In today’s world, we create a lot of data: images, videos, documents… This data needs to be stored somewhere if you want to access it from all your devices (laptops, phones, tablets, …). To this end, cloud Storage is a safer, cheaper, and much better alternative to physical storage options like hard drives or USB storage devices. It allows you to safely store your data on the cloud, and you can access that data anywhere with just one click.
However, the yearly or monthly subscription models that are offered by cloud storage providers can be discouraging for some users, as it is not very convenient and can become costly in the long term. Fortunately, a few providers also propose lifetime cloud storage, where you only have to pay once for the lifetime usage of cloud storage.
Currently, only two cloud storage providers propose lifetime plans: pCloud and Icedrive. They are both very good online storage services, and their lifetime plans are a great opportunity to acquire some cloud storage for your data, without the need for the recurring payments of monthly or yearly subscriptions.
Summary of Lifetime Cloud Storage Plans
| Plan | Space | Price in € | Price in $ | Price per Gigabyte in € | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icedrive Lite | 150 GB | 89 € | 99 $ | 0.59 €/GB | |
| pCloud Premium | 500 GB | 175 € 300 € with Crypto | 175 $ 300 $ with Crypto | 0.35 €/GB 0.6 €/GB with Crypto | |
| Icedrive Pro | 1 TB | 199 € | 229 $ | 0.20 €/GB | |
| pCloud Premium Plus | 2 TB | 350 € 475 € with Crypto | 350 $ 475 $ with Crypto | 0.17 €/GB 0.23 €/GB with Crypto | |
| pCloud Family (shared between 5 users) | 2 TB | 500 € 625 € with Crypto | 500 $ 625 $ with Crypto | 0.25 €/GB 0.31 €/GB with Crypto | |
| Icedrive Pro+ | 5 TB | 499 € | 599 $ | 0.10 €/GB |
Pros of Lifetime Cloud Storage
- Very inexpensive in the long run (3 to 4 years are enough to make it less expensive than a yearly subscription)
- No need for managing the subscription with the risk of loosing data when forgetting to pay or to change the payment method.
- It is like buying some hard-drive or SSD with the advantages of cloud storage (easier access from any device, easier sharing of files, reduces risks of data loss, theft, failure, …).
Cons of Lifetime Cloud Storage
- Much less choice than subscription-based payments: all cloud storage providers propose some subscriptions, while only pCloud and Icedrive propose lifetime cloud storage. Only pCloud and Icedrive have lifetime cloud storage offers.
- Only saves money if you use it for more than 3 or 4 years.
What is Lifetime Cloud Storage and Why is it Better?
Most cloud storage service providers charge based on the amount of storage that you need and also for how long. For example, Google Drive, MEGA, and Dropbox provide a subscription plan that you have to pay every month or every year. While these options are convenient, you will have to pay continuously to keep your data on these services.
This is a situation where a lot of cloud storage users find themselves these days. But, there are a few cloud storage service providers that are offering a different type of package for cloud storage users. They are offering single-payment lifetime cloud storage, where you only have to pay once for the cloud storage, and you can keep using that storage for a lifetime. It saves you from the hassle of having to pay your service providers every month or year because of the recurring payment.
But most of all, lifetime cloud storage is much less costly in the long run. It should be seen as an investment, much closer to buying a physical storage device, but with all the advantages of cloud storage.
After the first years of using your cloud storage, you will completely save the price of the subscription: your online storage has been fully paid, while as a yearly or monthly subscriber, the payments would continue piling up.
The best advantage of Lifetime cloud storage is their price in the long term: all the lifetime plans that we present in this article cost the same price as only a few years of the same plan with a yearly or monthly subscription.
