobile version. If you ever find yourself needing to edit a text or spreadsheet while on the move, Box is one of the few cloud storage options that let you do this directly from your mobile device.

Pricing That’s Hard to Swallow

By far the biggest drawback to Box is its frankly absurd price. As mentioned, there are only two plans available for personal users. The first is free and gives you access to 10GB of storage and most of Box’s features. However, the paid plan is a terrible value for money if all you want is storage. A mere 100GB will cost you $14 per month or $120 per year, which is outrageously expensive.

If you’re more concerned with collaboration and security than you are with price and storage space, then Box is an excellent cloud storage solution. If that’s not the case, you’re better off with any of the options presented above. For a deeper dive into the service’s pros and cons, check out our Box Review .

• Single user
• Price per user, minimum of three users
• Users: No limit

How Does Cloud Storage Work?

Cloud storage is a way of storing your files and folders on online servers, allowing you to access them from any location and on any device with an internet connection. Your data is stored on servers that belong to your cloud storage provider, which usually offers a web interface, desktop app or mobile app to access your information.

These servers might be located in your own country or on the other side of the world. Most services use a sync folder on your desktop, allowing you to store files easily. Any files you put into this folder are also uploaded to the cloud servers, which will automatically update if you make any changes.

Why We Use Cloud Storage

People use cloud storage for many different reasons, starting with storage. While services like Dropbox and Sync.com might not be great for disaster recovery, they work very well for short-term storage of files that you access often.

In fact, that’s exactly what Drew Houston had in mind when he dreamed up the “sync” folder model commonly used by cloud storage services today back in 2007. He was traveling from New York to Boston on a Chinatown bus and realized that he left his USB drive behind . He decided he wanted a means of storing and accessing files online in a way that required little effort on his part.

Sync folders facilitate device synchronization, which we call “sync” for short. Any file you drag and drop into a sync folder gets automatically sent to the cloud, then sent to any other devices with a sync client installed. That way, you never have to worry about messing with removable storage. Changes to files also get synced across devices, which is what makes cloud storage ideal for getting work done, even remotely.  

Syncing Mobile Apps

Cloud storage tools also generally have mobile apps for Android and iOS that let you access files stored in the cloud. Many let you manually and automatically upload files, as well. That makes them convenient for safeguarding photos taken with your smartphone camera and saving memory at the same time.

Take a look at our roundup of the best cloud storage for Android , or our guide on the best cloud managers for Android if you have multiple cloud storage accounts.

A handful of cloud storage tools don’t sync devices. We can’t think of any tool, though, that doesn’t let you share files. File sharing can be used for both collaboration and socializing.

Most cloud storage tools let you invite specific users to access files based on their email address and generate links to files that can be more broadly used. Many cloud storage tools also let you share folder access, even granting others edit and upload permissions.  

Some cloud storage solutions also integrate with productivity tools like Office Online, Google Docs, Trello, DocuHub and DocuSign. Unfortunately for home users, such integrations are more common with EFSS tools, which are basically cloud storage services for teams and businesses.

Cloud Storage vs Online Backup

Before you start shopping for cloud storage in earnest, it helps to have a good understanding of what “cloud storage” actually means. That way you don’t end up with software that doesn’t really meet your expectations.

The first hurdle to overcome is knowing the difference between cloud storage and online backup. It’s easy to see why one might confuse these terms: both cloud storage and online backup are used to safeguard files in remote data centers. Both let you access the files stored in these data centers from different devices. Online backup is even sometimes confusingly called “cloud backup.”

The difference between the two is that the ultimate goal of online backup is disaster recovery, while cloud storage is generally best suited to quick file access and collaboration. We generally like to think of cloud storage as a productivity tool here at Cloudwards.net, although many people use such solutions for things like streaming music, watching videos and sharing photos, too.

Online backup safeguards hard drives better than cloud storage thanks to backup schedulers, better data recovery options and a few other things that you can read up on in our guide to best online backup.

Aside from storage, there are two features generally common to cloud storage: file sharing and file syncing. On top of that, a handful of cloud storage tools have integrated apps like word processors and task managers that help facilitate productivity.

It’s important to note that there are a handful of cloud solutions that blur the lines between storage and backup. IDrive and SpiderOak ONE are two of the best.

Is Cloud Storage Safe?

Most cloud storage services encrypt your data when it’s being sent to their servers and many store your data in encrypted form. However, no system is completely secure, and cloud storage servers can be hacked.

For instance, Dropbox suffered a major breach in 2012, when 68 million passwords were leaked. Government authorities may also request to access your data for legal reasons. You can help to keep your data more secure by using a service with zero-knowledge encryption, which means that the only person who can decrypt your data is you.

We also recommend setting up two-factor authentication with cloud storage services. This requires you to use an additional code when you log in, which is either sent to your phone as an SMS message or generated by an authenticator app. Even if someone has your password, 2FA means they can’t log in to your account without access to your phone, too.

Cloud Storage Speed Tests

Speed is one of the most important aspects of any cloud storage service. Although the time differences for a gigabyte or two may not be all too large, the time spent uploading or downloading terabytes can add up substantially. The upside of faster cloud storage is clear: using a faster service means you can access your files more quickly across your devices. 

If you know where to look, you can find the fastest cloud storage services , too. Our recent analysis of 12 top cloud storage services showed that around half of them only take 25 percent longer to upload and 27 percent longer to download than expected. This is using raw megabytes per second as a baseline, ignoring all other network conditions. 

Note : Testing was performed in Macedonia using 5.9 Mbps upload and 32 Mbps download speeds.

Of the lot, pCloud and IceDrive were the fastest across upload and download, with SugarSync following closely behind. Google Drive and Sync.com trailed the pack with the slowest speeds. For Google Drive, that’s bad news. Sync.com, on the other hand, offers full end-to-end encryption, so the speed loss makes sense. 

Final Thoughts: Best Cloud Storage

This list has our current top 10, but there are other good-quality providers that didn’t make the list. SecureSafe, SugarSync, Jumpshare and others all have their strengths, so be sure to take a look at our full list of cloud storage reviews to learn more about some of the other options out there, with new providers being added as they appear.

We also have determined the best cloud storage options for large files , and have created an online data storage price list , to make sure you’re getting the best value with today’s best cloud storage deals.

Sync.com and pCloud are great, privacy-focused options for most users, but if you’re more interested in document collaboration, you can’t go wrong with bigger players like Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. However, MEGA offers more free storage, plus excellent security.

While, if you need online backup options in addition to cloud storage, IDrive is the way to go. It’s also the best online back-up for archiving, in case you need to archive data you rarely use to maximize storage space.

Do you use any of the products on our list? Do you think there are some glaring omissions, or do you think we’ve been unfair (or too fair) with any of the providers we’ve mentioned? Leave your own personal cloud storage reviews in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.

FAQ: Best Cloud Storage Providers

Sync.com is our favorite cloud storage for personal use , with good pricing plans, strong encryption and innovative features. Other good options are available, though, such as pCloud, Tresorit, MEGA and Google Drive, to name but a few.

