Last updated: 22 August 2026
Online storage is useful and convenient as it meets several needs:
- Synchronise your data across multiple devices, such as a computer, tablet, or phone.
- Protect your most important files in case something happens to your computer (breakdown, theft, etc.).
- Share files easily with others.
If you only have a limited amount of files to store this way, a free storage space can be a very good solution. Most online storage services indeed offer a free plan of a few Gigabytes.
It is an interesting solution, but it should not be forgotten that the aim of all these services is to convince you to opt for a paid plan. It is important to take this into account when choosing a free online storage space.
Quick ranking: the table highlights the free space; in detail, pCloud remains our overall recommendation (versatility, Lifetime), while kDrive is very interesting if you want a generous European cloud with free storage (15 GB Drive in my kSuite). We rank Icedrive after pCloud and kDrive: decent for free, but less competitive today.
Comparison of the best free online storage
The aim here is not to be exhaustive, but rather to list the strengths and weaknesses of the main market players, to help you make a choice.
More comprehensive lists often contain issues: offers change over time, many services with very attractive free spaces have today disappeared or are likely to disappear quickly. We have chosen to build a list of services that we believe are both the most interesting, the most stable, and the most reliable in the long term.
Online storage providers are not ranked solely by the amount of free storage, but also by taking into account the quality of service. This is why, for example, Box ranks very low despite its 10 GB of free space (its file size limit of 250MB is far too restrictive).
| Service | Free space | Highlights | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| pCloud Try · Reviews | 10 GB + invitations (variable amount) | Best overall balance; Lifetime when paying | Limited collaboration |
| kDrive Try · Reviews | 15 GB kDrive (my kSuite; 35 GB = full suite) | European cloud; very competitive paid subscriptions | No private encryption |
| Google Drive Try | 15 GB (shared Gmail/Drive/Photos) | Google collaboration; ecosystem | Privacy; no private encryption |
| Sync.com Try | 5 GB | Private encryption included | Only 5 GB; interface in English |
| Icedrive Try | 10 GB | Private encryption (paid); decent trial | Less comprehensive; no more Lifetime |
| Mega Try | ~20 GB (check current conditions) | Private encryption | Free offer sometimes confusing; reliability to monitor |
| Box | 10 GB | Professional orientation | Files limited to 250 MB |
| OneDrive / iCloud | 5 GB | Microsoft / Apple integration | Low space; no private encryption |
| Dropbox | 2 GB | Reliable sync | Very limited; expensive when paying |
Try kDrive (15 GB in my kSuite)
How to choose a free online storage?
The amount of free storage space
When looking for free cloud storage, the first criterion sought is naturally the amount of online storage available.
But remember that this is not the only criterion and you should think twice before simply choosing the largest storage.
For example, Box offers 10 GB of free storage, above the average of its competitors. However, the fact that it imposes a maximum file size limit of 250 MB is a significant drawback for us, and Box is therefore logically ranked poorly in our comparison.
The quality of online storage and its features
The quality of the storage service must also be taken into account. Here, it is the features offered that should be considered.
This section is also about preferences. For example, pCloud is an excellent service, very comprehensive in all the important areas of online storage. However, it has a weakness in a specific aspect of collaborative work: it is difficult for two people to work on the same file at the same time.
Thus, if your goal is backup or file sharing for example, then pCloud is the best option. On the other hand, if your primary aim is collaborative work, then Google Drive may be better for you.
The paid rates for online storage
You may find it strange to consider this criterion if you are only looking for free online storage space.
And yet, it is an important criterion and many forget it. The primary goal of a company offering free storage space is to attract future customers. These companies bet on the fact that many users will then switch to paid plans.
You may be thinking that you will never be interested in purchasing a paid storage space, or that if that happens, you will do a new search to find the best paid online storage.
But in reality, it’s not that simple and cloud storage providers know it well:
- When your free online storage space is filled with files (and this will likely happen sooner than expected!), you will quickly get tired of sorting through your files. For many of us, this is when the option to pay for online storage becomes feasible (and rarely regretted, by the way).
- When you decide to switch to a paid online storage plan, it is quite rare to change companies at that moment, for several reasons:
- It is often a more or less urgent situation: you need more space quickly, it is not the time to explore options elsewhere.
