Cloud storage services are a blessing in today’s world. With their services and security, you can save your phone and computers from getting packed with data and slowing them down.
But how do I find the best storage cloud provider? That is why we are here. This article will look at the 12 best cloud storage providers. Before we reveal the list of best cloud storage providers, we will help you understand what it is and how it works. So, let us get started.
What is Cloud Storage?
Since most people work from home now, all your data is on your computer or mobile phone. But how much can it hold? If your device is overflowing with stored data, it could diminish performance.
To help you in such situations, there are cloud storage services. Cloud storage is a space where you can store your digital data.
Your data is stored in servers, often off-site. The cloud storage provider ensures the safety of your data, hosts it, manages it and allows you to access it with an internet connection.
This way, you do not have to own the data and store it in your device; it stays stored in a server that will not crowd your mobile or computer. The work of cloud storage providers is essential for the security and safe usage of your data. For easier access, you can find such cloud storage providers as a website or an application.
12 Best Cloud Storage Providers in Dec,2024
We assume you have now understood cloud storage and how it works. A few benefits of cloud storage are listed above, and now we will look at the benefits each of the individual cloud storage providers offer us. Let us get started.
1. InterServer – Overall Best Cloud VPS Hosting Provider
First up on this list of best cloud storage providers in InterServer. InterServer is a well-reputed name in website hosting and cloud storage.
This platform offers many benefits at a small price. You can store all types of data with this platform and easily manage it with the help of the DirectAdmin control panel.
Also, this platform helps you upgrade and downgrade your plan anytime per your needs.
| Best For | All types of users |
| Rating | 4.5 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Great performance and reliability |
| Security and Support | Reliable security and support system |
Features
Let us look at the features of InterServer.
🔶 OwnCloud: InterServer provides you with OwnCloud, which you can easily install on your hosting plan. This tool will help you access your data remotely with any device and help you work as a team to manage data better.
🔶 DirectAdmin: To help you manage your data even better, InterServer offers a DirectAdmin control panel to help you add domain names, subdomains, FTP accounts, MySql databases, and more.
🔶 Backups: When you store your data, you are always worried about its safety and wish you had a backup, which you do with InterServer. This platform offers backups with FTP, SFTP, or rsync.
Pricing and Plans
InterServer cloud storage will cost you:
Pro and Cons
These are the few pros and cons of InterServer.
Pros
- Unlimited users
- OwnCloud
- Easy upgrade and downgrade
Cons
- No refund policy on cloud storage plans
2. Nordlocker – Best Free Secure Cloud Storage
Wondering if you can find free cloud storage? Yes, you can. NordLocker is a platform built specifically for cloud storage, and therefore, it is one of the best free cloud storage providers.
You can opt for a free cloud storage plan at NordLocker for personal use.
If you have a business, you might have to buy a more extensive and efficient plan, which will cost you a little. This platform offers plenty of features you will love, whether it’s the backups it provides or the encryption it offers.
| Best For | All types of users |
| Rating | 4 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Fast and reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Great security, support needs work |
Features
These are the few features of NordLocker cloud storage.
🔶 Drag and Drop to Secure: You do not have to be a techy to manage your data at NordLocker. You can drag and drop, and NordLocker will take care of it.
🔶 Easy Organisation: With NordLocker, you can easily organise your data into folders and store them in lockers.
🔶 Sync Files Across Devices: You can access your data from any device while ensuring complete encryption with NordLocker. This platform supports Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.
Pricing and Plans
These are the price ranges for the plans offered by NordLocker.
Pro and Cons
Here are a few pros and cons of NordLocker.
Pros
- 30-day money back guarantee
- End-to-end Encryption
- Can be used on multiple devices
Cons
- Charged per user
3. Sync.com – Best Cloud Storage Provider
We are back with another free cloud storage provider. Sync.com is an amazing place to start with storing your data on a cloud.
This platform offers cloud storage plans for all types of users and requirements.