For businesses, you can’t go wrong with a Sync.com , pCloud or Tresorit subscription, as our best business cloud storage list shows. If you’re unsure, key features to look out for are zero-knowledge encryption, server locations and document collaboration features.

pCloud is our top choice for free storage, although MEGA and Google Drive both offer a little more space. The beauty of free cloud storage providers is that you can try out a number of providers to find the perfect fit, with a provider like Koofr allowing you to combine multiple free storage providers together.

Our top choice for the best free online storage for photos is pCloud. It offers secure and cheap storage, will automatically upload photos from your phone and computer, and supports photo editing and social media backup.

A number of the best cloud storage providers offer packages with unlimited storage, but the best unlimited cloud storage provider is Sync.com for Teams. Be aware that most providers offering unlimited storage usually have a set limit, and if you go above the cap, you’ll need to request additional storage. Learn more from our guide on the best unlimited cloud storage providers .

Google Drive tops our list as the best cloud storage service for Android, but our number-one choice for iPhone users is Sync.com. However, most providers offer pretty good smartphone apps.

This is a really helpful article. If you could add a list that shows only Cloud Servers that have Zero Knowledge it would be very helpful for Medical and Legal businesses where client file confidentiality is required by law. That way those businesses can concentrate their search on cloud services that are eligible for their type of business.

Could you guys take a look at TeraCLOUD? It would be interesting to see your input on a Japanese company looking to expand its user base globally.

And once again we have a writer that doesn’t understand the difference between cloud syncing and cloud storage. Massive difference.

No shit! Time for some competence….

Excuse me. Here in Thailand, I could not access to bitcasa. So could someone from any other country could access bitcasa? If have, I will try to connect a VPN to that country. Thank you.(Sorry if one/some of my grammar and typing is/are wrong.)

Don’t buy Pcloud lifetime plan. It’s is waste of money.

From my experience, Pcloud is reducing speed if we purchasing lifetime plan. When i tried to upload files with yearly plan, we can upload properly. But when you purchased a lifetime plan uploading speed below 250kbps only even if you have 1GBPS/5G internet plan.

Some Youtubers mentioned that they are able to upload 5gb files within 10minutes. I think they are pcloud staff otherwise they are uploading files from pcloud data center itself.

Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!

New(ish) to tech and Cloud storage. I’ve contacted One Drive and ICloud to be told they both do the same thing, the same way. My problem is this, I want to store video files in the cloud so I don’t have to keep them in C drive. One drive and ICloud tech support to me this is not possible. How do I overcome this dilemma? When I stored my video data to an external hard drive eventually both drives crashed, I lost everything.

I don’t mind downloading to C drive then uploading to the cloud. However I don’t want to be hostage to always having to keep everything on C drive to use the cloud. Is there a cloud solution for me?

The pricing for Sync.com is outdated. They don’t offer a 200GB plan anymore. Lowest plan for individual users is 2TB at $8/mo.

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SOLVED: Cost To Expand OneDrive Past 5TB & How To Do It

Published by ian matthews on may 15, 2024 may 15, 2024.

Most corporate Microsoft 365 Administrators already know OneDrive has a default limit of 1 terabyte of space available to each of their users.

How To Expand OneDrive To 5TB

Many Microsoft 365 administrators also know that you can expand that default from to 5 terabytes by simply:

• I go through portal.office.com , then click ADMIN, then click SHOW ALL (left menu), then click SHAREPOINT, but you can go to it directly if you wish
• Click SETTINGS
• Click ONEDRIVE STORAGE LIMIT
• Change the DEFAULT STORAGE LIMIT to any number between 1024 and 5120 GB.

Expand OneDrive Past 5TB

To expand OneDrive capacity beyond 5TB for any single user you simply need to meet a few requirements that we will detail here and open a request with Microsoft 365 support.

OneDrive Expansion Beyond 5TB Requirements

• You must have at least five users on a Microsoft 365 E1, E2, or E3
• At least one of those users must be at 90% of the maximum 5TB limit
• If you have an E3 or E5, it will be SHAREPOINT (PLAN 2)
• If you have an E1 or below you would have to pay to upgrade to SHAREPOINT (PLAN 2)

OneDrive Expansion Beyond 5TB Costs

There is absolutely no additional fee or charge or reduction in capacity elsewhere if you expand your maximum OneDrive size beyond the 5TB.

We have seen websites that claim the disk space beyond the five terabyte limit for OneDrive users is taken off of the shared SharePoint storage limits, but that is completely inaccurate. There is no penalty at all and no cost at all to expanding OneDrive beyond the five terabyte limit.

OneDrive Expansion Beyond 5TB For Just One User

When you expand beyond the five terabyte limit that you can do yourself the limit is set for the entire company. There is no way to expand beyond the 5TB limit for just one user. That means once you have gone through the process of expanding the maximum OneDrive capacity as a global setting, you can set each user to whatever limit you want.

OneDrive Expansion Beyond 5TB Maximum Capacity

The maximum capacity that OneDrive currently supports as of summer 2024 is 25TB. Once Microsoft has approved the free increase in storage space for OneDrive users, They will set it to 25 terabyte and then you have to set your users to whatever size capacity you want their OneDrive to be.

How To Expand OneDrive Beyond 5TB

The process to expand onedrive beyond 5 terabyte is actually pretty straightforward but certainly not obvious.

• Take a screen shot of user’s OneDrive capacity that is over 4.5TB (90% of the 5TB limit)
• see screenshot above for an example
• Log into portal.office.com, click ADMIN, and click HELP AND SUPPORT from the popup on the bottom right corner of the screen
• Request the free OneDrive upgrade to 25TB and be sure to attach the two screenshots to the ticket
• Microsoft will quite quickly remove the 5TB limit and set it to the actual maximum limit for OneDrive of 25 TB
• Microsoft will provide you with a Powershell script that you need to run against your M365 Tenant because the Microsoft 365 admin portal pages, won’t let you do anything past 5TB
• Go into any user account and set the OneDrive maximum storage capacity to any number between 1TB and 25TB

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Top Alternatives to Microsoft OneDrive for Better Security

May 8, 2024

in Cloud Storage , Comparisons

Our content is reader-supported . If you click on our links, we may earn a commission.  How we review .

Microsoft OneDrive provides cloud storage for business and personal users across the world. But its privacy and security features are far from good enough. Here are better and more secure Microsoft OneDrive alternatives ⇣ you should use instead.

OneDrive is one of the most popular options available, in part due to its generous free forever plan, which includes 5 gigabytes of free storage.

However, Microsoft OneDrive certainly has its flaws as well. Its privacy and security features are far from strong enough , which means that your data could be compromised at any point.

For example, end-to-end encryption is notably absent , and any transmitted data is at risk and fully visible to anyone who wants to look hard enough.

Reddit is a great place to learn more about Microsoft OneDrive. Here are a few Reddit posts that I think you’ll find interesting. Check them out and join the discussion!

Does anybody actually like onedrive? by u/rot_throwaway in onedrive

One Drive is horrendous. It’s pretty much ransomware. by u/oliath in onedrive

I feel like I’m going to cry. I hate one drive so much. by u/Phellle in onedrive

Fortunately, there are numerous high-quality Microsoft OneDrive alternatives out there. And in the rest of this guide, I’ve outlined nine of my favorites.

Top Microsoft OneDrive Competitors in 2024 (Better Security & Privacy)

The best alternatives for most people include pCloud (the best budget-friendly alternative), Dropbox (the best free alternative), and Sync.com (the best value for money).

