The Best Cloud Storage and File-Sharing Services for 2021

Just to clear up any confusion, the cloud part of cloud-based storage services refers to storing your files somewhere other than your computer's hard drive, ... PCMageditorsselectandreviewproductsindependently.Ifyoubuythroughaffiliatelinks,wemayearncommissions,whichhelpsupportourtesting.Learnmore. Home BestProducts SystemUtilities FileSync&Backup By MichaelMuchmore Updated November10,2021 facebook twitter flipboard socialshare Flipboard Pinterest Reddit LinkedIn Email Copied Error! CopyLink https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-cloud-storage-and-file-sharing-services Comments RelatedFileSync&BackupPicks: BestBusinessCloudStorageandFile-SharingServices BestOnlineBackupServices Our8TopPicks BestforWindowsUsers 5.0 Exemplary MicrosoftOneDrive Free  atMicrosoftStore SeeIt OneDrive,thedefaultonlinestorageandsyncingserviceforWindows10andOffice365,offersawealthofpowerfulfeatures,aswellasappsformoreplatformsthananyofitscompetitors. Pros Excellentinterface ClientsforAndroid,iOS,Mac,andWindows WellintegratedwithWindows10andOffice365 Strongonlinephotopresentationandmanagement Powerfulfile-sharinganddocumentcollaborativeediting Cons Lessfreestoragethansomecompetitors Onlyallowssyncingofspecificfolders ReadOurMicrosoftOneDriveReview Pros&Cons BestforLow-CostBackupandSyncing 4.5 Outstanding IDrive Available  atIDrive CheckPrice Despitesomeminordrawbacks,youwon'tfindabetteronlinebackupservicethanthefull-featured,easy-to-useIDrive. Pros Easysetup Unlimiteddevicesperaccount Diskimagebackup Bulkuploadsandrestoresviamail Fastuploadspeedsintesting Excellentmobileapp Cons Onlybasicsharingoptions Storageisn'tunlimited Filesinsyncedfolderslowtouploadintesting ReadOurIDriveReview Pros&Cons BestforGoogleWorkspaceUsers 4.5 Outstanding GoogleDrive Startingat$6PerMonth  atGoogleWorkspace SeeIt GoogleDriveisoneoftheslickest,fullest-featured,andmostgenerouscloudstorageandsyncingservices,withexcellentproductivitysuitecollaborationcapabilities. Pros Generousfreestoragespace Excellentproductivity-suitecollaboration Includesdesktop-to-desktopfile-syncing Manythird-partyintegrations Cross-platformapps Cons Consumerdesktoputilitystoreseverythinglocally Privacyconcerns Nopassword-protectionforsharedfiles ReadOurGoogleDriveReview Pros&Cons BestforIntegrationWithThird-PartyServices 4.0 Excellent Dropbox Available  atDropbox CheckPrice Dropboxisasimple,reliablefile-syncingandstorageservicewithenhancedcollaborationfeatures,butit'smoreexpensiveandlessintegratedthanplatformofferingslikeGoogleDrive,iCloud,andOneDrive. Pros Appsforjustabouteveryoperatingsystem ManyintegrationsinAppsCenter Supportscollaboration GoodfeaturesforProusers Digitalsignatures Cons Freeversionisskimpyonstorage Expensivepaidaccounts ReadOurDropboxReview Pros&Cons BestforSecureBackups 4.0 Excellent SpiderOakOne Available  atSpiderOak CheckPrice SpiderOakOneofferstop-notchsecurityfeaturesandflexiblebackupoptions.Itcostsmorethanmanycompetitors,butitdoesnotimposeanylimitsonthenumberofPCsyoucanbackupwitheachaccount. Pros Strongprivacyfeatures Supportsanunlimitednumberofcomputersperaccount Excellentversioningcapabilities Includesfile-sharingandfolder-syncingoptions Well-designed,full-featureddesktopapplication Cons Lackstwo-factorauthenticationoptionforweblogins Nolongeroffersmobileapps ReadOurSpiderOakOneReview Pros&Cons BestforBusinessIntegrations 3.5 Good Box(Personal) Available  atBox CheckPrice OnlinesyncingandstoragetoolBoxiseasytouseandintegrateswithawiderangeofappsandservices,butitcostsmorethansimilarproducts. Pros