With a variety of features to offer, this platform seems like the safest and the most affordable option that comes with so many tools. It is highly suitable for working with teams and ensuring that there is no breach of data.
| Best For | All types of users |
| Rating | 4.3 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Reliable speed and performance |
| Security and Support | Secure but only email support |
Features
These are a few features offered by Sync.com.
🔶 Easy Collaboration: With Sync.com, you can easily collaborate with members inside and outside the organisation, ensuring no threat to your data.
🔶 Control Access: You can give access to a particular part of your data to a person and secure your data through passwords, expiration, etc.
🔶 Backup and Restore: Sync.com allows you to easily back up your data, ensuring no loss of your content and helping you restore it whenever you want.
Pricing and Plans
These are the price ranges for the plans offered by Sync.com.
- For Individuals: $00.00/month – $20/month
- For Teams: $6/month – Enterprise plan
Pro and Cons
Let us now discuss the pros and cons of Sync.com.
Pros
- Unlimited transfer
- Plenty of features
- Free plan
Cons
- No clear information on refund policy
4. pCloud – The Most Secure Cloud Storage
Let us now move on to the next cloud storage provider 2024, pCloud.
With pCloud you can store any type of data whether it is an audio, video document or any other format, pCloud can handle it.
pCloud is trusted by many popular brands and you can too. Here, you can collaborate with team members easily and also ensure the security of your data.
Also, you do not have to worry about the safety of your data as this platform will always create a backup for you.
| Best For | All types of users |
| Rating | 4 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Secure and quick support |
Features
Let us now list out a few features of pCloud.
🔶 Collaboration: With pCloud, you can easily collaborate with your family or team members and work together without compromising the security of your data.
🔶 Offline Access: Did you run out of internet access? Do not worry; you do not always need internet access to access your data with pCloud.
🔶 Backups: Security of your data is an essential aspect of any cloud storage provider. Therefore, pCloud offers backups from popular platforms such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.
Pricing and Plans
pCloud offers cloud storage plans for users at three levels, individuals, families and businesses. The prices range between:
- Individual Plan: $49.99/annual – $99.99/annual
- Family Plan: $595 – $1499 (one-time payment)
- Business Plan: $7.99/month – $19.98/month
Pro and Cons
Let us now look at the pros and cons of pCloud.
Pros
- No expiry on certain plans
- Activity monitoring
- 10-day money back guarantee
Cons
- The website does not work well at times.
5. Owncloud – Overall Best Cloud Storage Provider
Moving on to the next cheapest cloud storage, 2024, we have OwnCloud.
OwnCloud is an excellent platform to store your data and work on it with a team. It is built so that there will be no breach of your data, but there will always be collaboration.
Here, you can use your data centre or take advantage of the data centre offered by OwnCloud; they will take care of your data in any case.
This platform provides plenty of cloud storage options; for reference, we will use the Infinite Scale plan in this article.
| Best For | Small and growing businesses |
| Rating | 4.7 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Fast and reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Secure, support is hard to access |
Features
Let us look at the features of OwnCloud.
🔶 Web Office: With the help of OwnCloud, you can increase the efficiency of work-from-home as here, you get to collaborate through your choice of Web Office.
🔶 Find and Organise: OwnCloud provides you with a tool that will help you find whatever you want with the help of tags and organise it as you wish.
🔶 100% Privacy: At OwnCloud, your data is always private to you as this platform makes multiple checks to ensure no data breach.
Pricing and Plans
We will now consider the cost of buying a cloud storage plan from OwnCloud.
- Hosted on Your Server: $00.00/month – $12.97/month
- Hosted on OwnCloud Online: $14.05/month – $16.21/month
Pro and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of OwnCloud.
Pros
- Can use own server
- Great for collaboration
- Free plan available
Cons
- Not much information on uptime
- Pricing could be confusing
6. MEGA – Overall Best Cloud Storage Provider
Are you looking for the cheapest cloud storage provider? You might have found it.
