How much does cloud storage cost in 2026?

Every Google account starts with 15 GB, and that space counts for Gmail, Drive and Photos together. People who hit the ceiling usually do it through photos and email attachments, not documents. The paid ladder is now sold as Google AI plans: AI Plus at $4.99 a month for 400 GB, AI Pro at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year for 5 TB, and AI Ultra from $99.99 a month with 20 TB.

On paper, AI Pro is the third cheapest terabyte on this page: $199.99 divided by 5 TB and 12 months is $3.33 per TB. The catch is that you only get that rate if you need 5 TB. If you need 1 TB, you pay $19.99 for space you won't use, or step down to 400 GB. You also pay for Gemini features whether you want them or not.

The plan can be shared with up to 5 other people: split three ways, that's $6.67 a month each on the monthly price, and $3.33 if six people use it.

MEGA gives 20 GB on its free plan, the biggest free tier on this page, with limited transfer. Its paid plans, charged yearly, show $3.70 a month for 200 GB, $5.55 for 750 GB, $9.25 for 3 TB, $18.49 for 10 TB and $27.74 for 20 TB. Pro III works out at $1.39 per TB a month, the lowest of the main plans here, beaten only by IDrive's Personal tiers of 20 TB and more, and Pro I at $3.08.

Two things to know. Every plan has a transfer quota: 2.4 TB on Essential, 36 TB on Pro I, 240 TB on Pro III, which counts what you download and share. And the dollar prices are estimates: MEGA charges in euros, so your card statement moves with the exchange rate.

MEGA suits people who need a lot of space for little money. If you need 1 TB, Pro I at 3 TB means paying for space you don't use.

Dropbox gives only 2 GB on its free Basic plan, the smallest free tier here. Plus costs $9.99 a month billed yearly, or $11.99 billed monthly, for 2 TB, which lands at $5 per TB, right on the median. Plus lets you transfer files up to 50 GB.

The team plans are where the bill climbs. Standard costs $15 per user per month billed yearly ($18 monthly) and starts at 3 TB for the team. Advanced costs $24 per user per month ($30 monthly), starts at 15 TB for the team and is for 3 people or more. A 3-person team on Advanced pays $864 a year before tax. Standard and Advanced both send files up to 100 GB.

Pick Dropbox when you send large files to clients and want the transfer to just work. Skip it if you mostly store: pCloud and Icedrive sell the same 2 TB for less.

You don't buy OneDrive alone beyond 100 GB: storage comes with Microsoft 365. Basic costs $19.99 a year ($1.99 a month) for 100 GB. Personal costs $99.99 a year for 1 TB, shown at $69.99 for the first year as a limited-time offer, and adds Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on up to 5 devices at the same time. Family costs $129.99 a year for 1 to 6 people, who share 2 TB of storage.

As pure storage, Personal has the highest per-TB rate in our median, $8.33 a month. As soon as you'd pay for Office anyway, it becomes the cheapest. Family is the better deal for households that want Office: 2 TB shared for $129.99 is $5.42 per TB a month, against $8.33 for Personal.

Watch the renewal: the $69.99 offer is for the first year, and the subscription then renews at the regular price unless you cancel. If you want to keep only the storage and drop Office, our guide to switching from Microsoft 365 covers the exit.

Every Apple Account comes with 5 GB for free, and it fills fast because iPhone backups and photos use the same space. In the US, iCloud+ costs $0.99 a month for 50 GB, $2.99 for 200 GB and $9.99 for 2 TB, then $29.99 for 6 TB and $59.99 for 12 TB.

At $5 per TB on the 2 TB plan, iCloud+ costs the same per terabyte as Dropbox Plus, but without the yearly discount Dropbox gives. Its value is that it's invisible: backups, photos and Files work with no setup. Outside Apple devices it's weak, so a Windows or Android household gets more from Google or Microsoft.

pCloud sells three ways. Monthly: $4.99 for 500 GB, $9.99 for 2 TB, $29.99 for 10 TB. Yearly: $49.99, $99.99 and $299.99. And once, for life: 500 GB at $279, 2 TB at $709 and 10 TB at $2,799 list price, shown at $159, $379 and $1,099 on the current offer.

The yearly 2 TB plan is $4.17 per TB a month, one of the lowest on this page. The lifetime 2 TB at $379 pays for itself against the yearly plan after a little under 4 years. At the $709 list price, it takes about 7 years. Only buy lifetime during a promotion, and only if you trust the company to be there.

Two limits that guides rarely mention: shared link traffic is capped at 1,000 GB on 500 GB and 4 TB on 2 TB, and pCloud Encryption, the zero-knowledge folder, is not included in these plans.

Sync.com is the Canadian end-to-end encrypted option, and its pricing page leads with a first-year discount. Personal 1 TB costs $12 a month billed annually; the first year is 25% off, $108 instead of $144. Solo 5 TB costs $28 a month annually ($252 the first year, then $336), and Personal Unlimited $45.