Easytouse On-demandfilesyncing Well-designedforcollaboration Integrateswithmanythird-partyservices Generousfreestorageallotment Cons Lowstorageamountforpaidaccount Desktopappoptionstoonumerousandunclear ReadOurBox(Personal)Review Pros&Cons BestforMacandiPhoneusers 3.5 Good AppleiCloudDrive Free  atApple.com SeeIt TheiCloudDrivefile-syncingandstorageserviceisworthusing,especiallyifyou'recommittedtoApple'secosystem,butitdoesn'tquitemeasureuptothecompetitionfromGoogleandMicrosoft. Pros Well-designedappandwebinterfaces CompatiblewithWindowsaswellasmacOSandiOSdevices Accountincludes5GBstoragewhenyoubuyanAppledevice Cons Lessstraightforwardthancompetingservices Nosearchinwebinterface NoAndroidapp Collaborativeeditinglacksexpectedcapabilities NofileversioningasidefromiWorkdocuments ReadOurAppleiCloudDriveReview Pros&Cons BestforSyncingFoldersAnywhereonYourDrive 3.0 Average SugarSync Available  atSugarSync CheckPrice SugarSyncisuniqueinlettingyousyncfolderswherevertheyliveonyourcomputers,butit'sexpensiveandlacksadvancedcollaborationfeatures. Pros Synchronizesanyfoldersonyourcomputer Continuousfileupdating Supportsanunlimitednumberofdevicesperaccount FileExplorerandFinderintegration Cons Expensive Collaborationonlyworkswithfolders,notindividualfiles Nosimultaneousco-editingcapability Nopasswordprotectionortimeoutforshareditems Mobileappsbalkedonplayingmedia Noprivatekeyencryptionoption ReadOurSugarSyncReview Pros&Cons Pros&Cons CompareSpecs Ifyou'reworkingfromhome,therearefewthingsmoreimportantthansharingyourdocumentsremotelywithyourfellowteammembers.Onlinefilestorage,syncing,andsharingserviceslikethoseincludedhereplayahugeroleinlettingyoucollaboratesmoothlynomatterwhereyou'reworking.Computersystemshavebeensteadilymovingawayfromlocalstoragetoremote,server-basedstorageandprocessing—alsoknownas the cloud.Andit'snotjustworkers.Homeconsumersusethecloudallthetime,too.Westreamvideoandmusicratherthanplayingthemfromdiscs.Bykeepingyourowndocumentsandmediainthecloud,youcanenjoyanywhere-accesstoyourentertainmentandimprovebusinesscollaboration.We'veroundedupthebestcloudstorageandfile-sharingandfile-syncingservicestohelpyoudecidewhicharerightforyou.Theseservicesprovideseamlessaccesstoallyourdata—Worddocs,PDFs,spreadsheets,photos,andanyotherdigitalassets—whereveryouare.YounolongerneedtobesittingatyourworkPCtoseeyourworkfiles.Withcloudsyncingyoucangettothemfromyourlaptopathome,yoursmartphoneonthego,orfromyourtabletonyourcouch.UsingoneoftheseservicesmeansnomorehavingtoemailfilestoyourselforplugandunplugUSBthumbdrives.Ifyoudon'tyethaveaserviceforstoringandsyncingyourdatainthecloud,youshouldseriouslyconsiderone.Whichoneyouchoosedependsonthekindsoffilesyoustore,howmuchsecurityyouneed,whetheryouplantocollaboratewithotherpeople,andwhichdevicesyouusetoeditandaccessyourfiles.Itmayalsodependonyourcomfortlevelwithcomputersingeneral.Mostoftheseservicesareextremelyuser-friendly,whileothersofferadvancedcustomizationformoreexperiencedtechies. TheBestChristmasCloudStorageDealsThisWeek* *Dealsareselectedbyourpartner,TechBargains iDriveSmallBusiness:5TBofCloudBackup —$24.88 (ListPrice$99.50) DropBoxBusiness:Free30-DayTrial —Startingat$12.50PerMonth WhatCanCloudStorageDoforYou?Theverybestcloudstoragesolutionsplaynicelywithotherappsandservices,makingtheexperienceofviewingandeditingyourfilesfeelnatural.Especiallyinbusiness,youwantyourothersoftwareandappstobeabletoretrieveoraccessyourfiles,somakingsureyouuseaservicethateasilyauthenticateswiththeothertoolsyouuseisabigdeal.BoxandDropboxareparticularlystronginthisregard. YouCanTrustOurReviews