pCloud costs $49.99 a year for 500 GB, $99.99 for 2 TB, and $299.99 for 10 TB. The same three sizes sell as lifetime licenses for $219, $499, and $1,499, paid once. End-to-end encryption is extra, at $150 for life, $49.99 a year, or $4.99 a month, and a free account can grow to 10 GB. We checked these prices at checkout from a US IP address in October. Prices are in US dollars and exclude tax.
pCloud Plans and Prices
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | Lifetime | Shared link traffic per month |
| Premium 500 GB | $4.99 | $49.99 | $219 | 1 TB |
| Premium Plus 2 TB | $9.99 | $99.99 | $499 | 4 TB |
| Ultra 10 TB | $29.99 | $299.99 | $1,499 | 20 TB |
Every plan includes the new pCloud Photos and pCloud Docs apps, file history, password-protected share links, and a 14-day refund window. Only the storage and the shared link traffic change. pCloud’s site lists the lifetime prices next to crossed-out figures of $279, $709, and $2,799, but $219, $499, and $1,499 are the prices it normally charges.
Is a pCloud Lifetime Plan Worth It?
Yes, when the storage will stay in use for five years or more. That’s when each lifetime license costs the same as the yearly plan:
- 500 GB: $219 once, compared to $49.99 a year, equal after about four and a half years.
- 2 TB: $499 once, compared to $99.99 a year, equal after five years.
- 10 TB: $1,499 once, compared to $299.99 a year, equal after five years.
pCloud counts a lifetime as 99 years from purchase, or the buyer’s lifetime if that ends sooner. The licenses stack, so adding 2 TB to an existing 500 GB plan results in 2.5 TB. The main drawback is dependence on the company: if pCloud closed, the license would end with it. The Swiss company has operated since 2013.
Monthly billing makes sense only for a short project. A year of the 2 TB plan paid monthly costs $119.88, compared to $99.99 paid yearly.
pCloud Family Plan Pricing
Family licenses come only as lifetime plans, divided between as many as five people. Each member has a private account and login, so members can’t see each other’s files, and deleted files stay in the trash for 30 days. At our October check, pCloud sold two sizes:
- Family 2 TB: $749 once, with 4 TB of shared link traffic a month
- Family 10 TB: $1,849 once, with 20 TB of shared link traffic a month
These prices drop sharply during sales. In the 2026 Easter, May, and back-to-school promotions, Family 2 TB cost $449 and Family 10 TB $1,099, and a Family 5 TB plan appeared at $599. The May sale also added lifetime pCloud Encryption at no cost, so a family plan is worth waiting for a promotion. At $449, the 2 TB plan costs about $90 per person, paid once.
How Much Is pCloud Encryption?
pCloud Encryption is a $150 one-time add-on, or $49.99 a year and $4.99 a month, on top of a storage plan. It creates a Crypto Folder where files are encrypted on your device before upload, and only your Crypto Pass unlocks them. Everything else is protected by server-side encryption, with pCloud managing the keys.
Business plans include it, and pCloud sometimes adds it free to lifetime promotions. ETH Zurich researchers published attacks on the Crypto Folder in 2024, and pCloud still hasn’t announced a fix. Our encrypted cloud storage guide lists services that encrypt every file at no extra cost.
pCloud Business Pricing
Business plans are priced per user, with a minimum of three users:
- Business: 1 TB per user, $7.99 per user each month on yearly billing or $9.99 monthly. Three users cost $287.64 a year.
- Business Pro: 2 TB per user and priority support, $15.98 per user each month on yearly billing or $19.98 monthly. Three users cost $575.28 a year.
Each includes pCloud Encryption, admin permission controls, and a 180-day file history. There’s no lifetime option for business accounts.
Free Plan, Refunds, and Extra Costs
- Free plan: starts at 2 GB. Five setup tasks add 1 GB each: verifying the email address, uploading a file, installing the desktop and mobile apps, and turning on automatic photo upload. Friend invites unlock the last 3 GB, up to 10 GB. Free accounts unused for 12 months are deleted.
- Refunds: every plan, including lifetime licenses, can be refunded within 14 days of purchase.
- Extended File History: a separate add-on that stretches trash and version history from 30 days to a year.
- Region change: moving an account between the US and EU data regions after signup costs $19.99 once.
Larger free allowances, such as MEGA’s 20 GB, appear in our free cloud storage ranking.
How pCloud’s Price Compares Over Five Years
For 2 TB kept five years, pCloud’s lifetime license costs the least of these services:
| Service | 2 TB plan | Five-year cost |
| pCloud lifetime | $499 once | $499 |
| pCloud yearly | $99.99 a year | $499.95 |
| Google AI Plus | $99.99 a year | $499.95 |
| iCloud+ | $9.99 a month | $599.40 |
| Dropbox Plus | About $120 a year | About $600 |
| NordLocker | About $84, then about $180 a year | About $804 |
From year six, the pCloud license costs nothing more, while every other row keeps billing. Smaller plans appear in our cheap cloud storage ranking.
How to Pay Less for pCloud
- Buy during a sale: pCloud discounts lifetime plans several times a year, around holidays and at the start of the school year.
- Choose lifetime for long-term storage: it costs the same as five years of yearly billing and ends renewals.
- Start free: the free plan has the same apps, so you can test upload speed and the apps before paying.
- Skip Encryption for everyday files: standard plans already encrypt files on pCloud’s servers, and the add-on only covers one folder.
Final Verdict
For most people, pCloud’s best value is the 2 TB lifetime license at $499. It matches five yearly payments and Google’s 2 TB price over the same period, then never bills again. The 500 GB license covers smaller photo and document libraries at $219, and the 10 TB license covers large video collections.
Yearly billing at $99.99 for 2 TB is still cheaper than iCloud or Dropbox for the same space. Family plans make sense only during a sale, and the Encryption add-on is worth buying only for a set of documents that must stay private. Speed, apps, and security results are in our pCloud review.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is pCloud per month?
pCloud costs $4.99 a month for 500 GB, $9.99 for 2 TB, and $29.99 for 10 TB on monthly billing. Paying yearly costs less, at $49.99, $99.99, and $299.99.
Is a pCloud lifetime plan a one-time payment?
Yes. A lifetime license costs $219 for 500 GB, $499 for 2 TB, or $1,499 for 10 TB, with a single payment and no renewals. pCloud defines lifetime as 99 years.
How much is the pCloud family plan?
Family 2 TB costs $749 and Family 10 TB costs $1,849, each shared by up to five people with private accounts. Sales in 2026 cut those prices to $449 and $1,099.
Does pCloud have a free plan?
Yes. New accounts start with 2 GB, five setup tasks add 1 GB each, and friend invites bring the total to 10 GB. Accounts left unused for a year are deleted.
How much does pCloud Encryption cost?
A lifetime license costs $150, and the add-on is also $49.99 a year or $4.99 a month. It encrypts files in a single Crypto Folder before upload, and Business plans include it free.
Can I get a refund from pCloud?
Yes. pCloud refunds any plan, including lifetime licenses, within 14 days of purchase. Requests made after that window aren't accepted for yearly or lifetime payments.