At the end of this list, I have included two of the worst cloud storage providers right now that I recommend you don’t ever use.

1. Sync.com (Best OneDrive competitor)

• Website: https://www.sync.com
• Very generous storage and transfer limits
• Automatic data syncing for simple backups
• Focus on security and encryption to protect your data

Although it has been around for a few years, Sync.com continues to grow rapidly, fast becoming one of the most popular cloud storage providers around.

And after using it a few times, I quickly understood why.

For one, Sync offers very generous storage and bandwidth limits , which essentially means that you’re getting great value for money.

Sync’s security integrations are second to none , and there are numerous other features that have to be seen to be believed.

In addition, Sync provides a suite of tools to help you collaborate with colleagues and team members.

Create workplace folders, set permissions, and share important information in a faster, more secure manner than ever before.

Sync.com pros:

• Very generous storage limits
• Excellent zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption
• Great team and collaboration features
• For a full list of features check out this Sync.com review

Sync.com cons:

• No monthly payment options
• No integrations with third-party platforms
• Upload and download speeds can be slow

Sync.com pricing plans:

Sync.com offers 2 individual plans, 2 team plans, one free-forever option, and enterprise-level solutions for larger businesses.

Prices start at $8/month for a basic team members subscription.

• Data transfer : 5 GB
• Storage : 5 GB
• Cost : FREE

Pro Solo Basic Plan

• Data transfer : Unlimited
• Storage : 2 TB (2,000 GB)
• Yearly plan : $8/month

Pro Solo Professional Plan

• Storage : 6 TB (6,000 GB)
• Yearly plan : $20/month

Pro Teams Standard Plan

• Storage : 1 TB (1000GB)
• Yearly plan : $6/month per user

Pro Teams Unlimited Plan

• Storage : Unlimited
• Yearly plan : $15/month per user

Why Sync.com is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

For me, Sync.com is the best Microsoft OneDrive alternative because of its generous storage limits, excellent security, and impressive collaboration tools – among other great features.

Short summary : Sync.com is known for its strong privacy features, zero-knowledge encryption, and user-friendly interface, making it an ideal choice for users who prioritize data security. With remote device wipe and secure password-protected sharing, Sync.com ensures your files are always protected.

Reliable, end-to-end encrypted cloud storage solution trusted by over 1.8 million businesses and individuals globally. Enjoy excellent sharing and team collaboration features and zero-knowledge privacy and security.

2. pCloud (Best cheap alternative)

• Website: https://www.pcloud.com
• Lifetime licenses available
• Excellent value for money across the board
• Powerful security features to protect your files

Although I’ve only used pCloud a few times, I love it.

Just about every aspect of this provider’s service stands out as exceptional , from its powerful security integrations to its unique lifetime storage licenses.

On top of this, pCloud offers excellent value for money .

The number of features on offer here is excellent and includes everything from automatic backups to file syncing, collaboration tools, and powerful encryption.

You can also view files within the pCloud interface, access your data from anywhere with an internet connection, and more.

pCloud pros:

• Very powerful free plan
• Excellent lifetime subscription options
• pCloud backup gives you secure cloud backup for PC and Mac
• Powerful security integrations
• Affordable lifetime deal (500 GB for $175)
• For a full list of features check out this pCloud review

pCloud cons:

• No document or file editor
• File management system is a little messy
• Pricing options are confusing
• pCloud Crypto (end-to-end encryption) is a paid addon

pCloud pricing plans:

pCloud offers a selection of options, including lifetime licenses and more traditional monthly subscriptions .

There is also a free forever plan , which includes 10 GB of storage on signup.

Free 10GB Plan

• Data transfer : 3 GB
• Storage : 10 GB

Premium 500GB Plan

• Data transfer : 500 GB
• Storage : 500 GB
• Price per year : $49.99
• Lifetime price : $199 (one-time payment)

Premium Plus 2TB Plan

• Data transfer : 2 TB (2,000 GB)
• Price per year : $99.99
• Lifetime price : $399 (one-time payment)

Custom 10TB Plan

• Storage : 10 TB (10,000 GB)
• Lifetime price : $1,190 (one-time payment)

Family 2TB Plan

• Users : 1-5
• Lifetime price : $595 (one-time payment)

Family 10TB Plan

• Data transfer : 10 TB (10,000 GB)
• Lifetime price : $1,499 (one-time payment)

Business Plan

• Storage : 1TB per user
• Price per month : $9.99 per user
• Price per year : $7.99 per user
• Includes pCloud encryption, 180 days of file versioning, access control + more

Business Pro Plan

• Price per month : $19.98 per user
• Price per year : $15.98 per user
• Includes priority support, pCloud encryption, 180 days of file versioning, access control + more

Why pCloud is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

If you’re looking for sites like Microsoft OneDrive that focus on security, ease of use, and affordability, then pCloud should be sitting right at the top of your list .

Short summary: pCloud sets itself apart with lifetime plans, client-side encryption options, and media streaming capabilities, making it a cost-effective and versatile solution. pCloud’s built-in audio and video players, along with its automatic organization of media files, cater to users with large multimedia collections.

Experience the best of cloud storage with pCloud's 10TB lifetime plan. Enjoy Swiss-grade data privacy, seamless file sharing, and unparalleled data recovery options. With no hidden charges, pCloud is your key to worry-free data storage.

3. Dropbox (Best free alternative)

• Website: https://www.dropbox.com
• Excellent free forever plan
• Powerful integrations with various third-party platforms
• Streamlined collaboration and file-sharing tools

Like Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox has long been a leader in the cloud storage industry .

It is a little expensive compared to some other competitors, but its free plan is up there with the best I’ve used.

Another thing I love about Dropbox is its neat integrations with third-party platforms .

Streamline workflows, create automatic backups, and take advantage of the mobile and desktop apps to manage your files on the go.

Dropbox pros:

• Powerful free forever plan
• Excellent integrations with third-party apps
• Impressive file sharing tools

Dropbox cons:

• Full device backups aren’t available
• Premium plans are expensive
• Limited storage with free plan

Dropbox pricing plans:

In my opinion, Dropbox’s free plan is the best free alternative to Microsoft OneDrive .

It does have a 2GB storage limit, but this won’t be an issue for simple document backups. There are also five premium plans, with prices starting at $9.99 per month .

Why Dropbox is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

Dropbox’s free plan is a great option for those who simply don’t have the budget to pay for premium cloud storage.

Short summary: Dropbox is a popular choice for its seamless real-time collaboration, extensive third-party integrations, and widespread adoption across various industries. With features like Smart Sync, Paper, and file versioning, Dropbox is perfect for teams working together on projects.

Experience superior functionality with Dropbox. Enjoy fast and efficient uploading, seamless device syncing, and easy file organization across all your devices.

4. NordLocker

• Website: https://nordlocker.com
• Highly secure cloud storage with a focus on security
• Generous free plan
• A focus on controlling who can access your files

NordLocker is a powerful encryption and cloud storage tool that focuses on ensuring your files are as secure as possible.

All data is fully encrypted at all times , and the best thing is that you don’t need to have any specialist knowledge to use the platform.

On top of this, NordLocker allows you to set clear access control rules , ensuring that only the people you share your files with can see them.