Since1982,PCMaghastestedandratedthousandsofproductstohelpyoumakebetterbuyingdecisions. (Readoureditorialmission.) Therangeofcapabilitiesofcloud-basedstorageservicesisincredible.Manyofthemspecializeinaspecificarea.Forexample,DropboxandSugarSyncfocusonkeepingasyncedfolderaccessibleeverywhere.SpiderOakemphasizessecurity.Somecloudstorageservices,suchasAppleiCloud,GoogleDriveandMicrosoftOneDrive,aregeneralists,offeringnotonlyfolderandfilesyncing,butalsomedia-playinganddevicesyncing.Theseproductsevendoubleas collaborationsoftware,offeringreal-timedocumentco-editing.Distinctfrombutoverlappinginsomecaseswithcloudstorageare onlinebackup services.Someoftheseservices,suchasCarbonite,areallaboutdisasterrecovery(Carbonitedoesnotincludefile-syncing),whileIDrivecombinesthatgoalwithsyncingandsharingcapabilities.Mostcloudservicesdooffersomelevelofbackup,almostasaconsequenceoftheirintendedfunction.Itfollowslogicallythatanyfilesuploadedtoacloudservicearealsoprotectedfromdiskfailures,sincetherearecopiesoftheminthecloud.Buttrueonlinebackupservicescanbackup allyourcomputer'sfiles,notjustthoseinasyncedfolderstructure.Whereassyncingisaboutmanagingselectfiles,backuptendstobeabulk,just-in-caseplay.Withsyncing,youchoosethefolders,documents,andmediathatyouwantreadyaccesstoandsavetheminthecloud.Withbackup,youprotecteverythingyouthinkyoumightregretlosing.Easy,immediateaccessisnotguaranteedwithonlinebackup,norisitthepoint.Peaceofmindis.TheDealWiththeCloudJusttoclearupanyconfusion,the cloud partofcloud-basedstorageservicesreferstostoringyourfilessomewhereotherthanyourcomputer'sharddrive,usuallyontheprovider'sservers.There'sahalf-jokesayinginthetechworld,"Thereisnocloud.It'sjustsomeoneelse'scomputer."Havingdatainthecloudgivesyoutheabilitytoaccessthosefilesthroughtheinternet.Yourdataisusuallyencryptedbeforemakingthejourneyovertheinternettotheproviders'servers,andwhileitlivesonthoseserversit'salsoencrypted.Well-designedservicesdon'tuploadentirefileseverytimetheychange.Theyjustuploadthechanges,savingyourconnectionbandwidth. Youcanaccessyourcloudfilesthroughanapporutilitysoftwareinstalledonyourcomputer.Onceit'sinstalled,itusuallyshowsasmallnotificationiconandcreatesyoursyncedfolderstructurethatfitsintoWindowsExplorerorthemacOSFinder.Youcanalsogettothefilesviayourwebbrowser.Ofcourse,youneedaninternetconnectionforittowork,butifyoutemporarilyarewithoutaconnection,that'sokay.Theservicewaitsuntilthenexttimeyoudohaveaconnectionandtakescareofbusinessthen.Foradeeperexplanationofthecloud,see WhatisCloudComputing?Freevs.PaidManycloudstorageserviceshaveafreeaccountthatusuallycomeswithsomelimitations,suchastheamountofstorageorasizelimitonfilesyoucanupload.Wepreferprovidersthatoffersomeleveloffreeservice,evenifyougetonly2GBofstoragespace,ratherthanatime-basedtrialbecauseafreeaccountletsyoufullyintegrateaserviceintoyourlifeforseveralweeks.Duringthattime,yougetafeelforhowitworksandwhatmightgowrongwithyoursetup.Whatcouldpossiblygowrong?Humanerroraccountsforagooddealofcloudstoragetragedies,butthedroppedinternetconnectionisanothercommontroublemaker.Nottomentionthateveryinternetservicesufferstheoccasional