pCloud review

pCloud stands out for one reason: it sells lifetime plans that you pay for once instead of every month. Its pricing page lists Premium 500 GB, Premium Plus 2 TB and Ultra 10 TB as lifetime options, plus a 3in1 Bundle that adds pCloud Encryption and pCloud Pass Premium. Monthly and annual plans are also available, and the free tier gives up to 10 GB with no credit card. The service is based on Swiss privacy rules, uses TLS/SSL and 256-bit AES encryption, and lets you restore previous versions and recover data from up to 30 days ago. Sharing covers password-protected links, shared folders, file requests and branded shares, and the built-in music and video player is useful for media libraries. Client-side encryption is a paid add-on, not part of the base plans, which matters if you came for privacy. From our location the page only showed EUR prices, so we could not verify USD pricing.

Who it is for

buyers who prefer a one-time lifetime payment

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Up to 10 GB of free storage with no credit card
• Monthly, annual and lifetime one-time payment plans
• pCloud Encryption add-on for client-side encryption
• Recover data from up to 30 days ago and restore previous file versions
• pCloud Family plan for up to 5 users

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Lifetime plans avoid recurring subscription fees
• Strength: Built-in music and video player for media files
• Strength: Password-protected links, file requests and branded shares
• Weakness: pCloud Encryption is not included in the base Premium plans
• Weakness: Prices on the pricing page showed only EUR from our location
• Weakness: 30-day recovery window is shorter than Proton's 10 years

Key facts

• Free plan: Up to 10 GB
• Lifetime plans: 500 GB, 2 TB, 10 TB, 3in1 Bundle
• Recovery: Up to 30 days
• Family plan: Up to 5 users

Where it ranks

pCloud is No. 7 in our Best Dropbox Alternatives verdict.