Ditch Your iCloud+ Subscription For These 3 Alternatives Users Swear By – BGR

iCloud can be a great file syncing service for iOS and Mac users. However, it’s pretty limited in how much space it gives you, as it only offers 5GB of storage for free. If you need more than that, then you always have the option of upgrading to iCloud+, which offers plans starting as low as $0.99 per month for 50GB of storage and as high as $59.99 a month for 12TB. While that might not sound very bad, especially given that there is a $9.99 plan for 2TB thrown into the mix, too, there are actually some good alternatives out there if you’d rather not go with Apple’s offering.

Before we get started, it is important to note that iCloud+ does come with more than just extra storage as a perk. The subscription can not only be shared with family members, but depending on your plan of choice, it also gives you support for some of Apple’s best privacy features like iCloud Private Relay in Safari, a custom email domain, and support for HomeKit Secure Video. You also get access to Apple Invites, the company’s standalone invitation creation app, and pairing it with an Apple One subscription might be worth it for users who also want other perks like Apple TV+, Apple Music, and more. However, if you’re using iCloud+ purely for storage purposes, then these iCloud+ alternatives are worth checking out instead.

One of the most basic alternatives you’ll find out there is Google Drive. It offers an assortment of storage options for those who want an iCloud+ alternative that is easy to use across any device. This is also a great option for anyone who already has a Google email set up, as it pairs perfectly with your current Gmail account, even if you’ve recently changed your Gmail username.

By default, Google accounts get access to 15GB of free Google Drive storage. This is three times as much as Apple gives you for free, and you can easily scale it up using Google One — Google’s bundle subscription that includes Gemini, premium Google Meet features, and even YouTube Premium in some countries. Pricing for Google One begins as low as $1.99 for 100GB to $249.99 a month with 30TB of storage and access to Google’s ultimate AI plan. However, the pricing for Google One doesn’t exactly make it much cheaper than Apple’s iCloud+ offerings, though Google does offer a 5TB option at $19.99 a month that almost beats out Apple’s $29.99 a month 6TB option. Ultimately, the main reason to go with Google One over iCloud+ is going to be purpose. Users say that choosing Google makes more sense, especially if you want to back up your content, while iCloud+ may be better for those who want to just sync their files across multiple Apple devices.

If you truly want to save money while getting access to some great cloud storage options, then going with an alternative like pCloud might be your best bet. Not only does pCloud offer several decent monthly and annual subscription options, but there are also some solid lifetime plans you may want to look into as well, and it works seamlessly across devices according to user reviews on Trustpilot.

Speaking strictly about monthly plans for a moment, pCloud offers a 500GB plan for $4.99 a month. The company’s 2TB plan is only $9.99, and you can get its Ultra 10TB plan for $29.99 — the same price that Apple charges for 6TB of storage space. However, if you really want to make the most of your money, then you can purchase a lifetime subscription for pCloud, which is why people tend to recommend the service so highly.

These lifetime plans range from 500GB to 10TB, and while they require more money up front, they’ll save you money in the long run, as you can access your pCloud data without ever having to pay for the service again. These plans run from $199 for a lifetime of 500GB to $399 for a lifetime 2TB plan, and finally, a $1,190 one-time payment for a 10TB plan. For a bit of additional context, that one-time payment for 10TB with pCloud would only cover a little more than three years of Apple’s 6TB iCloud+ plan, and that’s assuming the company never raises the price within that time span. You can also take advantage of zero-knowledge encryption with pCloud, though you will need to manually enable it.

If you want to pick a good alternative with robust security, then Mega is a solid alternative that we’ve seen mentioned within the community a number of times, and reviewers on Trustpilot continue to sing the service’s praises. The company has been around for a while, and offers multiple plans, starting with a 3TB storage option that costs $11.52 a month. That’s roughly 1TB more than Apple’s iCloud+ for less than three dollars more. There’s also a 10TB plan for $23.05 a month, and $34.59 a month for 20TB of storage. The important thing to note with Mega is that it processes all charges in euros, due to the company’s processing setup. As such, the prices listed above are rough estimates provided by Mega on its pricing page as of the time of this article’s writing.

One thing that really stands out about this service is all the reviews talking about how good the support service is. Reviewers note that they have encountered issues for one reason or another, and that the support team has always been quick to resolve it and very helpful in walking them through the processes to get things back up and running smoothly. Mega also uses zero-knowledge encryption by default, so you don’t have to remember to turn on any extra settings to enable encryption like you do with iCloud.

When looking for good iCloud+ alternatives, we wanted to focus on options that would pay off in the long run. This meant looking at the amount of storage offered, as well as the pricing, and even what users thought about those storage options in reviews on Trustpilot and Reddit. While many find it difficult to move away from iCloud altogether, there were plenty of people who found using these alternatives worthwhile, as they offer similar services, can sometimes be cheaper in the long run, and don’t lock you into Apple’s ecosystem just to back up your content.