The Best Lifetime Cloud Storage Providers
There are not a lot of options for lifetime cloud storage, and not all of them offer the same type of quality of services. Some service providers offer better plans and services as compared to others. Below is a list of the best lifetime cloud storage options that provide the best services related to lifetime cloud storage.
pCloud: the Best Cloud Storage Overall
BENEFITS
- Uncompromising security
- Service and data hosted in Europe (Switzerland) or the United States as desired
- Configurable personal encryption
- Satisfied or your money back for 10 days
- Free 10GB of space
- Very economical lifetime plans (one-time payment)
- Fast with a built-in media player
DISADVANTAGES
- pCloud Crypto personal encryption as a paid option
- Collaboration tools to improve
pCloud is one of the pioneers of lifetime cloud storage service providers. They are currently ranked among the top cloud storage service providers. pCloud offers multiple packages, including 500 GB and 2TB cloud storage for a lifetime. The basic package that pCloud offers is only limited to 10 GB, and it is a free package available to every user that registers for their website. The plans offered by the pCloud offer value for your money.
pCloud offers some of the best cloud storage services because it is affordable, requires almost no knowledge of storage operations, encryption, and allows users to play media online. In terms of features, pCloud offers everything a normal cloud storage user could ask for. Security, easy sharing and syncing capabilities, saving photos and videos with the ability to play them online, privacy protection features, everything is here for a low price.
Security and Privacy
About security and privacy, it is important to note a few things:
- pCloud takes security seriously and integrates all the necessary features to reduce the risks of data leaks or data loss (very strong encryption, data replicated on 5 different servers, etc.).
- It is located in Swiss, which has much better privacy protection laws than the United States.
- For protecting the privacy of your data, pCloud also provides a client-side Zero-Knowledge encryption option which is (unfortunately) a paying option at 49.99$ (49.99€) a year or 125$ (125€) for a lifetime use.
Below are further details about the pricing and plans of pCloud.
Pricing and Savings
pCloud offers three packages for lifetime cloud storage users.
- First is a free package that is limited to 10 GB. It is meant for those users who are looking to test the service before buying it.
- The second package offered by the pCloud provides 500 GB lifetime cloud storage and costs $175.
- The third package offered by the pCloud provides 2 TB of cloud storage and costs $350 for a lifetime.
- Family plan of the pCloud provides 2TB storage for the entire family and it costs $500.
Here is the detail of the savings that can be made with the lifetime plans, compared with the yearly subscriptions.
The essential column is “Time with Yearly subscription”. It is the time that is necessary for a yearly subscription to cost the same as the lifetime plan. If you use the service for this long, than you are fully winning compared to a subscription. The following columns Savings after 5 or 10 years show the money you will save by not paying a yearly subscription.
Also, please note that the pCloud Family plan is only available as a lifetime plan, so it cannot be compared with a yearly subscription.
| Plan | Space | Price in € / $ | Equivalent time with Yearly subscription | Savings after 5 years | Savings after 10 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pCloud Premium | 500 GB | 175€ / 175$ 300€ / 300$ with Crypto | 3 years, 6 months 3 years with Crypto | 75€ / 75$ 200€ / 200$ with Crypto | 325€ / 325$ 700€ / 700$ with Crypto | |
| pCloud Premium Plus | 2 TB | 350€ / 350$ 475€ / 475$ with Crypto | 3 years, 6 months 3 years, 2 months with Crypto | 150€ / 150$ 275€ / 275$ with Crypto | 650€ / 650$ 1025€ / 1025$ with Crypto |
pCloud Family Plan
The Family Lifetime plan deserves a little more attention, as it is different from the other cloud storage plans. Indeed, this one is more expensive, but its goal is to share the 2 TB storage space with up to 4 other users (5 users in total).
Each user can have a part of this cloud storage and use it as a private, personal space. As the main user, of course, you can manage how much storage space each user obtains.
This is great of course within a family, but it can be used also in other contexts (group of friends, small company, etc).
Free plan and Money-back guarantee
If you pay for the lifetime plan and realize it is not what you want for any reason, pCloud offers a money-back guarantee for 10 days. You can ask for a refund during the 10 days that follow your payment.
