Best free cloud storage service of 2021 | TechRadar

Best free cloud storage service of 2021 · Google Drive is a natural choice for owners of Android devices as it's already integrated, but users of ... Skiptomaincontent TechRadarITInsightsforBusiness Search Subscribe RSS AsiaIndiaSingaporeMiddleEastAfricaSouthAfricaEuropeDanmarkSuomiNorgeSverigeUKItaliaNederlandBelgië(Nederlands)FranceDeutschlandEspañaNorthAmericaUS(English)CanadaUS(Español)AustralasiaAustraliaNewZealand TechnologyMagazinesTechnologyMagazinesWhysubscribe?Thebesttechtutorialsandin-depthreviewsTryasingleissueorsaveonasubscriptionIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorordeviceFrom$7.15View News Reviews Security Websites VPN Insights Resources Business More Huawei Windows11forbusiness Besthybridworkingtech MicrosoftTeamsupdates LatestMobilenews Office2021 TechRadarissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore (Imagecredit:Shutterstock/Bluebay) PRICE VERDICT REASONSTOBUY REASONSTOAVOID VERDICT REASONSTOBUY REASONSTOAVOID Thebestfreecloudstorageservicemakesitsimpleandeasytobackupandshareyourfilesandfoldersinthecloud,withoutcostinganything.ThebestfreecloudstorageserviceClickthelinksbelowtogototheprovider'swebsite: 1.GoogleDrive2.Degoo3.Nextcloud4.Mega5.iCloudWiththeriseofcloudstorageingeneral,wehaveofcourseseenanincreaseintheamountoffreebiecloudstoragelockers.Whilethesecanbeseenasavehicleforgettingusersonboard,withaviewtothemsubsequentlysigningupforasubscriptionplantogetmorestorage,youcanstillgetplentyofcapacityfornothingintheworldoffreecloudstorage.Asurprisingamount,insomecases,asyou’llsee.CyberMondaydeals:seeallthebestoffersrightnow!Butgiventhemanyofferingsoutthere–andthemanydifferentwaysinwhichtheyworkintermsofbeingabletoupyourstoragelimitwithoutnecessarilyhavingtopay–itcanbedifficulttochoosetherightfreecloudstorageservice.That’swherewecomein,andinthisguidewe’regoingtobreakdowntheprosandconsofsomeofthetopcloudstorageproductscurrentlyamongthemassedranksoffreebiesolutions.Readontofindoutourpicksforthebestfreecloudstorageproviders,themostsuitableofwhichwill,ofcourse,dependonyourexactneeds.Rawstoragecapacityisn’teverything,andsomeusersmaybemoreinterestedinthesecurityoffered,orperhapsotherfeatureslikeadiverserangeofappsacrossmanyplatforms,orease-of-useoftheclientinterface.Alsocheckoutourbestcloudstorageroundup.IDrive1.IDriveisthebestcloudstorageprovider IDrive,thecloudstorageveteran,deliverstonsofstorageonlineforanincrediblysmalloutlay.5TBfor$3.48forthefirstyearisunmatchedtillnowandsoisthesupportforunlimiteddevicesandtheextensivefileversioningsystemavailable. ViewDealShells.comTechRadarExclusiveExpressVPN2.FreeunlimitedcloudstorageisnowincludedwithExpressVPN BackblazehasteamedupwithExpressVPNtoofferfreeunlimitedcloudstoragewhenyousignupforanannualVPNsubscription.Secureyourdevicesonlinewhilestoringyourphotossafelyinthecloud.ViewDealpCloudpCloud3.pCloudprovidesalifetimecloudstoragesubscription TheSwiss-basedcompanyismoreexpensivethanthecompetitionbuttheone-offpaymentmeansthatyouwon'thavetoworryaboutrenewalfeesthatcanbeveryhorrendouslyexpensive.