Cloud storage still costs a lot of money: $14 per month for 2TB storage has become the standard with all major services like iCloud, Google One, and OneDrive. And our need for more of it is ever-increasing. From backing up data, sharing hour-long Zoom sessions, to just RAW video files, uncompressed video files or CAD documents can easily run north of 10GB — and we’re talking per-file here.
If you’re on the lookout for a cheap (or even free) way to share large files over the internet, we have outlined some of the best options out there, depending on your storage size.
Microsoft 365 Family: 6TB storage, split six ways
Microsoft’s policy of stuffing every possible value-added service into a single plan really works for them. This is why Microsoft 365 is so popular with businesses. A single plan gives you access to the entire Office suite and Microsoft Teams, shared with multiple users.
The $US99 (A$136) per year Microsoft 365 Family plan actually comes with 6TB of storage space, split across 6 accounts, and you can find plans at discount for around $US90 (A$124).
Yes, to get the entire 6TB storage space, you’ll need to use six different accounts. But that might just be worth the trouble.
iDrive: 5/10TB personal storage for the price of 1TB
iDrive is a popular choice when it comes to large data backups. But they also have a personal cloud storage plan that offers a large amount of storage space for a reasonable rate.
iDrive is not a pure cloud storage solution — it’s a device backup service first that has file sharing and collaboration features, as well. Think of it like Dropbox but more focused on device backups, rather than data syncing. While iDrive does provide end-to-end encryption, it needs to be enabled by the user. And if you forget your encryption key, you’ll lose access to all your files.
Still, you can use iDrive to upload data from your computer, and you can share it with others. The 5TB plan will cost you $US59 ($81) for the first year. There’s also a 10TB plan for $US75 (A$103) for the first year.
TeleDrive: Free, unlimited cloud storage via Telegram
Telegram, the popular private messaging service, comes with an unlimited cloud storage feature. And it has an API that lets Telegram apps do the same. So TeleDrive put two and two together and created a simple dashboard that lets you upload and share unlimited files across the internet.
The free plan is limited to 1.5GB per day, and 2GB max download and upload, but you can remove those limits by paying $US10 (A$14) per year.
The only issue is that this service is reliant on Telegram’s APIs. If they disappear, so does TeleDrive.
pCloud: Own cloud storage for your lifetime
pCloud is another secure cloud backup provider that has two things going for it. The first is that it offers 10GB of storage space for free — this is way more than its competitors. Second, it offers real, lifetime cloud storage. This is a good choice for users who don’t like paying a monthly fee.
At the time of writing, you can get 500GB space for $US175 (A$241) and 2TB storage space for $US350 (A$481). pCloud also has annual plans, but at $US99 (A$136) per month for 2TB storage space, it’s not something we would recommend (you can get a Google One or iCloud+ plans for the same rate).
Icedrive: A lot of storage, but privacy first
Icedrive is a cloud backup service that prioritises privacy and security. You not only get twofish encryption, but there’s also client-side encryption, as well. You generate the key on the device, and it never touches Icedrive servers. This means no one — not even Icedrive — can access your data.
They also have reasonably priced plans for large storage. You get 10GB of storage space for free, and the 5TB plan costs $US15 (A$21) per month. It’s not as cheap as iDrive, but if you care about security, it’s a price worth paying.
Mega: Take 20GB for free, and 8TB for cheap
Mega is a cloud storage and data-sharing website that’s always been controversial (because of how easy it is to use for sharing pirated data). But over the past couple of years, Mega has grown up. While we wouldn’t recommend you use it as a primary backup solution, it’s actually a pretty good way for sharing large files over the internet for free (and cheap).
Mega is the only cloud storage site on this list that gives you a whopping 20GB of storage space for free. And if you do decide to pay, you get 8TB storage space for around $US22 (A$30) per month or 16TB for $US34 (A$47) per month. That’s a lot of storage space for not a lot of money.
WeTransfer: Free, but short-lived data transfer
WeTransfer is known as a popular data-sharing service, but not exactly a cloud storage tool. It’s quite simple: You can upload files up to 2GB, and generate a link that will last for seven days, no strings attached. You can create as many links like this as you want. So if you want to share multiple large files, and you don’t care that they’ll be deleted in a week, WeTransfer is a reliable, secure option.
Their $US12 (A$17) per month plan will let you send files up to 200GB, and you get 1TB of personal storage. That’s not exactly cheap, so we wouldn’t recommend you go for the WeTransfer Pro plan. Just use the free service when needed.
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