If you need to test pCloud, you should also know that there is a free 10 GB plan.
IceDrive: a Close Concurrent to pCloud with some Pros and Cons
BENEFITS
- Very low prices, especially in lifetime payment
- Very good security and privacy (private encryption included)
- Satisfied or your money back for 14 days
- 10 GB of free cloud space
DISADVANTAGES
- A few missing features compared to pCloud
IceDrive is another option for those who are looking for a lifetime cloud storage option. It is also one of the best cloud storage service providers in the world. It offers multiple packages to cater to the needs of users from different walks of life. IceDrive is second best only to pCloud and offers the best value-added services for your money. It is also one of the most trusted and most secure platforms for data storage as IceDrive offers encry<ption services.
This means all of your data will be encrypted after being uploaded to the cloud. This will protect your data from cyber-attacks. IceDrive also offers multiple plans, and these plans are more affordable as compared to pCloud. But it lacks some of the features that pCloud offers. Below are further details about the IceDrive packages, pros, and cons that you need to know before making an informed decision.
Pricing and Savings
- The free plan provides 10 GB storage with a maximum bandwidth limit of 3 GB.
- Lite plan costs $99 for a lifetime and offers 150 GB cloud storage with a 250 GB bandwidth limit.
- Pro plan costs $229 for a lifetime of 1000 GB cloud storage with 2 TB bandwidth.
- Pro+ plan costs $599 for a lifetime of 5000 GB cloud storage with 8 TB bandwidth.
View Icedrive prices and offers
As for pCloud, the essential column below is “Equivalent time with Yearly subscription”. It is the time that is necessary for a yearly subscription to cost the same as the lifetime plan. If you use the service for this long, than you are fully winning compared to a subscription. The following columns Savings after 5 or 10 years show the money you will save by not paying a yearly subscription.
It is interesting to note that the time needed to pay off the lifetime plan is different regarding the country you come for (or more precisely, the currency you use). Payments in US Dollars require more time to start really saving money (up to 5 years).
| Plan | Space | Price in € / $ / £ | Equivalent time with Yearly subscription | Savings after 5 years | Savings after 10 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icedrive Lite | 150 GB | 89 € 99 $ 79 £ | 4 years in € 5 years in $ 4 years, 5 months in £ | 21€ 1$ 11$ | 131€ 101$ 101£ | |
| Icedrive Pro | 1 TB | 199 € 229 $ 179 £ | 4 years in € 4 years, 7 months in $ 4 years, 6 months in £ | 51€ 20$ 21£ | 301€ 270$ 221£ | |
| Icedrive Pro+ | 5 TB | 499 € 599 $ 479 £ | 2 years, 9 months in € 3 years, 4 months in $ 2 years, 10 months in £ | 401€ 301$ 371£ | 1301€ 1201$ 1221£ |
Also, the time needed to save money differs from one plan to another. The 5 TB plan (Icedrive Pro+) is much more interesting: only 2 years and 9 months (for payments in Euros) are enough to start saving money compared to a yearly subscription! As a consequence, after only 5 years of using this lifetime cloud storage rather than a yearly subscription, one would save 400€ or 300$ or 370£ (depending on the currency).
Free plan and Money-back guarantee
Similarly to pCloud, Icedrive also offers a money-back guarantee. The refund period is even longer than the one from pCloud since you have 14 days to ask for a refund after your payment.
There is also a free 10 GB online storage space.
What Lifetime Cloud Storage Should You Choose?
Currently, pCloud and IceDrive are only two main lifetime cloud storage services providers. pCloud is offering lifetime cloud storage that is faster and has slightly more features as compared to Icedrive. Icedrive cloud storage services are also secure, and more affordable if you plan to take pCloud with its pCloud Crypto option. Icedrive also covers more storage options, from 150 GB to 5 TB (pCloud only delivers 500 GB and 2 TB plans).
