The lowest price for 2 TB of encrypted storage we found is NordLocker‘s $83.88, but only for the first year; renewal costs $179.88. Sync.com follows the same pattern with 1 TB at $72, then $144. The cheapest cloud storage in year one often costs more by year two. Our top choice, pCloud, ranks first because its lifetime plans are the cheapest way to keep files for five years or more.
Its desktop app moved our test file faster than the other four. Internxt has the lowest one-time price per terabyte, and MEGA charges the same price every year.
Cheapest Cloud Storage at a Glance
- pCloud: Best value over time, with 2 TB for life at $499
- Internxt: Cheapest per terabyte, with 5 TB for life at €585
- NordLocker: Cheapest first year for encrypted 2 TB, at $83.88
- Sync.com: Cheapest first year for 1 TB, plus an unlimited plan
- MEGA: Same price every year, with no promotional discount
Cheapest Cloud Storage by Size
US list prices before tax. Internxt charges in euros.
| Storage | Lowest yearly price | Renews at | Lowest one-time price |
| 100 GB | Google One, $19.99 | $19.99 | None |
| 500 GB | NordLocker, $35.88 | $59.88 | pCloud Premium, $219 |
| 1 TB | Sync.com Personal, $72 | $144 | Internxt Essential, €285 |
| 2 TB | TeraBox Premium, about $36 | $35.99 | pCloud Premium Plus, $499 |
| 3 TB | MEGA Pro I, about $113 | About $113 | Internxt Premium, €435 |
| 5 TB | IDrive Personal, $83.92 | $119.88 | Internxt Ultimate, €585 |
| 10 TB | MEGA Pro II, about $225 | About $225 | pCloud Ultra, $1,499 |
| Unlimited | Sync.com Personal Unlimited, $270 | $540 | None |
TeraBox doesn’t encrypt files end to end, and its owner, Flextech, is based in Tokyo. NordLocker is the cheapest encrypted alternative at that size. IDrive has the lowest 5 TB price, but it’s built mainly for backing up computers.
Cheap Cloud Storage, Ranked and Reviewed
1. pCloud: Best Value Over Time
Pros
- Lifetime licenses across all storage tiers
- Yearly billing cuts the monthly rate
- Quick transfers on every plan
- Backs up chosen PC folders
- Free tier for testing first
Cons
- Encryption add-on adds to the bill
- Strict refund terms
pCloud costs more than NordLocker in year one and less after a few years, because every storage size comes with a lifetime option:
- Premium 500 GB: $49.99 a year or $219 for life
- Premium Plus 2 TB: $99.99 a year or $499 for life
- Ultra 10 TB: $299.99 a year or $1,499 for life
The cheaper tiers aren’t slower. pCloud uploaded and downloaded our 500 MB test archive in 3 minutes 56 seconds combined, the lowest total in our fastest cloud storage tests. It also backs up PC folders on every plan. Zero-knowledge encryption costs about $150 extra for life. Refund requests must come within 14 days, and pCloud can withhold them on discounted purchases. Plan-by-plan details are in our pCloud review.
2. Internxt: Cheapest per Terabyte for Life
Pros
- Lowest one-time cost per terabyte
- Every price includes encryption
- VPN and antivirus at no extra cost
- Refund window on every purchase
- Public source code
Cons
- Charged in euros
- Brief trash period on the cheapest tier
Internxt sells three lifetime plans, each paid once:
- Essential 1 TB: about €285
- Premium 3 TB: about €435
- Ultimate 5 TB: about €585
The Ultimate plan comes to about €117 per terabyte, the lowest one-time rate we found. Every plan includes zero-knowledge encryption with a post-quantum layer, so there’s no add-on to buy, and paid plans add a VPN and antivirus. Prices are in euros even for US buyers, so the final charge depends on the exchange rate.
Its combined upload and download time for our 500 MB archive was 3 minutes 58 seconds, close to pCloud’s, and each purchase comes with a 30-day refund window. More detail sits in our Internxt review, and our Internxt vs pCloud comparison puts the two head to head.
3. NordLocker: Cheapest Encrypted 2 TB for a First Year
Pros
- Cheapest encrypted 2 TB in year one
- End-to-end encryption at no extra cost
- Share links with expiry dates
- Simple apps
Cons
- Year-two price climbs sharply
- No way to undo a deletion
- Uploads by hand only
NordLocker‘s 2 TB plan is $6.99 a month on yearly billing, which comes to $83.88 for the first year. The 500 GB plan costs $35.88 for the first year. Renewals cost $179.88 and $59.88, so from year two its 2 TB plan costs more than pCloud or Google One. Nord Security, the firm that runs NordVPN, builds it, and each upload is encrypted end to end at no extra charge.
Moving our 500 MB archive up and back took 19 seconds longer than on pCloud. Deleting a file there is final, since NordLocker keeps no trash folder. Our NordLocker review covers the rest, and it also ranks among the most secure cloud storage services.
4. Sync.com: Cheapest 1 TB and Unlimited Plans
Pros
- Cheapest 1 TB in year one
- Unlimited tier for individuals
- Zero-knowledge on every plan
- Canadian company and servers
- Long version history
Cons
- Promotional first-year pricing
- Slowest of our five picks
- Mirrors one folder instead of backing up
Sync.com discounts every personal plan for the first year:
- Personal 1 TB: $72 for the first year, then $144
- Pro Solo 5 TB: $168 for the first year, then $336
- Personal Unlimited: $270 for the first year, then $540
That makes it the cheapest 1 TB plan for a first year and the only unlimited plan for individuals in our ranking. Sync.com is based in Toronto and stores files in Ontario, so it’s also the lowest-cost Canadian service we tested. Sending our archive up and back took 44 seconds longer than on pCloud. The desktop app syncs one folder instead of backing up the PC. Our Sync.com review has the full test.