The 1 TB plan is the most expensive terabyte among the plans of 1 TB or more on this page, $12 per TB. Solo 5 TB brings that down to $5.60 per TB, so Sync.com only makes sense for privacy buyers who need a lot of space. Teams plans start at $6 per user per month for 1 TB, billed annually, with a 3-user minimum.

Icedrive gives 10 GB on its free plan. Its popular Pro plan, 2 TB, is normally $8.99 a month on yearly billing, shown at $6.29 for the first year ($75.52 billed). On monthly billing, the same plan is normally $10.99, with 80% off the first month only. The 100 GB plan is $2.99 a month.

At the regular yearly price, that's $4.50 per TB. Public share links on Pro 2 TB have a 1 TB monthly quota, and desktop sync covers 5 devices, unlimited on mobile and web. Lifetime plans still exist on a separate page.

Budget the renewal, not the first year: $107.88 a year from year two, about 43% more than the $75.52 you pay at sign-up.

Proton Drive starts with 5 GB free, no credit card. Drive Plus gives 200 GB for $2.49 a month on 12-month billing, billed at $29.88 for the first 12 months, then renews at $47.88 every 12 months: 60% more. Proton Unlimited gives 500 GB for $6.49 a month ($77.88 the first year, then $119.88), with VPN and Proton's other apps. Proton Duo gives 2 TB for $14.99 a month, billed at $179.88 every 12 months.

Per terabyte, Proton is one of the most expensive choices, $7.50 on Duo. You're paying for end-to-end encryption and a Swiss company, not for space.

IDrive is a backup service first: it copies whole computers and phones, and also syncs and shares files. Its free Basic plan holds 10 GB with no credit card. Personal gives 5 TB for $9.99 a month on yearly billing and $6.99 a month the first year. That's $2.00 per TB. The bigger Personal tiers go lower, on the same yearly billing: $14.99 a month for 10 TB, $24.99 for 20 TB, $49.99 for 50 TB and $99.99 for 100 TB, about $1.00 per TB at the top, the lowest rate on this page. Mini starts at $0.25 a month for 100 GB.

The trap is the overuse charge. If you go past your plan's limit, IDrive may charge $0.25 per GB per month on Personal and $0.50 on Team and Business. Going 200 GB over on Personal can add $50 a month, five times the plan price. Set an alert or upgrade before you hit the cap.

Box's free Individual plan gives 10 GB, but limits each upload to 250 MB, which rules out most video. Personal Pro gives 100 GB and 5 GB per file. Box shows its plans from $5 per user per month.

The business plans all need a minimum of 3 users. Business Starter has 100 GB and a 2 GB file limit. Business, Business Plus and Enterprise have unlimited storage, with per-file limits of 5 GB, 15 GB and 50 GB. So a solo consultant can't buy a single Business seat: they pay for three.

Box is built for teams that need admin controls over shared content. For one person who just stores files, the per-seat model is the wrong unit.

Five of the services here lead with a first-year price. Proton Drive Plus goes from $29.88 to $47.88 (+60%). Proton Unlimited from $77.88 to $119.88 (+54%). Icedrive Pro 2 TB from $75.52 to $107.88 (+43%). Sync.com Personal from $108 to $144 (+33%). Microsoft 365 Personal from $69.99 to $99.99 (+43%). IDrive Personal from $83.88 to $119.88 (+43%).

Over three years, Icedrive costs $75.52 + $107.88 + $107.88 = $291.28, not 3 × $75.52. Compare services on the renewal price, and treat the discount as a bonus.

Microsoft 365 Family costs $129.99 a year for up to 6 people, who share 2 TB. Bought by 4 people, it's $32.50 each per year for Office plus a share of 2 TB, a third of Personal at $99.99 for one person and 1 TB. Google AI Pro shares its 5 TB with up to 5 people.

pCloud's lifetime 2 TB lists at $709 and is shown at $379 on offer. Against the yearly plan at $99.99, the offer pays back in under 4 years, the list price in about 7. If a lifetime plan is not on sale, the yearly plan is the safer choice: you keep the option to leave.

Storage space isn't the only limit. pCloud caps shared link traffic at 1,000 GB on its 500 GB plan, and Icedrive gives a 1 TB monthly public share quota on Pro 2 TB. A video freelancer sending a 50 GB project to 10 clients uses 500 GB in a month. If you share large files often, check the quota before the price, or use a plan built around transfers, like Dropbox with files up to 50 GB on Plus and 100 GB on team plans.

IDrive may bill $0.25 per GB per month over the limit on Personal and $0.50 on Team and Business. A business account 500 GB over pays $250 extra a month. Move up a tier before you get close.

Box's business plans need at least 3 users, and Dropbox Advanced is for 3 people or more. For 2 people, Dropbox Standard (for 1 person or more) at $15 per user costs $360 a year, while Advanced at the 3-seat minimum costs $864. Sync.com Teams starts at $6 per user for 1 TB, billed annually, also with a 3-user minimum: $216 a year at least.