It also lets you store fully encrypted data on your device rather than in the cloud, provides powerful protection on shared devices, and includes automatic backup tools.

NordLocker pros:

• Great focus on security
• Tidy user interface
• Great free plan
• For all features check out my NordLocker review

NordLocker cons:

• No web interface
• Limited premium plans
• No mobile apps

NordLocker pricing plans:

NordLocker only advertises two subscription options . The 3GB Free plan is exactly what the name suggests: A free forever plan that gives you 3 GB of secure storage.

If you need more than this, there are Business 500 GB and Business Plus 2 TB plans that cost just from $189, which is up there with the most competitively priced cloud storage I’ve seen.

If you need more storage than this, you will need to contact the NordLocker team.

Why NordLocker is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

NordLocker’s focus on security makes it an excellent alternative to Microsoft OneDrive, a platform that’s known for its poor data security procedures.

Short summary: NordLocker prioritizes security with its end-to-end encryption, private file sharing, and focus on safeguarding sensitive data. Built by the creators of NordVPN, NordLocker offers a secure, encrypted cloud locker to store files, making it a top choice for privacy-minded users.

Experience top-notch security with NordLocker's state-of-the-art ciphers and zero-knowledge encryption. Enjoy automatic syncing, backup, and easy file sharing with permissions. Get started with a free 3GB plan or explore more storage options starting from $2.99/month/user.

5. Icedrive

• Website: https://icedrive.net
• Generous lifetime plans
• Excellent all-around features
• Windows, Mac, and Linux OS support

Icedrive is a popular cloud storage provider offering excellent value for money across the board .

Its services are backed by great security, cross-platform compatibility, generous storage limits, and more.

One thing that stood out to me was Icedrive’s zero-knowledge client-side encryption , which makes your files all but invisible to prying eyes.

Shared files can be password-protected, and you can even set share timeout rules for extra security.

Icedrive pros:

• Industry-leading security
• Very competitive prices
• Zero-knowledge client-side encryption
• Cloud hard drive feature

Icedrive cons:

• Support can be limited
• No unlimited bandwidth options
• Mobile apps could be better

Icedrive pricing plans:

Icedrive offers three premium plans, with monthly, yearly, and lifetime payment options. There’s also a free forever plan with 10GB of secure cloud storage.

• Storage : 150 GB
• Monthly plan : not available
• Yearly plan : $6/month ($19.99 billed annually)
• Lifetime plan : $189 (one-time payment)
• Storage : 1 TB (1,000 GB)
• Monthly plan : $59/year
• Yearly plan : $4.17/month ($49.99 billed annually)
• Storage : 5 TB (5,000 GB)
• Monthly plan : $17.99 per month
• Yearly plan : $15/month ($179.99 billed annually)

Pro III (Lifetime-only)

• Storage : 3 TB (3,000 GB)
• Lifetime plan : $399 (one-time payment)

Pro X (Lifetime-only)

• Lifetime plan : $999 (one-time payment)

Why Icedrive is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

If you care about security, encryption, and privacy, you should definitely consider Icedrive as one of the best Microsoft OneDrive competitors.

Short summary: Icedrive is well-liked for its modern interface, competitive pricing, and various storage options, providing a user-friendly and cost-effective cloud storage service. With features like client-side encryption, Icedrive is an appealing choice for individuals and small businesses.

Get top-tier cloud storage with robust security, generous features, and the user-friendly interface of a hard drive. Discover Icedrive's different plans, tailored for personal use and small groups.

• Website: https://www.box.com
• Excellent track record in the industry
• Beginner-friendly user interface
• Advanced app integrations

Box has been working in the cloud storage industry for the best part of two decades, and this experience shows.

Its storage solutions are among the best I’ve seen , and they stand out because of their advanced features, security integrations, and excellent reputation .

In my opinion, one of the best things about Box is its streamlined integrations .

Connect with any of more than 1500 third-party apps to streamline workflows and make your daily working life easier than ever.

• Excellent third-party app integrations
• Advanced security tools
• Great unlimited cloud storage options
• HIPAA-compliant cloud storage provider
• For a full list of features check out my Box.com review
• App configuration can be difficult
• Some plans are a little expensive
• Limited personal options

Box pricing plans:

Box offers a powerful free forever plan , along with five premium subscription options . Prices start from $5/month per user, with a 25% discount available for annual subscriptions.

The two cheapest plans come with a 100GB storage limit, but the three more expensive options all come with unlimited storage and a suite of other features.

Why Box is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

If you’re looking for a business cloud storage provider backed by a great reputation , industry-leading security features, and integrations with over 1500 third-party apps, you simply can’t go past Box .

Short summary: Box.com is designed for businesses, offering advanced collaboration tools, granular access controls, and comprehensive security features. Its integration with popular productivity tools and focus on enterprise-level security make Box.com a go-to solution for businesses of all sizes.

Experience the convenience of unlimited cloud storage with Box.com. With robust security features, an intuitive interface, and seamless integration with apps like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Slack, you can streamline your work and collaborations. Begin your journey with Box.com today.

7. Google Drive

• Website: https://www.google.com/intl/en_in/drive/
• Included with any Gmail or Google account
• Google Drive is free for standard use
• Backed by the power of the Google ecosystem

Google’s native cloud storage solution , Google Drive, is included for free with every Gmail or Google account in the world.

It’s a convenient option for those who don’t need anything too advanced , but there are certainly more powerful options out there.

On the plus side, you will get 15GB of storage for free, offline viewing and document editing support, and a user-friendly interface that’s tidy and intuitive.

Google Drive pros:

• Excellent free solution
• Google Drive integrates with all other Google Apps
• Tidy, beginner-friendly option
• Most similar to OneDrive

Google Drive cons:

• Limited features
• Slow upload and download speeds
• Poor data privacy

Google Drive pricing plans:

Google Drive is 100% free, forever if you don’t need any more than 15GB of storage. More storage can be added if required, with prices starting from $1.99 for 100GB.

Why Google Drive is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

If you already use Gmail or any other Google services, the chances are that you’re already using Google Drive . If you don’t need anything too fancy, it’s likely the most convenient option for your needs, and most similar to OneDrive.

Short summary: Google Drive offers seamless integration with Google Workspace, powerful collaboration features, and a generous free tier. Its real-time editing capabilities, built-in productivity apps, and compatibility with a variety of file formats make Google Drive a popular choice for both personal and professional use.

8. Amazon Drive

• Website: https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=15547130011
• Secure file backups, sharing, and cloud storage
• Competitively priced solutions
• iOS and Android apps available

Amazon Drive certainly isn’t my personal favorite or  best cloud storage provider, but it’s an option worth mentioning nonetheless.

With highly affordable storage, versatile iOS and Android apps, and decent security features , there’s actually a lot to like here.

All existing Amazon users will have access to 5GB of free cloud storage, while Prime members can access unlimited photo storage.

Access your files from anywhere, and rest assured that they are protected by the power of the Amazon ecosystem.

Amazon Drive pros:

• Very affordable subscription options
• 24/7 customer support
• Unlimited photo storage

Amazon Drive cons:

• At-rest encryption is notably absent
• Lack of productivity apps
• Confusing user interface

Amazon Drive pricing plans:

If you need something more advanced than Amazon Drive’s 5GB free plan , you can upgrade to a 100GB storage plan for just $19.99 per year.