MEGA offers unrestricted cloud storage to a certain extent, which provides a pretty good quantity of space and services. However, you will have to pay for the bigger plans.
The primary focus of MEGA is to offer the best data security. Therefore, most of the features this platform provides revolve around the safety of your data.
So you can stay assured that no data will be touched by anyone else.
| Best For | Small and medium size businesses |
| Rating | 4 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Reliable security and support |
Features
We will now discuss the features of MEGA cloud storage.
🔶 Access Through Multiple Devices: You do not always have to carry your PC to manage your data. With MEGA, you can now access your data on any device.
🔶 Password Protected Links: For most plans, MEGA offers password-protected link features where only those with the password can access your data so that no third party gets involved.
🔶 Automatic Backups: The safety of your data is essential, and if something terrible does happen, there should be a way to get your precious data back. Therefore, MEGA offers automatic backups.
Pricing and Plans
You can buy a plan from MEGA for:
- Individual: $00.00/month – $32.46/month
- Team: $16.23/month – Custom plan
Pro and Cons
These are the pros and cons of MEGA.
Pros
- Free plan
- Automatic backups
- Custom plan
Cons
- No refund policy
7. Google Drive – Personal Cloud Storage & File Sharing Platform
You might not have realised, but you were using a cloud storage hosting the whole time. How?
Most of us use Google Drive to store our data but do not take into account that Google Drive is also a cloud storage provider.
This platform offers plenty of space for free and once that is filled, you can opt for a paid version. Here, you can share your data, collaborate, organise your files and more. It is accessible in all types of devices.
| Best For | All types of users |
| Rating | 4.5 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Fast and reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Safe to use and helpful support |
Features
These are the features offered by Google Drive.
🔶 Custom Email for Business: With Google Drive, you can create a custom email ID that can be used for your online business emails.
🔶 Collaboration: Google Drive offers plenty of features to provide an efficient working environment, such as using Google Meet with 100+ users and meetings that can last 24 hours.
🔶 Website Builder: You start from scratch with Google Drive. Here, you can also build a website on your own.
Pricing and Plans
Google Drive cloud hosting plans will cost you:
- Business Starter: $1.65/month
- Business Standard: $8.91/month
- Business Plus: $16.70/month
- Enterprise: Custom plan
Pro and Cons
Let us look at the pros and cons of Google Drive.
Pros
- 14-day trial period
- Easy to use and manage
- Great for collaboration
- Plenty of features
Cons
- Uploading and downloading could be a little slow at times
8. Dropbox – Popular Secure Cloud Storage
Dropbox is a popular cloud storage provider which has helped many users store and manage their data.
This platform offers many features that will make your work easier at personal and business levels.
With a simple dashboard, this platform makes it much easier to manage your data and collaborate with team members when required.
Here, you can access your content anytime and have the authority to give access to specific users.
| Best For | All types of users |
| Rating | 4.5 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Fast and reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Secure and reliable support |
Features
These are a few features offered by Dropbox.
🔶 Access Control: You will always know who has touched your data as you have the authority to grant access to anyone you want with Dropbox.
🔶 Anytime Access: Dropbox allows you to access your data on any device, such as laptops or mobile phones, anywhere.
🔶 Send Large Files: The issue with most cloud storage providers is that they do not allow big file transfers. However, you can handle that with Dropbox, which supports transferring huge files.
Pricing and Plans
This is how much Dropbox plan would cost:
- For Personal Use: $00.00 / month – $16.99 / month
- For Work: $16.58 / month – $24.99 / month
- For Teams: $15 / user / month – $24 / user / month
Pro and Cons
These are a few pros and cons of Dropbox.
Pros
- Fres plan
- Trial period provided
- Easy to collaborate
Cons
- Charge per user is quite high
- Fewer features on the free plan
9. iCloud – Overall Cloud-Based Storage Service
You must have heard of iCloud as it is the product of the Apple company. iCloud’s paid version is now known as iCloud+.
