pCloud alternatives
Cloud Storage & File Sharing · www.pcloud.com
pCloud is a Swiss cloud storage service offering file backup, sync, sharing and media streaming with subscription and lifetime storage plans.
Switching to Dropbox, which covers 60% of the compared capabilities.
Find my alternative
Way less money.
Top pCloud alternatives
We compared 7 products and found 6 cheaper options (5 of them cover at least half the compared features) · vs pCloud Premium 500 GB at $4.17/mo · scenario: single user, monthly billing, USD.
pCloud costs $4.17/mo on the Premium 500 GB plan at single user, monthly billing. We found 6 assessed alternatives that are cheaper in this scenario; 0 of them cover at least 75% of the 5 compared capabilities.
| Product | Match | Price | Annual savings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dropbox Basic plan · missing: Team folders, Lifetime plan file sync share — adjacent | 60% | Free paid from $9.99/mo how? ⓘ | $49.99 / year 100% cheaper | |
Internxt Free plan · missing: Team folders, Lifetime plan encrypted storage — adjacent | 60% | Free how? ⓘ | $49.99 / year 100% cheaper | |
MEGA Free plan · missing: Team folders, Lifetime plan encrypted storage — adjacent | 60% | Free how? ⓘ | $49.99 / year 100% cheaper | |
Proton Drive Proton Free plan · missing: Lifetime plan, File versioning encrypted storage — adjacent | 60% | Free how? ⓘ | $49.99 / year 100% cheaper | |
Sync Free (starter) plan · missing: Lifetime plan, File versioning encrypted storage — adjacent | 60% | Free how? ⓘ | $49.99 / year 100% cheaper | |
Box Individual plan · missing: Desktop sync app, Team folders, Lifetime plan file sync share — adjacent | 40% | Free paid from $8/mo how? ⓘ | $49.99 / year 100% cheaper |
Which pCloud alternative for which situation
Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.
- Best open source or self-hosted
- Internxt — $0/mo (Free plan) · covers 60%
- Need share links, desktop sync app or file versioning?
- Dropbox — from $0/mo (Basic plan)
- Need team folders?
- Proton Drive — from $0/mo (Proton Free plan)
What you give up
Capabilities pCloud has that the top alternatives lack.
- Team folders — Shared folders for a team with per-member permissions.Missing from Dropbox, Internxt, MEGA.
- Lifetime plan — A one-time payment option for permanent storage.Missing from Dropbox, Internxt, MEGA, Proton Drive.
- File versioning — Restore earlier versions of a file or recover deleted files for a stated period.Missing from Proton Drive.
Feature comparison
pCloud vs the top alternatives, on the 5 compared capabilities.
| Capability | pCloud | Dropbox | Internxt | MEGA | Proton Drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share links | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Desktop sync app | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team folders | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Lifetime plan | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| File versioning | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan | $4.17/mo Premium 500 GB | $0/mo Basic | $0/mo Free | $0/mo Free | $0/mo Proton Free |
✓ means the product offers the capability — possibly only on a higher tier than the plan priced below it. The price row shows the cheapest plan that qualifies for our comparison scenario, with its plan name; a $0 free plan may not include every checked capability.
What pCloud covers
The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.
- ✓ Share links
- ✓ Desktop sync app
- ✓ Team folders
- ✓ Lifetime plan
- ✓ File versioning
Price ladder
Observed prices from the official pricing page.
Who switched
Anonymous: no account, no email, no IP stored. Reports are shown once a switch has 3 or more and never change ranking or order — alternatives are computed from prices and capabilities only.
Sources
Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.
- https://www.pcloud.com/cloud-storage-pricing-plans.html (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-26)
- https://www.pcloud.com/features.html (feature_page, checked 2026-10-26)
- https://www.pcloud.com/plans.html (feature_page, checked 2026-10-26)
Frequently asked
How much does pCloud cost?
pCloud's Premium 500 GB plan costs $4.17/mo in our scenario (single user, monthly billing).
Is there a free pCloud alternative?
We have not verified a free plan that fits this scenario among the assessed alternatives.
What is the cheapest pCloud alternative?
In our scenario (single user, monthly billing), Dropbox is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Basic plan).
Does pCloud have a free plan?
No. pCloud has no free plan on its official pricing page.
When were these prices checked?
Between 2026-10-03 and 2026-10-29, on the vendors' official pricing pages.