Prices increase as more storage is required, reaching a huge $1800 per year for the 30TB storage plan.

Why Amazon Drive is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

Amazon Drive is one of the best alternatives for anyone on a tight budget.

Short summary: Amazon Drive is recognized for its integration with the Amazon ecosystem, providing unlimited photo storage for Prime members and competitive pricing for other storage tiers. With a focus on multimedia storage and easy sharing options, Amazon Drive is a solid choice for Amazon users.

• Website: https://www.idrive.com
• Excellent enterprise-level solutions
• Available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices
• Great collaboration features

IDrive is an excellent choice for those who need a high-end cloud storage service .

It does offer personal subscription options, but the majority of its services are targeted at business and professional users .

Notable features include multiple device backups , IDrive Express physical data retrieval, and file versioning.

On top of this, there are also some excellent tools to help you manage large teams .

IDrive pros:

• IDrive Express physical data retrieval
• Excellent team management tools
• Multiple device backup

IDrive cons:

• Backups can be time-consuming
• Too advanced for basic users
• The user interface can be confusing

IDrive pricing plans:

There are numerous iDrive subscription options available . At the cheapest end of the spectrum, the free plan comes with 10GB of storage. Personal plans start from $2.95/year for 100 GB of storage.

While Business plans may appear expensive, it supports unlimited users, devices, databases, and more.

Why IDrive is a good alternative to Microsoft OneDrive:

If you’re looking for a high-end business cloud storage solution, I’d highly recommend considering iDrive as a powerful alternative to Microsoft OneDrive. Go here to read my detailed IDrive review .

Short summary: IDrive excels in backup solutions, offering multi-device support, file versioning, and secure data management. With features like real-time backup, disk image backup, and continuous data protection, IDrive is an ideal choice for users who require a comprehensive backup and storage solution.

Discover the power of modern cloud storage with IDrive. Benefit from enhanced security measures, user-friendly interfaces, and flexible pricing plans. Protect your data from ransomware attacks with point-in-time recovery and enjoy the convenience of syncing multiple devices from a single account.

Worst Cloud Storage (Downright Terrible & Plagued With Privacy and Security Issues)

There are a lot of cloud storage services out there, and it can be hard to know which ones to trust with your data. Unfortunately, not all of them are created equal. Some of them are downright terrible and plagued with privacy and security issues, and you should avoid them at all costs. Here are two of the very worst cloud storage services out there:

1. JustCloud

Compared to its cloud storage competitors, JustCloud’s pricing is just ridiculous . There’s no other cloud storage provider so lacking in features while possessing enough hubris to charge $10 a month for such a basic service that doesn’t even work half the time.

JustCloud sells a simple cloud storage service that allows you to back up your files to the cloud, and sync them between multiple devices. That’s it. Every other cloud storage service has something that differentiates it from its competitors, but JustCloud offers just storage and syncing.

One good thing about JustCloud is that it comes with apps for almost all operating systems including Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS.

JustCloud’s sync for your computer is just terrible. It isn’t compatible with your operating system’s folder architecture. Unlike other cloud storage and sync solutions, with JustCloud, you will be spending a lot of time fixing syncing issues . With other providers, you just have to install their sync app once, and then you never have to touch it again.

Another thing I hated about the JustCloud app was that it doesn’t have the ability to upload folders directly . So, you have to create a folder in JustCloud’s terrible UI and then upload the files one by one. And if there are dozens of folders with dozens more inside them that you want to upload, you’re looking at spending at least half an hour just creating folders and uploading files manually.

If you think that JustCloud might be worth a try, just Google their name and you’ll see thousands of bad 1-star reviews plastered all over the internet . Some reviewers will tell you how their files were corrupted, others will tell you how bad the support was, and most are just complaining about the outrageously expensive pricing.

There are hundreds of reviews of JustCloud that complain about how many bugs this service has. This app has so many bugs you’d think it was coded by a school-going child rather than a team of software engineers at a registered company.

Look, I’m not saying there isn’t any use case where JustCloud might make the cut, but there’s none that I can think of for myself.

I’ve tried and tested almost all of the popular cloud storage services both free and paid. Some of those were really bad. But there’s still no way I can ever picture myself using JustCloud. It just doesn’t offer all the features I need in a cloud storage service for it to be a viable option for me. Not only that, the pricing is way too expensive when compared to other similar services.

2. FlipDrive

FlipDrive’s pricing plans might not be the most expensive, but they are up there. They offer only 1 TB of storage for $10 a month. Their competitors offer twice as much space and dozens of useful features for this price.

If you look around a little, you can easily find a cloud storage service that has more features, better security, better customer support, has apps for all your devices, and is built with professionals in mind. And you don’t have to look far!

I love rooting for the underdog. I always recommend tools built by smaller teams and startups. But I don’t think I can recommend FlipDrive to anyone. It doesn’t have anything that makes it stand out . Other than, of course, all the missing features.

For one, there’s no desktop app for macOS devices. If you’re on macOS, you can upload and download your files to FlipDrive using the web application, but there’s no automatic file syncing for you!

Another reason why I don’t like FlipDrive is because there is no file versioning . This is pretty important to me professionally and is a deal-breaker. If you make a change to a file and upload the new version on FlipDrive, there’s no way to go back to the last version.

Other cloud storage providers offer file versioning for free. You can make changes to your files and then revert back to an old version if you aren’t happy with the changes. It’s like undo and redo for files. But FlipDrive doesn’t even offer it on the paid plans.

Another deterrent is security. I don’t think FlipDrive cares about security at all. Whatever cloud storage service you choose, make sure it has 2-Factor Authentication; and enable it! It protects hackers from getting access to your account.

With 2FA, even if a hacker somehow gets access to your password, they can’t log into your account without the one-time password that is sent to your 2FA-linked device (your phone most likely). FlipDrive doesn’t even have 2-Factor Authentication. It also doesn’t offer Zero-knowledge privacy , which is common with most other cloud storage services.

I recommend cloud storage services based on their best use case. For example, if you run an online business, I recommend you go with Dropbox or Google Drive or something similar with best-in-class team-sharing features.

If you are someone who deeply cares about privacy, you’ll want to go for a service that has end-to-end encryption such as Sync.com or Icedrive . But I can’t think of a single real-world use case where I would recommend FlipDrive. If you want terrible (almost non-existent) customer support, no file versioning, and buggy user interfaces, then I might recommend FlipDrive.

If you are thinking of giving FlipDrive a try, I recommend you try some other cloud storage service . It’s more expensive than most of their competitors while offering almost none of the features their competitors offer. It’s buggy as hell and doesn’t have an app for macOS.

If you are into privacy and security, you won’t find any here. Also, the support is terrible as it is almost non-existent. Before you make the mistake of purchasing a premium plan, just try their free plan to see how terrible it is.

What is Microsoft OneDrive?

Like most tech giants, Microsoft has created its own cloud storage solution, Microsoft OneDrive.

It’s available to all Microsoft users, providing you the freedom and flexibility to store your files and important data in a secure, accessible manner.

One of the reasons I like OneDrive is its excellent cross-platform compatibility.

Not only can you use it to back up standard files from your laptop or desktop computer, but it can also be used with everything from Android and iOS devices to Xbox consoles and more.