outage.Askaround(orjustlookthroughourreviewcomments),andyou'llhearsadstoriesofhowcloudstoragecangowrong.Oneofthebenefitsofpayingforanaccountisthatitusuallycomeswithadditionalsupportfromtheprovider,soifanythingdoesgowrong,someonefromthecompanycanhelpyouresolvetheissue.Therearemanyotherreasonstopayforcloudstorage,fromgettingalotmorespace(aterabytereallydoesn'tcostallthatmuchanymore)tobeingabletouploadhugefiles.Thatlastbenefitisrelevanttographicdesigners,videoeditors,andothervisualartistswhooftenhostenormousfiles.Otherperksofpayingforyourcloudstorageoftenincludeincreasedaccesstofile-versionhistory(meaningyoucanrestoreanimportantbusinessproposaltotheversionyouhadbeforeyourcolleaguemadeabunchoferroneouschanges),moresecurity,andmorefeaturesforcollaborationandteamwork.Outlook:CloudyHere,wehighlightonlythebestcloudstorageservicesamongthosewe'vetested.WhenPCMagteststheseservices,weevaluatetheirfeaturesets,easeofuse,stability,andprice.Thereareothercloudstorageservicesonthemarketthatdidn'tmakethecutforthisarticle,basedonthesecriteria.Clickthereviewlinksbelowformoredetailedinformationoneachofourfavoritecloudstorageandfile-syncingservices. Advertisement CompareSpecsTheBestCloudStorageandFile-SharingServicesfor2021 OurPicks MicrosoftOneDrive SeeIt Free atMicrosoftStore IDrive CheckPrice GoogleDrive SeeIt Startingat$6PerMonth atGoogleWorkspace Dropbox CheckPrice SpiderOakOne CheckPrice Box(Personal) CheckPrice AppleiCloudDrive SeeIt Free atApple.com SugarSync CheckPrice Editors'Rating Editors'Choice 5.0 EditorReview Editors'Choice 4.5 EditorReview Editors'Choice 4.5 EditorReview 4.0 EditorReview 4.0 EditorReview 3.5 EditorReview 3.5 EditorReview 3.0 EditorReview Emphasis OfficeApps Backup Fullservicefilestorage,sharing,syncing,andcollaboration Simplicity,EaseofUse Privacy BusinessUse,Compatibility AppleDeviceUsers Simplicity,EaseofUse FileSizeLimit 15GB 2GB 5TB 2GB Unlimited 5GB 15GB Unlimited FreeStorage 5GB 5GB 15GB 2GB None 10GB 5GB None OnlineEditing FileVersioning WindowsApp iOSApp AndroidApp WheretoBuy Free atMicrosoftStore   $15.90ForFirstYear atIDrive   Startingat$6PerMonth atGoogleWorkspace   $9.99PerMonth atDropbox   FreeTrial atSpiderOak   Free atBox   Free atApple.com   $89.88PerYear atSugarSync   LikeWhatYou'reReading? SignupforLabReporttogetthelatestreviewsandtopproductadvicedeliveredrighttoyourinbox. Email SignUp Thisnewslettermaycontainadvertising,deals,oraffiliatelinks.SubscribingtoanewsletterindicatesyourconsenttoourTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Youmayunsubscribefromthenewslettersatanytime. Thanksforsigningup! Yoursubscriptionhasbeenconfirmed.Keepaneyeonyourinbox! Signupforothernewsletters DigDeeperWithRelatedStories ShadowProtectSPXDesktopReview 4.5 Editors'Choice MicrosoftOneDriveReview 5.0 Editors'Choice HowtoShareFilesandFoldersiniCloudDrive By LanceWhitney HowtoSendLargeFilesOvertheInternet By LanceWhitney PCMagStoriesYou’llLike Editors'Choice AboutMichaelMuchmore MichaelMuchmoreisPCMag'sleadanalystforsoftwareandwebapplications.AnativeNewYorker,hehasatvarioustimesheadedupcoverageofwebdevelopment,enterprisesoftware,anddisplaytechnologies.Michaelcowroteoneofthefirstoverviewsofwebservicesforageneralaudience.BeforethatheworkedonPCMagazine'sSolutionssection,whichcoveredprogrammingtechniquesaswellastipsonusingpopularofficesoftware.HepreviouslycoveredservicesandsoftwareforExtremeTech.com. ReadthelatestfromMichaelMuchmore TheBestVideoEditingSoftwarefor2021 TheBestiPhoneAppsfor2021 TheBestPhotoPrintingServicesforHolidayCardsandGifts TheBestOnlinePhotoPrintingServicesfor2021 TheBestVideoEditingSoftwareforMacsin2021 MorefromMichaelMuchmore CompareSpecsTheBestCloudStorageandFile-SharingServicesfor2021 See2FileSync&BackupDeals TheBestChristmasCloudStorageDealsThisWeek* iDriveSmallBusiness:5TBofCloudBackup $24.88 atIDrive $99.50 Save$74.62 GetDeal DropBoxBusiness:Free30-DayTrial Startingat$12.50PerMonth atDropboxBusiness GetDeal *Dealsareselectedbyourpartner,TechBargains