5. MEGA: Most Storage Without a Renewal Jump
Pros
- Large storage for a modest yearly price
- Roomy free tier
- Encrypted on free and paid tiers
- VPN and password manager on paid plans
Cons
- Refunds only for billing errors
- Transfer quota on every plan
- No lifetime option
MEGA‘s Pro I plan offers 3 TB for about $113 a year, more space than pCloud or Google One offer for a similar yearly price. The Essential plan covers 200 GB for about $45 a year, Pro II moves up to 10 TB for about $225, and Pro III to 20 TB for about $338. Paid plans include MEGA VPN and the MEGA Pass password manager, and MEGA encrypts all files end to end.
Each plan has a transfer quota, 36 TB a year on Pro I, which limits how much can be downloaded. Our 500 MB round trip took 29 seconds longer than on pCloud. MEGA’s free account offers 20 GB, the largest encrypted free plan we tested.
Cloud Storage Cost per Terabyte
Price per terabyte for one year of storage. For lifetime plans, we divided the one-time price over five years.
| Plan | Price | Cost per TB per year |
| IDrive Personal 5 TB, first year | $83.92 | $16.78, then $23.98 |
| TeraBox Premium 2 TB, yearly | About $36 | About $18 |
| Internxt Ultimate 5 TB, lifetime | €585 once | About €23 |
| MEGA Pro II 10 TB, yearly | About $225 | About $23 |
| pCloud Ultra 10 TB, yearly | $299.99 | $30 |
| Sync.com Pro Solo 5 TB, first year | $168 | $33.60, then $67.20 |
| MEGA Pro I 3 TB, yearly | About $113 | About $38 |
| NordLocker 2 TB, first year | $83.88 | $41.94, then $89.94 |
| pCloud Premium Plus 2 TB, lifetime | $499 once | $49.90 |
| Google One 2 TB, yearly | $99.99 | $50 |
| Dropbox Plus 2 TB, yearly | $119.88 | $59.94 |
| iCloud+ 2 TB, monthly | $119.88 a year | $59.94 |
| Microsoft 365 Personal 1 TB, yearly | $99.99 | $99.99, with Office apps |
Bigger plans cost less per terabyte, so buying more space than you use right now can still be the cheaper choice.
Cheap Cloud Storage for Photos and Backups
For a photo library under 100 GB, Google One’s 100 GB plan at $19.99 a year is the lowest price from a major service. iCloud+ 200 GB costs $2.99 a month for iPhone users. Bigger libraries cost less over time on a pCloud lifetime plan, and our guides to cloud storage for photos and keeping videos in the cloud compare more services.
pCloud and Google Drive back up chosen PC folders on every plan, so a separate backup subscription isn’t required for documents and photos. Whole-computer backup is a different product. IDrive, the cheapest 5 TB option in our price table, is built for it, and our IDrive review covers the details.
How to Pay Less for Cloud Storage
- Pay yearly: pCloud’s 2 TB plan costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, about $20 less over 12 months.
- Check the renewal price: NordLocker’s 2 TB plan goes from $83.88 in the first year to $179.88, and Sync.com’s 1 TB plan from $72 to $144.
- Read the first-month terms: Internxt’s yearly plans show €1.99 a month for 1 TB, but that rate covers only the first month before billing renews at €9.99 a month.
- Buy lifetime only for long-term use: pCloud’s 2 TB lifetime plan matches five years of yearly payments.
- Share a family plan: Google One and iCloud+ storage can be shared with up to five other people at no extra cost.
- Start free: our ranking of free cloud storage covers plans of up to 20 GB.
Bottom Line
The cheapest choice depends on how long you’ll keep the files. Over five years or more, pCloud‘s 2 TB lifetime plan costs no more than the yearly 2 TB plans from Google One, Dropbox, and iCloud+. Internxt is the better one-time buy per terabyte for those comfortable paying in euros.
For a single year, NordLocker has the lowest encrypted 2 TB price and Sync.com the lowest 1 TB price, as long as the renewal is planned for. MEGA packs the most storage into a yearly plan without a promotional jump. Features beyond price decide our main list of the best cloud storage services.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest cloud storage per TB?
Internxt's 5 TB lifetime plan, about €585 once, is the cheapest per terabyte over five years. On yearly billing, IDrive's 5 TB plan costs about $17 per terabyte in year one, then $24.
What is the cheapest 1 TB cloud storage?
Sync.com's Personal plan is the cheapest 1 TB cloud storage for a first year, at about $72 before it renews at about $144. Internxt sells 1 TB for life for about €285.
What is the cheapest 2 TB cloud storage?
TeraBox Premium is the cheapest 2 TB cloud storage, at about $36 a year, but it doesn't encrypt files end to end. Among encrypted services, NordLocker costs about $84 for the first year.
What is the cheapest cloud storage in Canada?
Sync.com is the cheapest cloud storage based in Canada. Files stay in Ontario data centers, and its Personal plan starts at about $72 for the first year.
What is the cheapest cloud storage for photos?
Google One is the cheapest cloud storage for photos, with 100 GB for about $20 a year. iCloud+ 200 GB costs about $36 a year and fits iPhone photo libraries.
Is cheap cloud storage safe?
Yes, when it encrypts files end to end. Internxt, NordLocker, Sync.com, and MEGA include zero-knowledge encryption in low-cost plans, while pCloud charges extra for it.