What’s more, OneDrive creates a backup of virtually every file on your computer .

In short, this means that you can access important documents, photos, and more from virtually anywhere in the world, at any time.

Microsoft OneDrive features and pricing

There are various purchase options available if you would like to use OneDrive’s storage solutions.

Personal users can take advantage of 5 GB of free cloud storage or upgrade to 100 GB for just $1.99 per month .

Alternatively, purchase a Microsoft 365 Personal or Microsoft 365 Family plans for 1TB or 6TB total storage respectively.

On the business side, you can access 1TB of storage for $5 per user, per month or unlimited storage for $10 per user, per month .

Alternatively, go for a Microsoft 365 Business Basic or Microsoft 365 Business Standard plans for 1TB of storage and access to various other apps and features.

Pros and cons of Microsoft OneDrive

For me, the standout thing about OneDrive is its excellent file-sharing capabilities .

Since it creates automatic backups of your files, you will be able to access them from anywhere, on any device – unless you cancel automatic syncing, of course.

You can use OneDrive on virtually any device, and the mobile apps are intuitive and easy to use .

On top of this, I was very impressed with the document collaborative editing tools , which are designed to help team members or colleagues work on the same project, at the same time.

Unfortunately, though, Microsoft OneDrive really falls down when it comes to security and privacy .

Notably, it doesn’t use zero-knowledge encryption , which essentially means that your files are available and visible to prying eyes.

Questions & Answers

Our verdict ⭐.

Although Microsoft OneDrive remains a popular cloud storage provider, I honestly believe there are numerous alternatives to Microsoft Onedrive on the market that are better.

This is mainly because OneDrive simply hasn’t kept up when it comes to security and privacy .

Its limited security features leave a lot to be desired, and your files won’t be adequately protected when at rest or in transmission.

Because of this, I’d highly recommend considering one of the nine Microsoft OneDrive competitors I’ve outlined on this list .

• Sync.com sits at the top of the list because of its excellent value for money, powerful security integrations, and advanced features.
• pCloud is a great choice if you’re looking for a budget provider.
• Dropbox has one of the best free plans I’ve used.

But this doesn’t mean that none of the other options are worth considering.

Almost every site like Microsoft Onedrive has some sort of free plan, and I’d really recommend playing around with them before settling on any single provider.

How We Test Cloud Storage: Our Methodology

Choosing the right cloud storage isn’t just about following trends; it’s about finding what genuinely works for you. Here’s our hands-on, no-nonsense methodology for reviewing cloud storage services:

Signing Up Ourselves

• First-Hand Experience:  We create our own accounts, going through the same process you would to understand each service’s setup and beginner friendliness.

Performance Testing: The Nitty-Gritty

• Upload/Download Speeds:  We test these in various conditions to evaluate real-world performance.
• File Sharing Speeds:  We assess how quickly and efficiently each service shares files between users, an often overlooked but crucial aspect.
• Handling Different File Types:  We upload and download diverse file types and sizes to gauge service versatility.

Customer Support: Real-World Interaction

• Testing Response and Effectiveness:  We engage with customer support, posing real issues to evaluate their problem-solving capabilities, and the time it takes to get a reply.

Security: Delving Deeper

• Encryption and Data Protection:  We examine their use of encryption, focusing on client-side options for enhanced security.
• Privacy Policies:  Our analysis includes reviewing their privacy practices, especially regarding data logging.
• Data Recovery Options:  We test how effective their recovery features are in the event of data loss.

Cost Analysis: Value for Money

• Pricing Structure:  We compare the cost against the features offered, evaluating both monthly and annual plans.
• Lifetime Cloud Storage Deals:  We specifically look for and assess the value of lifetime storage options, a significant factor for long-term planning.
• Evaluating Free Storage:  We explore the viability and limitations of free storage offerings, understanding their role in the overall value proposition.

Feature Deep-Dive: Uncovering Extras

• Unique Features:  We look for features that set each service apart, focusing on functionality and user benefits.
• Compatibility and Integration:  How well does the service integrate with different platforms and ecosystems?
• Exploring Free Storage Options:  We evaluate the quality and limitations of their free storage offerings.

User Experience: Practical Usability

• Interface and Navigation:  We delve into how intuitive and user-friendly their interfaces are.
• Device Accessibility:  We test on various devices to assess accessibility and functionality.

Learn more about our  review methodology here .

You might also like to check out a few of our other guides:

• The Best Dropbox Alternatives
• The Best Google Drive Alternatives
• The Best pCloud Alternatives
• pCloud vs Sync.com Comparison

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• Is Icedrive’s Lifetime Cloud Storage Plans Worth Getting?

About Author

Matt Ahlgren

Mathias Ahlgren is the CEO and founder of Website Rating, steering a global team of editors and writers. He holds a master's in information science and management. His career pivoted to SEO after early web development experiences during university. With over 15 years in SEO, digital marketing, and web developmens. His focus also includes website security, evidenced by a certificate in Cyber Security. This diverse expertise underpins his leadership at Website Rating.

The "WSR Team" is the collective group of expert editors and writers specializing in technology, internet security, digital marketing, and web development. Passionate about the digital realm, they produce well-researched, insightful, and accessible content. Their commitment to accuracy and clarity makes Website Rating a trusted resource for staying informed in the dynamic digital world.

Shimon Brathwaite

Shimon is a seasoned cybersecurity professional and published author of "Cybersecurity Law: Protect Yourself and Your Customers", and writer at Website Rating, primarily focuses on topics related to cloud storage and backup solutions. Additionally, his expertise extends to areas such as VPNs and password managers, where he offers valuable insights and thorough research to guide readers through these important cybersecurity tools.

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• Category: Games

Discover How Real F1 Data Creates the Ultimate Sporting Simulation in F1 Manager 2024

• Add an 11th team to the grid and make them your own with F1 Manager 2024’s new Create A Team mode
• Deeper management tools and new broadcast options bring the world of F1 to life like never before
• Discover the real F1 data powering your every decision

Do you have what it takes to write your own legacy in Formula 1? F1 Manager 2024 accelerates onto Xbox consoles on July 23, placing you in the hotseat of a team competing in the world’s most prestigious motorsports championship. This year, for the first time ever, you will be able to add your own 11 th team to the grid, designing your own route to the podium as you customise the look of your team and seek sponsorship to support your lofty goals.

F1 Manager 2024 utilizes hundreds of real-world data points taken from the sport in the most authentic and immersive experience to date. But just how does that data affect how you’ll be managing your team?

New to the series this year is the Mentality System, which gives you a greater understanding than ever before into the personal ambitions and characters of your team. To do this we wanted each driver and staff member to react in a more human way, for them to have ambition, opinions, and expectations about how you and your team are performing. To do this we looked at real-world data regarding their careers. How many wins do they have? How many races have they competed in? Did they compete in F2 or F3? Have they developed a championship winning car?

We use this type of data to make each individual’s history and experience drive how they react and respond to the world they live in. This also allows our drivers and staff to develop and change over time just like in real life as the data points we use are constantly updating and changing, which in turn changes how they perceive the world. Putting two previous World Championship winners in the same car won’t guarantee results, as they’re still hungry for race wins. Likewise, someone who’s new to the F1 paddock will be happy to see their experience build. Fail to keep your stars happy, and rival teams can take advantage of this to poach them to their own teams.

