pCloud beats iCloud for most people who store files, photos, and video. Our October tests timed its 2 GB upload at 15 minutes 14 seconds, compared to 16 minutes 48 seconds for iCloud. pCloud charges $99.99 a year or $499 for life for 2 TB. iCloud’s 2 TB is $9.99 a month, and Apple sells no yearly or lifetime version.
iCloud keeps two clear advantages. It’s the only service that restores a complete iPhone, and its free Advanced Data Protection option covers more of your data than pCloud’s paid encryption add-on. pCloud won five of our seven rounds, and iCloud won two.
pCloud vs iCloud: Quick Comparison
| pCloud | iCloud | |
| Storage sizes | 500 GB, 2 TB, 10 TB | 50 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, 6 TB, 12 TB |
| 2 TB price | $99.99 a year or $499 once | $9.99 a month |
| Free storage | 5 GB, up to 10 GB | 5 GB |
| Apps | Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows |
| 2 GB upload / download | 15:14 / 1:45 | 16:48 / 1:53 |
| File history | 15 to 30 days, or a year with an add-on | Not kept for most files |
| Maximum file size | No limit | 50 GB |
| End-to-end encryption | Crypto Folder only, paid add-on | Free, with Advanced Data Protection |
| Full iPhone backup | No | Yes |
Apps and Ease of Use
iCloud is part of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so there’s nothing to install on Apple devices. Photos, iCloud Drive, Notes, and Contacts sync in the background once you sign in. A Microsoft Store app brings iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos to Windows PCs. There’s no app for Android or Linux, only iCloud.com in a browser.
pCloud has apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, and Android, plus a web app. Its desktop app adds pCloud Drive to File Explorer or Finder, and files download only when opened, so even a 2 TB account barely touches the disk. Apple’s Files app lists pCloud too, so cloud files can be attached to emails from any app.
Both web apps are clean and easy to learn. iCloud.com adds Apple’s own apps, such as Notes and Pages, while pCloud’s web app focuses on files, music, and photos. Our pCloud review covers each app in more detail.
Winner: pCloud
pCloud has native apps for Linux and Android too, alongside Windows and Apple devices. Outside Apple devices, iCloud offers a Windows app and a website, nothing more.
Features: File History, Sharing, and Editing
File History
pCloud keeps deleted files and previous file versions for a set period:
- Free accounts: 15 days
- Premium and Premium Plus plans: 30 days
- Business plans: 180 days
- Extended File History add-on: one year
Rewind can also return the account, or specific folders, to any date in that window, for example to recover files that ransomware encrypted. iCloud Drive keeps no version history for most files. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents have their own version browser, and deleted files remain recoverable for 30 days.
Winner: pCloud
Sharing Files
Sharing is one of the main reasons to use cloud storage. iCloud’s sharing menu lets you choose between a public link and access for named people, each with view-only or editing rights. Recipients don’t require an Apple Account to download a file, but there’s no option for a password or expiry date.
On paid pCloud plans, a shared link can require a password, stop working on a set date, and show your own logo and cover image. Each link shows its download count. Its file requests work in reverse, collecting uploads from clients into one folder that they can’t browse.
Winner: pCloud
Document Editing and File Size
Apple’s Pages, Numbers, and Keynote support group editing on Apple devices and iCloud.com, but each editor signs in with an Apple Account. pCloud added browser editing in September 2026: pCloud Docs opens Office formats, PDFs, and text files on paid plans and saves them in their original format. Files of any size upload to pCloud.
iCloud Drive’s cap of 50 GB per file affects video storage most, since a 4K iPhone recording at 60 fps passes 50 GB in under two hours. pCloud limits monthly traffic instead: uploads in any 30 days can’t exceed twice the plan’s storage.
Winner: pCloud
Extra Features
pCloud plays music and video in its apps, builds playlists, and streams to Kodi and similar players over WebDAV. It also imports libraries from Google Photos, Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, and backs up a home NAS on a schedule. Paid iCloud+ plans include extras that aren’t about storage.
Private Relay hides your IP address in Safari, Hide My Email creates throwaway addresses, and HomeKit Secure Video stores home camera footage. Both are useful, so we call it a tie.
Tie
Winner: pCloud
pCloud takes features with file history, protected share links, and no file size limit. iCloud’s extras protect privacy on Apple devices but don’t add storage features.
iPhone Backups and Apple Integration
An iCloud backup restores a new iPhone or iPad to the state of the old one, with apps, settings, and message history in place. It also keeps passwords in iCloud Keychain and powers Find My. No other service can do this, including pCloud. The first time we opened pCloud on an iPhone, it offered Automatic Upload.
We could restrict it to one media type, skip older pictures, and keep uploads on Wi-Fi. In our iPhone test, it stored each Live Photo as an unconnected still and video, while iCloud Photos kept the motion. iCloud also offers a Shared Photo Library, where up to six family members add pictures to one common collection. Our guide to the best cloud storage for photos compares more photo backup options.
Winner: iCloud
No other cloud service can restore a whole iPhone, and iCloud keeps Live Photos intact. pCloud backs up photos and files well but can’t replace a device backup.
pCloud vs iCloud Speed Test
We timed the same 2 GB file going up and coming back down during our October tests, once through pCloud Drive and once through iCloud for Windows. The Windows 11 PC in Europe had a baseline of 19.69 Mbps for uploads and 187.95 Mbps for downloads.
| pCloud | iCloud | |
| Upload | 15:14 | 16:48 |
| Download | 1:45 | 1:53 |
| Upload speed used | 96% | 87% |
| Download speed used | 87% | 81% |
pCloud finished the upload 1 minute 34 seconds sooner, and no service we’ve timed with this file uploaded slower than iCloud. Downloads were 8 seconds apart. pCloud also had the lowest combined time on our fastest cloud storage page, and iCloud uploads have been slow in our everyday use too.