Both services have user-friendly interfaces and are be well-adapted to new cloud storage users as well as more advanced ones.
If you are interested in buying a lifetime cloud storage, there are two questions to ask:
- How much cloud storage space do you need?
- What are the differences in features between pCloud and Icedrive?
pCloud vs Icedrive for lifetime storage: storage space
It is nice that pCloud and Icedrive do not propose the same storage spaces. Indeed pCloud proposes only 500 GB or 2 TB, while Icedrive proposes 150 GB, 1 TB or 5 TB.
So if you have specific needs in terms of storage space, the choice should be easy:
- If you need a very small storage space, then the 150 GB plan from Icedrive should be enough. Be careful though, as it is a long term investment, maybe 150 GB is enough today, but will become too small for your needs in a few years. You should think of how you want to use your online storage space now and in the next few years.
- If, on the contrary, you want a very large space, then the 5 TB storage space from Icedrive is the one to go.
- Then if you have some intermediary needs, then you have a lot of different options to choose from. For a better choice, however, you should take into consideration that the space you buy should still be large enough in a few years, so that you can fully enjoy it in the future too.
pCloud vs Icedrive: security and privacy
pCloud and Icedrive have great security and privacy-preserving features. For instance, they both propose some private end-to-end encryption for your files. . More precisely, you can have a folder where everything you put will be privately encrypted before they leave your devices. It means that nobody except you will be able to read the files you put there. Even pCloud or Icedrive could not have access to your data if they wanted to, as the encryption key is private and you are the only one who knows it. This zero-knowledge feature is essential to protect your files from data breaches but also to protect your privacy from the cloud provider itself.
But there is a huge difference between pCloud and Icedrive on this feature: while it is free with Icedrive plans, this is a paying option with pCloud!
With pCloud, this feature called pCloud Crypto is available at 4.99 euros per month, 49.99 euros per year, or as a lifetime plan for 125 euros.
This feature, if you plan to use it, changes the final price of the cloud storage, so you might want to take this into account.
In terms of security, it is also important to notice that both providers are not based in the United States. pCloud is based in Swiss and Icedrive is located in the United Kingdom (Wales). This is a huge advantage, as the policies regarding companies storing private data does not protect your documents at all in the United States. This is becoming a problem with US companies, especially in Europe where data is not considered safe anymore when they are stored in the US (which is the case with Google, Dropbox, Amazon, …). For more details, you can read our article on the Cloud Act and Patriot Act.
pCloud vs Icedrive: other needs
Other differences can encourage you to use one provider over the other. Here is a list of differences that could be of interest:
- pCloud has a slightly more complete set of features. While it is not very different for a basic usage, it can make a difference for you if you have specific requirements. For this reason, pCloud is usually a safer choice if you are not sure.
- pCloud interface and website is available in multiple languages, while Icedrive is for now only in English.
- pCloud integrates “Block Level Sync”, which means that when you modify a file, only the part that has been changed is uploaded to the servers. Block Level Sync allows faster synching of large files when you work on them.
How to Save Money with Lifetime Cloud Storage?
The price of lifetime cloud storage can appear too high at first sight. However, it is easy with a few calculations to show that it is not, once compared with monthly or yearly subscriptions.
As a quick example, let’s take the example of the 2 TB storage plan from pCloud. It is currently proposed at the price of 350€, and it seems to be a lot. However, 350€ is only 3 and a half years of the yearly subscription for the same cloud storage (at 99.99€ per year)!
But with a subscription you will continue to pay year after year, so the cumulated cost of your cloud storage space will become much higher than this 350 euros single-payment. For instance, after only 5 years of using your pCloud lifetime storage, you will have saved 150€. And each additional year will mean an additional 100€ saved!
As you see, lifetime cloud storage is an investment that does not need decades to pay off.
