Best Cheap Cloud Storage Services in 2024

With expensive prices of hard drives, especially SSDs, people turn to cheap cloud storage services rapidly. Thanks to encryption and other security functions, these services allow you to store more files, share them easily, and keep them safe and sound.

When looking online, you’ll find plenty of cheap cloud storage providers. However, most of them aren’t feature-rich or they simply don’t offer enough cloud space for you to use. Well, that’s not the case with the affordable cloud services that we’ll talk about.

Having years of experience under our belts, we decided to write this article for our readers on a budget. We tested dozens of cloud services to come up with the top 5 services that you can get if your wallet is thin. Read on to find out more about them.

The Cheapest Cloud Storage Services of 2024

Just to make things clearer, in this list, we didn’t strictly focus on the amount of space you get. Instead, we included providers that also offer top security, stellar customer support, and solid ease of use. On top of that, all of them have free plans that you can use for testing purposes.

1. pCloud

pCloud is a European provider with perhaps the cheapest cloud storage solution on the market. For the start, it offers a free plan with 10 GB of fast storage, great for quick uploading and downloading. In addition, pCloud is suitable for individuals, families, and even large businesses.

In our pCloud review, we stated that the service offers two types of plans – lifetime and annual. Its lifetime plans are extremely exciting, as you can get 500 GB of cloud space for as little as ~$200, with 500 GB shared link traffic. The plans go up to a whopping 10 TB, which you can customize additionally.

This plan currently costs slightly above $1,200 but it’s a one-time payment, so you can use pCloud forever. As one of the best cheap cloud storage providers, pCloud offers tons of features for you. There’s AES-256 encryption for all files, coupled with bank-grade TLS channel protection.

Moreover, the service offers data regions in the US and Europe. It uses them to store 5 copies of files, so if one server is compromised, the remaining 4 will still have your files. pCloud is so simple to use, that even complete newbies will get used to it quickly.

Sharing files is simple and you can even enable automatic sync to synchronize files across all your devices. To make things simpler, pCloud has a built-in media player, a document reader, and the ability to create a playlist if you’re frequently listening to music.

All in all, pCloud nails it in every possible compartment. Users who decide to get it can get a special 80% discount using the button below, with a 10-day risk-free money-back guarantee. Aside from the lifetime plan, we also recommend its 2 TB annual plan at slightly above ~$100 each year!

Our Recommended Plan: Premium 500 GB (~$54 annually or ~$215 Lifetime)

Visit pCloud

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2. NordLocker

If you’re looking for a budget cloud storage service, you might be thinking about NordLocker. NordLocker comes from Nord Security, a company known for developing NordVPN. It’s easily among the safest cloud storage services, with end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge architecture.

All of this ensures your files can’t be read or accessed even by NordLocker, let alone hackers or anyone else. Also, this provider is extremely cheap, offering its plans for as low as $2.99 a month for the 500 GB variant. Its free plan, however, is a bit underwhelming, as you get only 3 GB a month.

NordLocker is still among the cheapest cloud services in 2024, even if you go for a 2 TB plan. You’ll pay just $6.99 a month for the annual plan, which is quite affordable. On top of everything, the company gives you a 30-day refund policy – much better than pCloud’s 10-day money-back guarantee.

This service sports apps for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, so it’s covering all important platforms. Additionally, its ease of use is impressive, as it lets you organize your files efficiently and upload them to the cloud by dragging and dropping them.

File syncing is also here, which goes hand in hand with sharing. Shareable files are protected by secure links with passwords so that only the right people can access them. NordLocker also offers MFA for an added layer of security, aside from its AES-256 encryption with Ed25519 digital signature protection.

Compared to pCloud, NordLocker isn’t as feature-rich and versatile. Actually, pCloud has an excellent free plan, whereas, NordLocker’s free plan is a bit lacking. However, price-wise, it’s extremely competitive and undoubtedly among the most reliable cheap cloud storage providers in 2024.

Our Recommended Plan: Personal Plus 2 TB at $6.99 a month/$83.88 annually

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3. Sync.com

Sync.com or just Sync, is a popular affordable cloud storage service with excellent security based on zero-knowledge encryption and RAID storage. This means you’re the only one who can access your files, which adds to the feeling of safety and reliability. Sync isn’t the cheapest cloud storage provider per se.

However, it’s affordable enough to offer its 2 TB secure storage for just around $8 a month. Its free plan with 5 GB of cloud space isn’t impressive, though. Still, Sync offers up to 6 TB of storage for individuals, in which case, you get custom branding and advanced sharing for $20 a month.