$350for10yearsislessthan$3permonth. ViewDeal(Imagecredit:Google)1.GoogleDriveThebestfreecloudstorageTODAY'SBESTDEALSVISITSITEReasonstobuy+Easytouse+Generousfreestorage+BackupandsyncGoogleDrive isanaturalchoiceforownersofAndroiddevicesasit'salreadyintegrated,butusersofotherplatformsmayappreciatethegenerousfreestoragetoo. YoucanalsostoreunlimitedhighdefinitionphotosonyourmobilephonewithcompanionappGooglePhotos,andmakeuseofGoogle'sownofficesuite(nowknownas GWorkspace).Also,individualsupgradingtopaidGoogleDriveplanswilljoinGoogleOne(althoughitmightnotyetbeavailable,dependingontheregion).ThearrayoffeaturesdeliveredbyGoogleDriveviaOne-whichtiesintoGoogle'sCloudplatform-isbewilderingandevolvescontinuously.Atthetimeofwriting,GoogleengineerswererollingouttheabilitytorequestapprovalsforDriveitemsandlockapprovedversions.The2TBtier-whichoffers10%backinGoogleStorecredits-allowsthemainaccountholdertoinviteuptofiveotheradditionalmembersandcosts$99.99peryear.Downsidesincludethefactthatthewebinterfaceisn'tveryeasy-to-use,althoughWindowsandMacuserscandownloadadesktopapptodrag-and-dropfileseasily.DrivealsointegratesGoogle'spowerfulAIandsearchtechnology,probablyoneofthebestintheworld.ReadourfullGoogleDrivereview.GoogleAppsGoogleOne(2TB)|$99for1-year GoogleoffersOneasamembership,aquasi-lifetimecommitmentthat'snotunlikeAmazonPrime.Althoughyougetunlimitedstorageforyourphotos(termsandconditionsapply),you"only"get2TBtoplaywithviaGoogleDrive.Youcanshareitamonguptosixmembers,andGoogleExpertsareonlyaphonecallawayshouldyouneedthem.ViewDeal(Imagecredit:Degoo)2.DegooThebiggestfreecloudstoragecompanyintheworldrightnowTODAY'SBESTDEALSExclusiveDegoo10TBcloudstorage$99.99/yearVisitSiteatDegooReasonstobuy+Availableonmultiplemobileplatforms+Slickandintuitiveinterface+Freetierwith100GBofstoragespaceReasonstoavoid-Nodesktopapplication,justawebapp-ShortonseriousbackupfeaturesDegoomaynotbeanameyou’veheardofbefore,andindeeditwasonlyformedbackin2019,buttheSwedishfirmhasmanagedtomakeabigimpactonthecloudstoragesceneinaveryshorttimeframenonetheless.Sowhathasmadeitattractiveenoughtoquicklypickupalargeuserbase(some18millionplus),andindeedberatedtopofourbestfreecloudstoragerankings?Theheadlinestoragecapacityiscertainlyabigdraw,asyouget100GBonthefreetier,whichisahugechunkofspacecomparedtorivals.Evenbetter,DegoohaspartneredwithustogiveTechRadarreadersdoublethatstorageforthefirstyear.200GBofcloudstoragefornothingisaprettyimpressiveofferingtosaytheleast(althoughnotethatitwillrevertbacktothestandard100GBafterthatinitialyearisover).OtherstrengthsofDegooinclude256-bitAESend-to-endencryptiontokeepyourfilessecure,andtwo-factorauthenticationusingyourGoogleaccount.Italsoofferssomeniftybenefitsforuploadingandstoringphotos,includingAIroutineswhicharedesignedtohelpsurfaceyourbestsnaps.Notethatthefreeplanisadvert-supported,andalsolacks‘zeroknowledge’encryptionandsomeotherfeatureswhicharereservedforpayingsubscribers.There’salsoastipulationthatifyoudon’tuseyourfreeaccountfor90days,yourfileswillbeditched.Thosecaveatsarearelativelysmallpricetopaythough,giventheamountoffreestorageyou’regettinghere,andfolkslookingforanalternativetothebigplayerswon’tdoanybetterthanDegoo,certainlywhenitcomestocapacity.ReadourfullDegooreview.ExclusiveDegoo10TBcloudstoragebackupExclusiveDegoo10TBcloudstoragebackup|$239.76$99.99for2-years(58%off) TechRadarandDegoohavepartneredtoprovideaone-offexclusive.Youcangetastaggering10TBofstorageforjust$99.99fortwoyears.That’sa58%savingcomparedtothestandardpriceof$9.99permonth,andisexclusivetoTechRadar.It'sapricethat'sfarlessthanthecloudstoragecompetition.Thatpriceisalocked-downoneaswellandwillnotchange.ViewDeal(Imagecredit:Nextcloud)3.NextcloudOneofthebestDIYcloudstoragesolutionsTODAY'SBESTDEALSVISITSITEReasonstobuy+Opensourceplatform+Hugeamountofflexibility+PackedwithfeaturesReasonstoavoid-Softwarecanbeabitclunky-TakesmoretimetoimplementNextcloudisapopularopensource filesync andonlinecollaborationsolution.Morespecifically,it’safreepieceofsoftwarewhichyoucanusetoimplementacloudstorageserviceonyourownserver,withallthebenefitsthereinintermsofprecisecontrol.Soyes,it’struethatthisisn’tanonlinecloudstorageproviderinitself,butthere’senoughpowerandflexibilityinthissolutionthatit’swellworthhighlighting–withtheobviouscaveatbeingthatyouneedtoknowwhatyou’redoingwhenitcomestoputtingallthistogether.ThereareotherbenefitsofthisDIYapproachtocloudstorage,withthefactthattheserverislocaltoyournetworkobviouslybeinggreatnewsintermsofspeeds,andofcoursesecurity(youarefreetousewhateverencryptionyoumightwant,andyoucangototownonthatfront).Allthatsaid,wedocomebacktothepointthatyoumustknowwhatyou’redoingwithNextcloud,andthat’sparticularlyimportantonthesecurityfront(thelastthingyouwanttodoisleaveholesinthesystemwhichcouldbeusedtocompromiseyourdata).Forthosewhodon’thavethenecessarytechnicalknow-howtopullallthisoff,itispossibletobuyapreconfiguredNextcloudBoxwitha1TBdiskthatcanbeusedinconjunctionwithasimpleRaspberryPi(thefamouscompactcomputerboard)tokeepyourdatasynced. Nextcloudofferssomepowerfulfeaturesincludingtheabilitytosharedocumentsandcollaborateonthem,aswellassyncingfiles.Indeed,itbillsitselfasa“self-hostedproductivityplatform”offeringnotjustcollaborationfacilitiesbutacommunicationplatformfeaturingSlack-stylechat,plusvideocallsandmuchmore.ReadourfullNextCloudreview.(Imagecredit:Mega)4.MegaCloudstoragewithapremiumonsecurityTODAY'SBESTDEALSViewatAmazonViewatAmazonViewatWalmartSeeallprices(136found)Reasonstobuy+Easy-to-useUI+Extremelygenerousfreeoffering+SyncclientisopensourceReasonstoavoid-Basicbusinesssupport-Limitedextraappsandadd-ons-LackscollaborationoptionsMegaisawell-knowncloudstorageproviderwithafreeplanthatoffersyouagoodchunkofstorage,atleasttobeginwith.Initially,youget50GBforfree–whichisfarmorethanthelikesofGoogleorMicrosoftwillgiveyou–butnotethatthisisjustforthefirst30days.Afterthat,youwillbereducedbackdownto15GB,althoughthat’sstillareasonablecapacityforafreeservice–andyoucanalwaysearnmoreGigabytesthroughMega’s‘achievements’(essentiallyrewardsfortakingvariousactions).Megasaysthatthoserunningthefreeplangetthesamefasttransferspeedsaspayingsubscribers,withnothrottlingofperformanceforfreeusers,whichisgoodtohear.ThiscloudstorageoperationisalsotransparentinthatMegamakesthesourcecodeofthesyncclientavailable,sosecurityproscanriflethroughitandhelptoensurethattherearenovulnerabilitiesinthesoftware.Theserviceoffersend-to-endencryptionforyourfiles,withuser-friendlyappsforWindows,MacandLinux,aswellasAndroidandiOS(themobileappsalsoincludevoiceandvideochatfacilities,alongwithmessaging,whichisalsoencrypted).NotethatMegahasabunchofpaidplansforbusinesseswhichoffervastamountsofstorage(upto16TB)andvariouspremiumfeatureslikepasswordprotection,ortheabilitytosetexpirydatesforfileswhichhavebeenmadepublic.Overall,Megahassomeimpressivefunctionalityonoffer,andthefreeplanisoneofthebetteronesoutthere,althoughthecompanyshouldmakeitclearerthatyoudon’tgettokeep50GBofstorageforeveronthefreetier(butasmentioned,yourstorageamountistiedtocompletingthevarious‘achievements’).ReadourfullMegareview.(Imagecredit:iCloud)5.iCloudApple’scompetitivelypricedcloudstorageTODAY'SBESTDEALSVISITSITEReasonstobuy+Reasonablepricing+TightintegrationwithApple’splatformsReasonstoavoid-Stilllackssomeadvancedfeatures-FewoptionsforpowerusersApple’siCloudis,ofcourse,oneofthebignamesinthecloudstorageworld,anditoffersabackupandsyncservice.iCloudcanbeusedtobackupyourphotos,videos,contacts,calendars,documents,notes,aswellasthelikesofbookmarksandotherdata,allofwhichisseamlesslysyncedacrossyouriOSdevices(plusyoucanaccessthatdatafromaMacorPCviaawebbrowser).iCloudhas5GBofstorageonthefreetier,whichisn’tverygenerous,butthegoodnewsisthatanyphotos–whichareautomaticallybackeduponlinebythePhotoStreamfeature–don’tcounttowardsthatlimit.Sothatcouldeffectivelygiveyoualotmorecapacityifoneoftheprimaryconsiderationsforyourcloudstorageisphotos(youcan,ofcourse,buymorecapacityaswell;atprettyreasonableratestoo).Similarly,thereareotherfileswhichgetafreepassinthisrespect,anddon’tcounttowardsyour5GBstoragelimitwithafreebieiCloudaccount,andtheyincludemediapurchasedfromiTunes,orstuffyou’veboughtfromtheAppStoreorAppleBooks. Naturally,iCloudisaservicewhichistargetedprimarilyatAppleusers,whetherthat’siPhoneoriPadowners,orMacusers,althoughthoserunningWindowscansyncfileswithiCloudDrive,andareabletoaccessfeaturesliketheabilitytosharefolderswithfriendsdirectlyfromFileExploreronthedesktop.ReadourfulliCloudreview.Alsocheckoutourbestbusinesscloudstorageroundup.Roundupoftoday'sbestdealsReducedPriceDegooExclusiveDegoo10TBcloudstorage$239.76$99.99/yearViewWecheckover250millionproductseverydayforthebestpricespoweredby DesireAthow ManagingEditor,TechRadarPro Désiréhasbeenmusingandwritingabouttechnologyduringacareerspanningfourdecades.HedabbledinwebsitebuildingandwebhostingwhenDHTMLandframeswereenvogueandstartedwritingabouttheimpactoftechnologyonsocietyjustbeforethestartoftheY2Khysteriaattheturnofthelastmillennium.ThenfollowedaweeklytechcolumninalocalbusinessmagazineinMauritius,alatenighttechradioprogrammecalledClicplusandafreelancinggigatthenow-defunct,Theinquirer,withthelegendaryMikeMageeasmentor.Followinganeight-yearstintatITProPortal.comwherehediscoveredthejoysofglobaltechfests,DésirénowheadsupTechRadarPro.HehasanaffinityforanythinghardwareandstaunchlyrefusestostopwritingreviewsofobscureproductsorcovernicheB2Bsoftware-as-a-serviceproviders. 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