- If you are satisfied with your free online storage service, you will probably not take the risk of paying for another service that you haven’t tested and that you don’t know if it will suit you.
The reputation and sustainability of the service
One element not to be taken lightly when choosing a free online storage service is its reputation. Indeed, online storage is a highly competitive market and many companies have had to throw in the towel in recent years. In this case, users too often lose the data stored with the chosen company and bitterly regret the initial choice.
Even some large companies have thrown in the towel on online storage. This is the case with OVH, one of the largest web hosting companies. The French company had launched an ambitious cloud storage service called hubiC, which unfortunately had to admit defeat in 2017. The service is still usable today (but has many issues) by former users, but registrations are closed and its development is completely abandoned.
It should be noted that hubiC was very attractive in its early days (notably with a free storage space of 25 GB) and was backed by a huge company. This is clear evidence of the difficulty of establishing oneself in the cloud storage market and the importance of paying attention to the sustainability of the service over time, even for a free service.
This is also why we only consider in this article the offers that seem to us to be both reliable and sustainable. Indeed, even for a free storage space, it would be unfortunate to lose all the stored data due to the company’s bankruptcy.
Limitations of the free version
Many online storage providers offer a free version whose features are not equivalent to the paid version. Some features are limited or unavailable.
An example is Box, whose free version limits the size of synced files to 250MB. Unfortunately, this limitation is too large, making the 10GB free offer difficult to use in practice.
Sometimes, the limitations do not prevent normal use of the service. For example, with pCloud’s free online storage of 10GB, file versions and files in the trash are kept for 15 days instead of 30 days in the paid version.
The best free online storage
1. pCloud: our general recommendation
pCloud is currently a pillar of online storage. Although less used than its larger competitors like Google, which greatly benefit from their omnipresence in users’ lives to establish themselves, pCloud has positioned itself as a better alternative.
On the issue of service reliability and durability, no problem. pCloud is now a profitable and solid company whose base of over 9 million users is constantly growing.
From a functional point of view, pCloud has a very comprehensive and pleasant feature set, with intuitive interfaces across all platforms: Windows, MacOs, Linux for computers and Android and iOS for mobile devices.
It is suitable for storing all types of data, with no limit on file size. It also contains all the necessary tools to process and easily access all multimedia data: audio files, videos, photos, etc.
Invite friends to earn extra space
Following the principle that made Dropbox famous in its early days, pCloud offers an invitation system. The initial free space is often 10 GB; invitations can add more depending on current conditions. Check the details in your pCloud account rather than aiming for a fixed total.
Backups from Google Drive, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
To facilitate the transition to pCloud, the online storage has a file backup system from other services. You can easily back up all the files from your Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive account to transfer them to your pCloud account.
This feature goes even further, as it will also allow you to back up your data from your Facebook and Instagram accounts. This backup can be very useful in case of a problem with one of these accounts (hacking or otherwise).
Online file sharing
For file sharing, pCloud is richer than most of its competitors. A few aspects are particularly appreciated compared to the competition:
- A real sharing link dashboard: you can view the statistics of views or downloads on each of your shared files.
- Upload link. Increasingly useful, with this link the recipient can drop files into your personal space, even if they do not have a pCloud account. You can set an expiration date for the link as well as a size limit for the shared space if you wish.
- Customising a sharing link. This involves modifying the visual appearance of the sharing page that your recipients will see. Instead of seeing a standard pCloud sharing page, they will see a page in your colours, with a personalised header, a logo or a profile picture, etc. This is very useful in a professional context, for example. Note the following limitation: in the free version, only one sharing link can be customised in this way.
Simultaneous work on a file
The weakness of pCloud, however, is that it is not ideal for collaborative work on a file. The problem is that it is difficult for two people to work on the same file at the same time. This is the point where Google Drive is preferable, with its tools like Google Docs.
The most cost-effective paid plans on the market
Even if you are currently looking for free online storage, it is useful to know that pCloud is by far the most cost-effective paid online storage on the market.
Indeed, its monthly or annual subscriptions for the 500 GB or 2 TB plans are among the cheapest on the market.
But above all, pCloud offers very cost-effective lifetime online storage plans in the long term. If you don’t like the idea of subscriptions that are expensive over time, then the lifetime plans are surely made for you.