Teams are also welcome here, as Sync offers 1 TB of storage for $6 a month per user, along with unlimited storage at $15 per month for each user. Like NordLocker, Sync built a robust ecosystem, which allows you to sync files between the devices and perform your device backup.

Thanks to its strong security, Sync will also protect you from ransomware and let you easily recover your documents in terms of hardware failure. File sharing with Sync is extremely easy too, and we like that you can take advantage of custom branding, adding to that professional and sophisticated look.

Granted, Sync isn’t the fastest cloud storage provider and its interface could use an overhaul. But on the brighter side, the ease of file access is top-notch. You can open files directly from the cloud storage and access PDF, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel documents in seconds.

While the provider has apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, you can also access its web version when you’re using someone else’s device without the app installed. In short, it’s an impressive budget-friendly cloud storage service with a few shortcomings, that you can test risk-free.

Our Recommended Plan: Solo Basic (2 TB of storage at $8/mo, billed annually)

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4. MEGA

MEGA is one of our favorite budget cloud storage providers. It offers a 20 GB cloud storage plan for free, with excellent upload/download speeds. In addition, the service is extremely intuitive, as it sports an interface that separates different types of files.

For example, you can view photos and videos separately or create albums to organize your files. A surprisingly good feature is the ability to chat with your friends. We tested it and it works like your Facebook Messenger, allowing you to share files, and documents, and enjoy video/voice calls.

Much like NordLocker, MEGA includes end-to-end encryption and relies on you to remember your password. If you lose the password or forget it, you also lose access to your files! Being a cheap cloud storage service, you can expect tons of affordable plans.

MEGA’s cheapest plan is called Pro Lite and gives you 400 GB of storage with 1 TB transfer at just around $5 a month. For us, the best-value cloud storage plan is called Pro II, with 8 TB of storage and transfer at around $20 a month.

The service offers annual plans as well, where you can save up to 16% in the long run. Additionally, MEGA offers something called Pro Flexi, which is a fully customizable plan that you can pay as you go. It can go up to – read carefully – 10 PB of cloud storage space with a whopping 10 PB transfer!

MEGA is truly phenomenal even for large companies, as it can easily adapt to all your needs. Its downsides include subpar customer support and the fact that it used to offer 50 GB of free storage before. Even though 20 GB is enough, 50 GB is – or was – truly majestic.

Our Recommended Plan: Pro Lite (400 GB of storage & 12 TB transfer at ~$56 a year)

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5. Icedrive

Icedrive is one of the least expensive cloud storage options on the market. It offers even 5-year plans and allows you to get 10 TB of storage at just around $999. Moreover, its 5-year plans include 3 TB and 1 TB storage at $399 and $189 respectively.

We like Icedrive because it’s easy to use and offers even an app for Linux. Moreover, like NordLocker and pCloud, Icedrive offers client-side zero-knowledge encryption, which means it’s safe and secure. More than Google Drive and OneDrive, that is.

Icedrive comes with a wealth of file-sharing features, such as password protection and link expiry. Not to mention that Icedrive perfectly integrates into your system, acting as a virtual drive where it’s easy to upload and download your files.

Icedrive looks stunning but also excels at security. By default, it encrypts your files using Twofish encryption, which you won’t find in many cheap cloud storage providers. Unlike pCloud, Icedrive lacks block-level sync – a bit disappointing.

Also, its zero-knowledge encryption is paid additionally but that’s the case with pCloud as well. Icedrive allows for file previews and lets you play media for easier access. Even better, file versioning now lasts for 180 days, albeit, you can keep only up to 10 file versions.

Overall, Icedrive is a stellar cheap cloud storage service in 2024. It’s not going to reinvent the wheel and surely won’t be better than NordLocker or pCloud. Still, its inexpensive plans are worth checking out if you’re looking to save some greens on the next purchase.

Our Recommended Plan: Pro III (3 TB of storage at $399 for 5 years)

What Makes the Best Cheap Cloud Storage Service?

The cheapest cloud storage services we presented take into account many factors. We didn’t want to go strictly for the cheapest services that wouldn’t provide sufficient levels of quality. Instead, we rather focused on the price-to-performance ratio, which was our #1 criterion.