Authenticity is at the core of the F1® Manager series, so this commitment to real-world data forms the foundations of our driver and staff ratings.  From the individual Driver attributes to each staff member’s abilities in building a car or operating at a race track, everything is balanced according to real life results and historic data. For example, a 1 st – 20 th ranking of the number of laps done on each compound of tyre in every Grand Prix since 2020, how efficient those strategies were at those races, plus car performance weightings to ensure fairness in the results, allows us to indicate an initial smoothness rating for a driver.

Revamped UI in F1 Manager 2024 shows you how important each area of the car is, in anticipation of the next few races. This information is generated using calculations that amalgamate real tyre, lap time and performance data directly from our partners at F1, such as best sector times in Qualifying, or speed differential between using or not using DRS through a Speed Trap. This level of commitment to the real-world data spreads throughout every part of the game, from the strategies you’ll use on track to the development of future talent through the new Affiliates system, allowing you to recruit the stars of the future from F2, F3 and beyond.

Once you’ve got your team set up, our race simulation brings the action to life with broadcast-like cameras, including the strategic new Heli-cam.  How each car performs across each of the 24 circuits is informed by more real-world data which we work on with the F1 Motorsport team. Our engineering team run thousands of simulated scenarios on every lap and every corner to produce a wealth of information, identifying each car’s opportunities to overtake and how they perform. These simulations are fed by data such as overall lap times from previous Grand Prix, weather conditions and the rate of tyre wear, ensuring every race in F1 Manager 2024 feels authentic and realistic to F1 fans.

You can dive into the data yourself and create a legacy with your own team when F1 Manager 2024 releases on July 23 for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.

Pre-order ahead of launch to receive an additional exclusive Create A Team preset livery replicating the F1 2024 Show Car, or choose to enhance your experience with 10% off the suggested retail price of F1 Manager 2024: Deluxe Edition, which adds five classically inspired patterns to Create A Team mode, whilst an additional five fictional Race Replay scenarios offer unique single-race challenges.

F1® Manager 2024 Deluxe Edition

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Contribute to the Microsoft 365 and Office forum! Click  here  to learn more  💡

April 9, 2024

Contribute to the Microsoft 365 and Office forum!

Click  here  to learn more  💡

OneDrive Forum Top Contributors: CraigLong   ✅

May 10, 2024

OneDrive Forum Top Contributors:

CraigLong   ✅

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Urgent Inquiry Regarding Recent Storage Limitation on OneDrive

Today I encountered a storage limitation on my OneDrive account, which is now restricted to 100GB. I initially thought it was an error, but later discovered that this measure had been announced back in February. Surprisingly, this is the first time I'm hearing about this change.

I'm an engineering student and often work with quite heavy files. This new limitation has resulted in me exceeding the limit by more than 200%. I understand that most educational centers do not fully utilize the storage provided, and although I am not completely against this observation, this restriction directly affects me.

Truthfully, as justified as this policy may seem, I am not in a position to assume the additional cost of a subscription to expand my storage. If an exception or adjustment cannot be made in my case, unfortunately, I will have to consider moving to another service.

Thank you very much in advance for your attention.

Best regards.

P.S. Could you please inform me how much time I have to resolve this storage excess issue? I do not want to risk losing any data.

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• Microsoft Agent |

Dear Josilda,

Apologies for the inconvenience caused and please don’t worry, let’s work together on your concern and move towards a resolution path.

As per the description shared, I understand your concern and to my knowledge, I would like to convey that the limit in the OneDrive for Business storage for the Educational Users to 100 GB is applied to the users who are assigned with Office 365 A1 license:  Storage Changes for Microsoft 365 Education | Microsoft Education

Moreover, the Office 365 accounts of Educational Institutions are managed by the IT admins of the Education Institutions. So, I request you to check the license assigned to you in your subscriptions page of your Office 365 account:

Open the browser such as Google Chrome> Click on the three dots at the top right> New Incognito window> Access  https://portal.office.com  > Enter Office 365 account details> Click on the profile picture at the top right (beside the question mark icon)> View Account> Scroll little down and click on Subscriptions> See whether the mentioned license is listed in the user Subscriptions page.

If you are assigned with Office 365 A1, please connect with the admin of your Educational Institution and request them to change the license so that you can use more than 100 GB for the storage.  How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support

If there is any misunderstanding from our end, we apologies and request you to share the more detailed information with some screenshots which will help us to better understand and guide you further.

Appreciate your patience and understanding. Have a great day!!

Best Regards,

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LibreWolf 126.0-1

Razvan Serea News Reporter Neowin · May 19, 2024 14:44 EDT with 0 comments

LibreWolf is an independent “fork” of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy security and user freedom. It is the community run successor to LibreFox.

LibreWolf is designed to increase protection against tracking and fingerprinting techniques, while also including a few security improvements. This is achieved through our privacy and security oriented settings and patches. LibreWolf also aims to remove all the telemetry, data collection and annoyances, as well as disabling anti-freedom features like DRM.

LibreWolf features:

• Latest Firefox — LibreWolf is compiled directly from the latest build of Firefox Stable. You will have the the latest features, and security updates.
• Independent Build — LibreWolf uses a build independent of Firefox and has its own settings, profile folder and installation path. As a result, it can be installed alongside Firefox or any other browser.
• No phoning home — Embedded server links and other calling home functions are removed. In other words, minimal background connections by default.
• User settings updates
• Extensions firewall: limit internet access for extensions.
• Multi-platform (Windows/Linux/Mac/and soon Android)
• Community-Driven
• Dark theme (classic and advanced)

LibreWolf privacy features:

• Delete cookies and website data on close.
• Include only privacy respecting search engines like DuckDuckGo and Searx.
• Include uBlockOrigin with custom default filter lists, and Tracking Protection in strict mode, to block trackers and ads.
• Strip tracking elements from URLs, both natively and through uBO.
• Enable dFPI, also known as Total Cookie Protection.
• Enable RFP which is part of the Tor Uplift project. RFP is considered the best in class anti-fingerprinting solution, and its goal is to make users look the same and cover as many metrics as possible, in an effort to block fingerprinting techniques.
• Always display user language as en-US to websites, in order to protect the language used in the browser and in the OS.
• Disable WebGL, as it is a strong fingerprinting vector.
• Prevent access to the location services of the OS, and use Mozilla's location API instead of Google's API.
• Limit ICE candidates generation to a single interface when sharing video or audio during a videoconference.
• Force DNS and WebRTC inside the proxy, when one is being used.
• Trim cross-origin referrers, so that they don't include the full URI.
• Disable link prefetching and speculative connections.
• Disable disk cache and clear temporary files on close.
• Disable form autofill.
• Disable search and form history ...and more.

Notes: To receive automatic updates, you may refer to the unofficial LibreWolf-WinUpdater that employs a scheduled task to accomplish the same. Alternatively, if your aim is solely to receive notifications upon new version releases, the unofficial LibreWolf Updater extension is a suitable option.

Download: LibreWolf 64-bit | Portable 64-bit |~100.0 MB (Open Source) Download: LibreWolf 32-bit | Portable 32-bit | Other Operating Systems Links: LibreWolf Home Page | Addons | Screenshot | Reddit

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The Ultimate Guide to the Best Free Email Providers (Updated 2024)

Choosing the right free email provider is essential for balancing features, storage, and usability. Whether you prioritise integration, storage capacity, or privacy, there is an option to meet your needs.

Here’s a comprehensive review of the top free email providers , with key information to help you make the best choice.

Key Features to Consider

When evaluating free email providers, consider the following key features :

• Storage Space: The amount of email storage provided and whether it can be expanded.
• Attachment Limits: The maximum size of files you can attach to emails.
• Email Protocols: Support for POP3, IMAP, and SMTP, which affects how you can access and manage your emails across devices.
• Security: Built-in features like encryption, two-factor authentication (2FA), and spam filters.
• Usability: The user interface and how intuitive and user-friendly it is.

Top Free Email Providers

Gmail is the most popular email service worldwide, offering 15 GB of free storage and seamless integration with Google services like Drive, Docs, and Calendar. Known for its user-friendly interface and strong spam filters, Gmail is a top choice for both personal and professional use.

• Storage: 15 GB of free storage shared across Google services.
• Attachment Limit: 25 MB per email.
• Features: Integration with Google Drive, Docs, Calendar, and other Google services. AI-powered features (for Google Workspace subscribers) like smart replies and email categorisation.
• Security: Two-step verification, strong spam filters.
• Pros: Generous storage, user-friendly interface, excellent integration with Google services.
• Cons: Privacy concerns due to the use of personal and behavioural data for advertising, limited attachment size.

2. Outlook.com

Outlook.com, previously known as Hotmail, offers robust integration with Microsoft Office apps and 15 GB of storage. It features a Focused Inbox for prioritising important emails and supports various platforms, making it a versatile choice for many users.

• Storage: 15 GB of email storage.
• Features: Integration with Microsoft Office apps (Word, Excel, Teams), Focused Inbox feature that sorts important emails.
• Security: Two-factor authentication, strong phishing and malware protection.
• Pros: Great integration with Microsoft products, useful organisation features, no storage sharing with OneDrive.
• Cons: Free version includes ads, strict privacy and spam filtering controls mean some legitimate emails end up in Junk.

3. Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail stands out with its generous 1 TB of free storage and customisable interface. It offers powerful search capabilities and unique features like the ability to view all attachments in one place, though it includes ads in the free version.

• Storage: 1 TB of free storage.
• Features: Customisable themes, integrated calendar, and contacts, powerful search capabilities.
• Security: Spam filters, basic encryption.
• Pros: Large storage capacity, customisable interface.
• Cons: Ads in the free version, historical security breaches, and fewer advanced features than Outlook or Gmail.

4. Proton Mail

Proton Mail is a privacy-focused email service based in Switzerland, offering end-to-end encryption and 1 GB of storage on the free plan. It is ideal for users who prioritise security and privacy above all else.

• Storage: 1 GB of free storage.
• Features: End-to-end encryption, focus on privacy, zero-access encryption.
• Security: Strong encryption, two-factor authentication, privacy-focused.
• Pros: High level of security and privacy, based in Switzerland with strong privacy laws.
• Cons: Limited storage on the free plan, many advanced features require a premium plan.

5. iCloud Mail

iCloud Mail offers seamless integration with Apple devices and services, providing a clean, ad-free email experience. With 5 GB of free storage, it’s a great choice for users heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem.

• Storage: 5 GB of free storage.
• Attachment Limit: 20 MB per email.
• Features: Seamless integration with Apple devices and services, ad-free experience.
• Security: Two-factor authentication, built-in spam filters.
• Pros: Excellent for Apple users, good customer support.
• Cons: Limited to the Apple ecosystem, less storage compared to some competitors.

6. Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail is a professional email service ideal for businesses, offering custom domain options and 5 GB of free storage. It integrates well with Zoho’s suite of productivity tools and provides strong security features.

• Features: Custom domain email, integration with Zoho’s office suite (Calendar, Docs), strong organisational tools.
• Security: Two-factor authentication, encryption, anti-spam and antivirus protection.
• Pros: Business-friendly features, customisable themes.
• Cons: Limited storage on the free plan.

7. AOL Mail

AOL Mail offers 1 TB of free storage and is known for its simple, user-friendly interface. It includes basic email features and spam filtering, making it a reliable option for long-term email storage.

• Features: Customisable folders, integrated calendar, and tasks, simple user interface.
• Security: Spam and virus protection, two-step verification.
• Pros: Huge storage capacity, easy to use.
• Cons: No advanced features, includes ads.

8. Mail.com

Mail.com provides 65 GB of free storage and allows users to choose from over 100 different domain names. While it offers basic email features, its large attachment size limit is a significant advantage.

• Storage: 65 GB of free storage.
• Attachment Limit: 30 MB per email.
• Features: Over 100 domain options, calendar, cloud storage.
• Security: SSL encryption, spam filters.
• Pros: Large attachment size limit, variety of domain names.
• Cons: Basic spam filtering, ad-supported, limited customer support.

Tuta (formerly Tutanota) is a privacy-focused email provider offering 1 GB of free storage with end-to-end encryption. It is ad-free and prioritizes user privacy, making it a strong choice for security-conscious users.

• Features: Ad-free, end-to-end encryption, privacy-focused.
• Security: Strong encryption, two-factor authentication.
• Pros: High level of privacy and security, no ads.
• Cons: Limited storage.

10. Mailfence

Mailfence offers robust security features, including end-to-end encryption and digital signatures. While it only provides 500 MB of free storage, it is ideal for users needing secure communication.

• Storage: 500 MB of free storage.
• Features: End-to-end encryption, digital signatures, integrated calendar, and contacts.
• Security: Strong encryption, no tracking, ad-free.
• Pros: Excellent security features, digital signatures for added authenticity.
• Cons: Limited storage, many features require a premium plan.

How to Choose the Best Email Provider

When selecting the best email provider, it's crucial to consider your specific needs and priorities. Here are some tips:

• For Storage Needs: If you need significant storage, Yahoo Mail and AOL Mail are excellent choices.
• For Security: Proton Mail, Tuta, and Mailfence offer strong encryption and privacy features. However, none of these provide recipient authentication, for which you will need a secure email solution .
• For Integration: Gmail and Outlook.com provide seamless integration with their respective office suites and other services.
• For Custom Domains: Zoho Mail is ideal for businesses needing custom domain emails.
• For Apple Users: iCloud Mail offers seamless functionality with Apple devices.

Choosing the right free email provider depends on your needs for storage, security, and integration with other services.

Providers like Gmail, Outlook.com, and Yahoo Mail offer a balance of features and storage, while Proton Mail and Tuta stand out for their security and privacy measures.

Evaluate your specific requirements and select the provider that best suits your needs for a seamless and secure email experience.

Enhance Your Email Security with Mailock

Regardless of the email provider you choose, ensuring the security of your communications is paramount.

Mailock offers a simple solution to enhance your email security with end-to-end encryption and recipient authentication.

By integrating Mailock with your existing email service, you can protect sensitive information from interception and unauthorised access , ensuring that only the intended recipients can read your messages.

This added layer of security is crucial for confidential communications , providing peace of mind and safeguarding your data effectively.

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