The following table shows precisely, for each lifetime cloud storage available with pCloud or Icedrive, the time needed to save money, and how much money it saves after a few years.
| Plan | Space | Price | Equivalent time with Yearly subscription | Savings after 5 years | Savings after 10 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pCloud Premium | 500 GB | 175€ / 175$ 300€ / 300$ with Crypto | 3 years, 6 months 3 years with Crypto | 75€ / 75$ 200€ / 200$ with Crypto | 325€ / 325$ 700€ / 700$ with Crypto | |
| pCloud Premium Plus | 2 TB | 350€ / 350$ 475€ / 475$ with Crypto | 3 years, 6 months 3 years, 2 months with Crypto | 150€ / 150$ 275€ / 275$ with Crypto | 650€ / 650$ 1025€ / 1025$ with Crypto | |
| Icedrive Lite | 150 GB | 89 € 99 $ 79 £ | 4 years in € 5 years in $ 4 years, 5 months in £ | 21€ 1$ 11$ | 131€ 101$ 101£ | |
| Icedrive Pro | 1 TB | 199 € 229 $ 179 £ | 4 years in € 4 years, 7 months in $ 4 years, 6 months in £ | 51€ 20$ 21£ | 301€ 270$ 221£ | |
| Icedrive Pro+ | 5 TB | 499 € 599 $ 479 £ | 2 years, 9 months in € 3 years, 4 months in $ 2 years, 10 months in £ | 401€ 301$ 371£ | 1301€ 1201$ 1221£ |
Why are lifetime plans so cheap?
This is a legitimate question. Why would pCloud and Icedrive propose such low prices for lifetime plans? What do they have to win? The answer to that question is quite simple: they acquire customers.
Cloud storage is a very competitive market, and it is very difficult for newcomers to find a place where the competitors are as big as Google, Apple, Dropbox, Amazon, etc. Even when the service is better, safer and cheaper (which is the case with pCloud and Icedrive), it is extremely difficult to get customers to try the product.
So, in addition to all the other features they propose, lifetime cloud storage is a great and innovative way to acquire customers who want to save money in the long term, or simply don’t like to subscribe with recurring payments.
For instance, it allowed pCloud, created in 2016, to acquire a lot of new customers, so that now pCloud is a solid company and one of the important elements in the cloud storage market.
But it is also important to notice that these offers might disappear if pCloud or Icedrive believe that lifetime plans are not profitable anymore, they will likely become more expensive.
Actually, this is more than likely, as both pCloud and Icedrive clearly state that the current prices of their lifetime cloud storage are not their real prices, but their price under a promotion.
So for example, on pCloud website, prices of the lifetime storage are 65% off compared to their real prices:
- The 500 GB lifetime storage currently costs 175 euros instead of 500 euros.
- The 2 TB lifetime plan currently costs 350 euros instead of 980 euros.
For Icedrive the current reductions are around 33%, which is still a very good deal:
- 89 euros instead of 134 euros for the 150 GB space.
- 199 euros instead of 299 euros for the 1 TB space.
- 499 euros instead of 749 euros for the 5 TB space.
Are not pCloud or Icedrive going to disappear with my data in a few years?
This is another legitimate question that arises when speaking about lifetime cloud storage. Can you be sure that the service you buy “for a lifetime” will not disappear in a few years? Actually, the lifetime term is more likely to refer to the lifetime of the service provider rather than your lifetime.
It is not possible to answer this question with 100% certainty of course, but we can have a look at some hints that can help us make a decision.
pCloud and Icedrive are serious companies
First of all, we should take into account the fact that both pCloud and Icedrive are quality-oriented companies that aim at staying in the market of cloud storage. Their Trustpilot scores are excellent (4.4 for pCloud, 4.2 for Icedrive). In comparison, the score of Dropbox is far worse (1.5).
Actually, pCloud has been in the cloud storage market since 2013 and has chosen to provide a great service at an interesting price to build a large customer base. They have succeeded (they currently have 14 million users), we can consider that pCloud has proven that it is a very solid company.