This particular company is famous for providing the best privacy on all your data, and that is why we included iCloud in this list of the best cloud storage.
This platform allows you to quickly share your data and collaborate with people you want. You also have the option to store your emails with iCloud. iCloud is not just one platform, and it has plenty of other applications that you can use to store different types of data.
| Best For | Personal and family usage |
| Rating | 4.5 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Fast and reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Secure and reliable support |
Features
Let us now look at the key features of iCloud.
🔶 Automatic Syncing: You can sync all your devices, and iCloud will quickly gain access to your data and keep it safe.
🔶 Home Security Camera: With iCloud, you can keep an eye on the security of your home, as this platform allows you to store all your home security camera recordings.
🔶 Easy Collaboration: iCloud allows you to store and share data with anyone and keep your data private. Collaborating has always been challenging.
Pricing and Plans
You can buy an iCloud cloud storage plan for anywhere between:
- iCloud: $00.00/month
- iCloud+: $0.99/month – $9.99/month
Pro and Cons
These are the pros and cons of using iCloud.
Pros
- Highly secure
- Affordable
- Easy to work with
Cons
- Suitable for Apple product
- Could confuse Android users
10. OneDrive – Best Free Cloud Storage
OneDrive is a product of the Microsoft company and therefore it is highly trusted.
This platform comes with plenty of benefits, consecutively is preferred by many users. OneDrive is highly cost effective and suitable for families and work.
You can start with using the free cloud storage hosting provided by OneDrive and move up a level if you need it suits you and you need more storage.
Along with OneDrive benefits, you also get to use Excel, Word and a lot more.
| Best For | All types of users |
| Rating | 4.5 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Reliable and great performance |
| Security and Support | Secure and reliable support |
Features
Let us discuss the features offered by OneDrive.
🔶 Advanced File and Photo Protection: We are always protective of our data, and now OneDrive will be too. This platform offers exceptional protection to file and photoprotection so that no one can use it with the wrong intentions.
🔶 Offline Access: You do not always have to have an internet connection, as you can access your data offline with OneDrive.
🔶 Increased Sharing Limit: Unlike many cloud storage providers, you can share more files with the paid version of OneDrive.
Pricing and Plans
You can buy a OneDrive cloud storage plan at:
- Home: $00.00/year – $75.03/year
- Business: $4.78/user/month – Custom plan
Pro and Cons
These are the pros and cons of using OneDrive.
Pros
- Multiple Users
- Suitable for Multiple OS
- Offline Folders
Cons
- Complex refund process
11. MediaFire – Most Simple Cloud Storage Platform
MediaFire could be the most simple cloud storage platform we have ever witnessed.
This platform does not beat around the bush and comes to the point. MediaFire is great to start with as it offers a 10GB free storage plan.
However, if you buy a paid plan, you get plenty of benefits such as you can experience cloud storage without the interruption of ads.
You can also choose your custom colour for your cloud storage plan.
| Best For | Personal usage or small businesses |
| Rating | 3.5 on 5 |
| Performance and Reliability | Performance could need some work |
| Security and Support | Somewhat secure and reliable support |
Features
These are a few features offered by MediaFire.
🔶 Ad-Free Experience: With the paid plans offered by MediaFire, you can have an ad-free experience, and nothing will interrupt you.
🔶 No Bandwidth: There is no limit on the bandwidth usage. Therefore, there are also no additional charges on the high bandwidth usage.
🔶 Password Protected Files: You can decide to whom to give access by keeping your data password-protected with MediaFire.
Pricing and Plans
Cloud storage plans at MediaFire will cost you:
- Basic: $00.00/month
- Pro: $5.83/month
- Business: $50.00/month
Pro and Cons
These are the pros and cons of MediaFire.