In our comprehensive analysis of lifetime offers, we calculated that purchasing pCloud’s Lifetime offers of 500GB or 2TB is recouped in just 3 to 4 years. After this period, it represents a gross saving of around €48 / year for the 500GB space, and €96 / year for the 2TB space compared to an annual subscription!
View pCloud pricing and lifetime plans
2. kDrive: the best free European
kDrive by Infomaniak offers 15 GB of Drive storage in the free my kSuite plan (the announced “35 GB” also includes email and other apps, not just Drive).
Today, it is one of the most interesting free options if you want a cloud hosted in Europe (Infomaniak, Switzerland) without going through the GAFAM. The paid Solo subscriptions (3 TB from £4.99/month) remain among the cheapest on the market.
On the other hand, kDrive does not yet offer global private encryption: for maximum confidentiality, consider pCloud (Crypto) or Sync.com / Internxt.
Try kDrive (15 GB in my kSuite)
3. Google Drive: GAFAM collaboration
Google Drive is very well known as it is Google’s online storage service. As soon as you step into the Google ecosystem by creating an account and a Gmail address, you have access to its free online storage space of 15 GB.
The free storage space is generous with its 15 GB. However, it is not expandable for free, unlike pCloud which often starts at 10 GB and can gain space through invitations (variable amount).
Features of Google Drive
Functionally, Google Drive is a good cloud storage space, but it is overall less feature-rich than pCloud. It indeed has fewer sharing and syncing options.
However, there is one area where Google Drive is clearly the best: collaborative work through access to all of Google’s services.
With tools like Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Photos and others, the Google ecosystem is already well established in the daily lives of many users around the world. Google Drive integrates well with this as all files created by these tools are actually on your free Google Drive account.
The editing of a file by multiple people simultaneously works better than with pCloud, making Google Drive superior if your goal is collaborative work.
Privacy
Google is known for posing privacy issues. The documents stored on their servers (emails, photos, and other documents) can be accessed by Google. This has been the case in the past, particularly in order to present personalised advertisements to users.
Even the paid version of Google Drive does not offer private encryption options to ensure the confidentiality of the data stored there. This is a major drawback compared to safer competitors in this regard, such as pCloud (with a paid option), Sync.com, or Mega for example.
If your goal is file storage to access it from other devices, to serve as a backup, or to share your multimedia files with others, then pCloud is our favourite. Google Drive should be preferred if you particularly need Google’s tools, or if your aim is collaborative work.
5. Icedrive: secondary option
Icedrive remains usable with 10 GB free and private encryption on paid plans. However, we rank it after pCloud and kDrive: less comprehensive, more Lifetime options, and alternatives (pCloud, Internxt) are currently more appealing if you switch to paid.
6. Mega: to be verified before relying on it
Mega has long been known for its very generous free space. Today, the basic free space is around 20 GB, but promotional conditions often change, and the terms evolve. It is best to check the current offer on Mega at the time of signing up.
To check: the Mega site may highlight a high free volume, part of which often depends on actions or a limited duration. Only rely on the immediate and non-expiring space for sustainable use. Private encryption remains an asset, but it is not the main criterion for choosing a reliable free cloud.
Regarding paid plans, Mega has recently significantly lowered its prices and is therefore becoming much more interesting, aiming to reach the top of the market, alongside pCloud and Sync.com in particular. However, these two competitors still remain ahead in the paid version:
- pCloud if you are looking for affordable long-term online storage (especially with the lifetime online storage offers) and easy to use.
- Sync.com if security and privacy protection is your main goal. Like Mega, Sync.com has private encryption by default that ensures the confidentiality of your files. But Sync.com is cheaper for its 3 TB offer which is about the same annual price (120$ per year) as Mega’s 2 TB.
Our verdict: which free cloud to choose?
- Best overall choice: pCloud (10 GB, versatility, good paid suite / Lifetime).
- Best free European: kDrive (15 GB Drive in my kSuite).
- Google collaboration: Google Drive (15 GB shared, low privacy).
- Privacy: Sync.com (5 GB, private encryption included).
- Icedrive / Mega: fine for testing, but not our priorities in 2026.
To go further: cheap cloud storage, lifetime offers, our Internxt review and why to avoid GAFAM.