Winner: pCloud
pCloud was faster in both directions, and the difference is largest on uploads, where iCloud used 87% of our connection’s speed.
Security and Privacy
In their default setup, Apple and pCloud can decrypt what you store, because each keeps the keys. Both offer two-factor login. The difference is in the optional protection each sells or includes.
iCloud
Apple’s free Advanced Data Protection switches iCloud Drive, Photos, Notes, and iPhone backups to end-to-end encryption, locking Apple out of them. Turning it on requires a trusted recovery contact or a printed recovery key, since Apple loses the ability to restore access. UK accounts can’t use it after Apple pulled the feature there in 2025, and in other countries it stays off until enabled.
iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendar stay outside it, as do files shared through public links, and browser access at iCloud.com is off until you allow it. In December 2022, Apple abandoned its proposal to check iCloud Photos uploads against known abuse images. Celebrity photos leaked in 2014 came from accounts opened with stolen passwords, a risk that two-factor login now covers.
pCloud
pCloud is a Swiss company, and accounts choose a US or EU data region at signup. Files are protected with AES-256 on its servers and TLS in transit. End-to-end encryption covers only the Crypto Folder. It requires the pCloud Encryption add-on, priced at $150 for life or $49.99 per year.
A 2024 ETH Zurich paper found that whoever controlled pCloud’s servers could plant or rename files in a Crypto Folder and substitute a user’s keys, exposing files uploaded afterward. pCloud’s answer was that the attacks were theoretical, and it hasn’t announced a fix. A separate February 2026 fault showed some customers the file and folder names of other accounts. pCloud characterized the incident as small.
Winner: iCloud
Apple’s encryption option costs nothing and covers files, photos, and backups. pCloud’s end-to-end encryption costs extra, covers one folder, and still has published flaws without an announced fix. Services that encrypt everything by default lead our most secure cloud storage list.
Prices and Plans
iCloud’s US prices, charged monthly only:
- 50 GB: $0.99 a month
- 200 GB: $2.99 a month
- 2 TB: $9.99 a month
- 6 TB: $29.99 a month
- 12 TB: $59.99 a month
pCloud sells each size yearly or as a lifetime license:
- Premium 500 GB: $49.99 a year or $219 once
- Premium Plus 2 TB: $99.99 a year or $499 once
- Ultra 10 TB: $299.99 a year or $1,499 once
Over five years, 2 TB costs $599.40 on iCloud and $499 on pCloud’s lifetime plan. After that, pCloud costs nothing more. At the top end, pCloud’s 10 TB lifetime license costs the same as 25 months of iCloud’s 12 TB plan. Both share storage with family: iCloud+ with up to five people, and pCloud through family lifetime plans. pCloud offers a 14-day refund window.
Winner: pCloud
pCloud’s yearly 2 TB plan undercuts iCloud’s monthly billing, and its lifetime plans end the bill altogether. pCloud also features in our cheap cloud storage rankings.
Free Plans Compared
pCloud’s free tier begins at 5 GB. Each completed setup step, such as confirming the email or installing an app, adds 1 GB, and referrals cover the last few gigabytes up to 10 GB. Free users keep deleted files for 15 days and can’t lock links.
Free accounts left unused for 12 months are deleted. iCloud’s free tier is 5 GB, shared with iPhone backups, photos, and mail, so a single phone backup can fill it. Bigger free allowances appear in our free cloud storage guide.
Winner: pCloud
pCloud’s free tier can double to 10 GB, and phone backups don’t eat into it.
Can pCloud Replace iCloud?
Partly. pCloud can take over photos, videos, and documents, but not iPhone backups, Keychain, or Find My. A practical setup keeps the free 5 GB of iCloud for device backups and puts the photo library on pCloud. Our iCloud alternatives guide explains how to switch.
Verdict: pCloud Wins, With Two Exceptions
pCloud took apps, features, speed, price, and free storage. It uploads faster, keeps file history, protects share links, takes files of any size, and sells storage you pay for once. For a growing photo and video library, it’s the better home.
iCloud still wins on whole-device iPhone backups and on encryption, since Advanced Data Protection costs nothing. Keep iCloud’s free tier for device backups, and store everything else on pCloud.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pCloud better than iCloud?
Yes, for storing files, photos, and video, with faster uploads, file history, and lifetime plans. Apple's service still leads on complete iPhone backups and offers end-to-end encryption at no cost.
Can pCloud replace iCloud on an iPhone?
No, only partly. pCloud's iPhone app can upload fresh pictures and clips automatically, but iPhone settings, messages, and app data can only be backed up to iCloud.
Is pCloud more secure than iCloud?
No. iCloud's Advanced Data Protection encrypts files, photos, and backups end to end for free, while pCloud charges for encryption that covers only its Crypto Folder.
Is pCloud cheaper than iCloud?
Yes. pCloud charges $99.99 yearly for 2 TB, about $20 less than a year of iCloud's 2 TB plan, and its $499 lifetime license undercuts five years of iCloud.
Does pCloud work on iPhone and Mac?
Yes. Native apps cover iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and pCloud can be browsed from Apple's Files app. Live Photos upload as a separate picture and video, though.
Is pCloud better than IDrive?
Yes, for syncing and lifetime storage. IDrive is built for backing up whole computers and phones, with one 5 TB plan for many devices, so it's the better fit for full-system backups.