Pros
- 30-Day Money Back Guarantee
- No bandwidth limit
- Affordable
Cons
- No encryption
- No application
12. Koofr – Popular Cloud Storage Solutions
Koofr is a versatile cloud storage provider. This platform has a plan for users at all levels, whether you want it for personal use for a small business you started or
If you have an established business, Koofr can handle them all.
With Koofr, you get features that you might have never seen before.
Along with providing its benefits, Koofr also has ties with popular cloud storage providers such as Dropbox and Google Drive.
| Best For | All types of Users |
| Rating | 4.3 on 5 |
| Uptime | |
| Performance and Reliability | Fast and reliable performance |
| Security and Support | Secure and reliable support |
Features
These are a few features offered by Koofr.
🔶 7 Days Deleted File Retention: Don’t sit there pulling your hair if you delete an important file by mistake. With Koofr, you get a second chance of restoring them within a minimum of 7 days.
🔶 Space Usage Analysis: If you feel you have no idea how you have been using your storage systems, don’t worry. With Koofr, you can analyse how you have been using your resources.
🔶 Unlimited File Size: With Koofr, you can store a file no matter how big. Koofr can handle it.
Pricing and Plans
A Koofr cloud storage plan can cost you anywhere between:
- Starter: $00.00/month
- Briefcase: $0.54/month or $1.08/month
- Suitcase: $2.17/month or $4.34/month or $10.85/month
- Crate: $21.70/month or $37.97/month or $65.10/month or $130.20/month
Pro and Cons
Here are a few pros and cons of Koofr.
Pros
- Plans available for everyone
- Ties with popular cloud storage brands
- Easy to use
Cons
- Not many collaboration features
Best Cloud Storage is Best for Videos?
Yes, Cloud storage is highly suitable for videos. Cloud storage providers often have inbuilt video players so you can save your big-sized video files on them and access them easily. The quality is maintained as you store your videos on a cloud.
Best Cloud Storage is Best for Android?
Cloud storage platforms such as Google Drive are best for Androids as they are compatible with the Android OS. It could be tough to handle if you prefer an iCloud for Android as it is not explicitly built for Androids.
Best Cloud Storage for Personal Use?
Most cloud storage providers listed above are suitable for all types of users. However, if we had to narrow down a few cloud storage providers for personal use, you must try iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, MEGA, etc.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Best Cloud Storage Providers
We have looked at the 12 best cloud storage providers in 2024 above.
Let us tell you what you should look for while buying the best cloud storage provider in 2024.
🔶 Always check for the security the provider is offering, as your data in the wrong hands can create hazards.
🔶 Affordability is a significant factor to consider when buying anything as a cloud storage plan.
🔶 If you work as a team, check if your cloud storage provider offers collaboration tools.
🔶 The limit of file transfer is essential as if you cannot move big files, your cloud storage plan somewhat goes to waste, and you might also have to reduce the quality of the content.
🔶 Ensure your cloud storage provider allows you to access your data on any device.
FAQs: Best Cloud Storage Providers Dec,2024
Which cloud storage provider offers the most storage space for users?
Most cloud storage providers offer several TB of storage space. However, the price differed from provider to provider.
Is cloud storage safe for storing sensitive data and files?
Yes, cloud storage is relatively safe for keeping sensitive files. However, make sure your cloud storage provider offers security tools.
Which cloud storage provider is best for collaboration and file sharing?
We would say OwnCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, and iCloud are the best platforms for collaboration.
Are there any free cloud storage options available?
Yes, most cloud storage providers offer free a few GB of storage.
What Is the Best Cloud Storage for Business?
It depends on the type of customer; if we say the plan is for personal use, then Google Drive and iCloud are the best in business.
Conclusion
We have now reached the end of this article, where we saw the 12 best cloud storage providers. From understanding what cloud storage is to understanding the factors to consider before buying one, we completed this article.
Most of these cloud storage providers are suitable for personal use and businesses. However, we suggest you use the free services before buying the plan. All of these are the best and cheapest cloud storage providers in 2024.