Icedrive is much younger, but it seems to try to follow the same strategy as pCloud (the fact that Icedrive also provides lifetime cloud storage is a good example).
How long should the cloud storage last to be worth it?
You should see your lifetime cloud storage as an investment that makes you save money after a few years. As we detailed above, it is easy to calculate how long your lifetime cloud storage should last to be worth it. For most pCloud and Icedrive plans, they start to pay off after only 3 to 5 years and then they allow the customer to save a lot of money (basically, the whole cost of the yearly subscription is saved every year).
Having this fact in mind allows considering things more easily: even if the cloud storage does not last for decades, it will probably help you save a lot of money for several years, which is what should be aimed here.
What If You Still Prefer a Subscription-Based Cloud Storage?
If you are not convinced that lifetime storage is a good fit for you, you can still use pCloud with its subscription plans, as it is also the best overall cloud storage regardless of the type of payment.
To find alternatives to lifetime cloud storage, please read our complete comparison of the best cloud storage providers.
If you are looking for the cheapest (but still good) cloud storage provider with a subscription, then you should take into consideration kDrive (see our review here). In addition to being a very good cloud storage provider, it also has very low prices for its monthly or yearly subscriptions. Simply said, its price is twice cheaper than all its competitors!
What is Cloud Storage and Why Should You Use it?
In simple words, Cloud storage is a type of storage where your data is uploaded to the cloud (internet servers) and is stored there. You can access your data from anywhere in the world using your cloud storage account. Cloud storage eliminates your need of carrying hard disks, USBs, and other storage devices. All you have to do is to buy a subscription from a cloud storage service provider, upload your data. It is cheaper, and more effective because it allows you to store your data permanently.
You will no longer have to worry about your outdated storage hardware or spend any money on upgrading your storage devices. Apart from that, it is also easy to access cloud storage from any part of the world. All you need is the internet, and you can just log in to your cloud storage account, and access your data. It provides better safety because the cloud storage service providers store your data on multiple servers. So, if one server ever fails, you will not lose a single byte of your data because it will also be stored on the backup servers.
Other aspects that cloud storage facilitates are synchronizing data between your devices (computers, phones, etc.) and sharing documents with other other people, regardless of the size or number of shared files.
For all of these reasons, online storage is an incredibly convenient solution for data storage.
Conclusion
If you are looking for cloud storage options, you should consider buying lifetime cloud storage. This is because they offer multiple advantages that you will not see in normal subscription-based cloud storage.
For example, you will get the same cloud storage benefits, but will not have to do recurring payments. Also, you will not have to worry about your data because it is stored safely using AES level encryptions. pCloud and Icedrive are the two main players in this space. Both offer similar services, but the pCloud offers more features and that is why it is most recommended for lifetime cloud storage.
Here is the summary of all the lifetime cloud storage plans provided by pCloud or Icedrive, sorted by ascending storage space:
| Plan | Space | Price in € | Price in $ | Price per Gigabyte in € | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icedrive Lite | 150 GB | 89 € | 99 $ | 0.59 €/GB | |
| pCloud Premium | 500 GB | 175 € 300 € with Crypto | 175 $ 300 $ with Crypto | 0.35 €/GB 0.6 €/GB with Crypto | |
| Icedrive Pro | 1 TB | 199 € | 229 $ | 0.20 €/GB | |
| pCloud Premium Plus | 2 TB | 350 € 475 € with Crypto | 350 $ 475 $ with Crypto | 0.17 €/GB 0.23 €/GB with Crypto | |
| pCloud Family (shared between 5 users) | 2 TB | 500 € 625 € with Crypto | 500 $ 625 $ with Crypto | 0.25 €/GB 0.31 €/GB with Crypto | |
| Icedrive Pro+ | 5 TB | 499 € | 599 $ | 0.10 €/GB |