Speaking of criteria, here’s how we ranked our top 5 cheapest cloud storage providers in 2024:

The Amount of Storage Space

Speaking from experience, we know that many people want to get as much storage as possible for the money. That’s why many look for Dropbox alternatives, which end up being expensive while not providing the most space for the money.

On our list, the cheapest cloud storage services offer different things. pCloud is the best value with its 2 TB plan at just ~$100 a year, and to this, we can add Icedrive with its flexible plans and up to 10 TB of space. Keep in mind that more storage equals a higher price.

Thus, if you’re looking to keep things affordable, chances are you’ll find 500 GB to 2 TB of space is more than enough, coupled with your existing HDD or SSD. In this storage space range, you’ll be looking at competitive pricing that won’t take your entire fortune.

Security & Privacy

Security and privacy are very important for an affordable cloud service. You want your files to be secured with AES-256, zero-knowledge, end-to-end encryption. This ensures you’re the only one who can access the files, which gives you additional privacy.

We should also mention that all our choices have multiple data servers across several regions. All files are, therefore, multiplied across these data servers, which means if one is compromised, files are still accessible on other servers. However, this won’t happen due to all the security features in place.

Fast Transfers

When creating this list, we took into account the performance of each service. While pCloud is still the fastest, options like MEGA, NordLocker, and others perform well too. Their download/upload speeds are more than enough even if we’re talking about larger files and folders.

This means quick syncing and backups, both of which are essential for securing your data in a cloud space.

File Sharing & Backups

One of the most relevant features of cloud services is data sharing. With these, you can share files with your friends in an instant, using secure links with passwords. Not only that but file sharing is encrypted too so that no one can intercept the process and steal your file(s).

Many of our choices, like Sync, offer proprietary ecosystems that you can use without any third-party tools. This will allow you to edit presentations and documents, and collaborate with your team. Auto-backups are here too and are very important for ensuring your files’ security.

With this feature, you can back up any device and keep your files in a safe environment with some of the most affordable cloud service providers.

Ease of Use/Device Support

Aside from being cheap and reliable, you want a cloud storage service to be easy to set up and use. Don’t worry – these 5 couldn’t be simpler. Their interfaces are laid out beautifully, allowing you to access your files in an instant or share them with your friends and family in a few mouse clicks.

Furthermore, our cheapest cloud storage providers offer apps for all platforms. We’re talking about iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows, in addition to their web versions for easier access. In this regard, pCloud is again the best choice thanks to a comprehensive, same-looking interface across all devices.

Affordability

Of course, the best cheap cloud storage service must be affordable. As you can see, the providers we mentioned all offer free plans and if you decide to pay, the starting price is merely a few dollars. For this amount of money, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better, more reliable choices in 2024.

Summary

After everything said in this article, we should summarize our thoughts. pCloud is the best cheap cloud service, with amazing features for the price, as well as more than enough storage space. Sync is an excellent option that represents a whole ecosystem for businesses, teams, and individuals.

If you’re looking for an even cheaper option, also consider NordLocker and its affordable 2 TB plan with end-to-end, zero-knowledge encryption. Finally, options like MEGA and Sync aren’t our favorite overall but they possess more than a few qualities we appreciate.

These include bank-grade security, lots of storage options, and ease of use across all platforms. We haven’t mentioned Google Drive and Dropbox because they’re far from being cheap. If you’re interested, you can find out more about Google Drive alternatives here.

In the end, let us leave the final choice to you. Which affordable cloud storage service are you going to buy?

Get the Cheapest Cloud Storage: pCloud

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FAQs about the Cheapest Cloud Storage Services

Wrapping up today’s discussion, let’s answer a few more questions.

Which cloud storage provider offers the most storage for the money?

That would be NordLocker. It offers a 2 TB plan at $6.99 a month when billed yearly. A plan like this usually goes around for $8 to $12 a month, making this one quite cheap in comparison. And if you’re looking for the best 2 TB plan, you can go for pCloud and pay around $100 annually.

Are budget cloud services safe to use?

Yes, they’re absolutely safe and tested by our team. Aside from AES-256 encryption, they offer end-to-end and zero-knowledge encryption to ensure your files are safe and secure. Plus, they host multiple data centers where your files are stored.

This guarantees that files are always accessible even if one data center is compromised – which will most likely never happen.

Where can I get the most free cloud storage?

If you want a free solution with the most clout storage space, you can try MEGA. With 20 GB of free space, it’s the best option for those who prioritize larger storage over other functionalities. Albeit, NordLocker’s 3 GB is quite good as well, and is better than MEGA as a whole.