The weight of the cloud giants
In reality, it’s often not really a choice at all, since you’re already using these services elsewhere. For example, simply having a Google account gives you access to 15 GB of storage space. This is used to store your e-mails, Google Docs and other data backed up by Google.
Similarly, some of you have a free 5 GB iCloud or Dropbox account.
These cloud storage services therefore have the advantage of often already being present in the daily lives of their potential customers. As a result, users are often already engaged with these services. Going one step further and entrusting all their personal data is the easiest solution.
But this is a mistake on many levels. This article explains why, and more importantly: which alternative is right for you?
What are the best alternatives to GAFAM and Dropbox?
Before tackling a detailed analysis of the problems with the best-known cloud storage solutions, here’s a summary of the best alternatives.
pCloud: the best general-purpose cloud storage
Why is it a better alternative?
- The best cloud storage according to our online storage comparison.
- Foolproof security.
- Data hosted in your choice of Europe (Switzerland) or USA.
- Swiss service, unaffected by U.S. “Patriot Act” and “Cloud Act” policies.
- Optional personal encryption (unfortunately, a paying option).
- 10-day money-back guarantee.
- 10 GB free trial space.
- Cost-effective one-off lifetime plans for online storage without recurring subscription.
When should you choose pCloud?
pCloud is the default choice for the general public. On the whole, it’s the best online storage solution in terms of security, functionality, price and other key criteria. Lifetime offers (a one-off payment) are very economical over the long term.
kDrive: the cheapest subscriptions and a European service for an alternative to GAFAM
Why is it a better alternative?
- Subscriptions overall half the price of competitors for the same cloud space.
- All service and data based in Europe (Switzerland), and not influenced by US “Patriot Act” and “Cloud Act” policies.
- Well-suited to professionals and businesses.
- 30-day free trial of the entire service.
- Reduced prices based on 1, 2 or 3-year commitment.
When should you choose kDrive?
You’ll choose kDrive if you’re looking for storage exclusively located in Europe (Switzerland) and with very low subscription fees. In fact, kDrive subscriptions are half the price of other online storage solutions! However, unlike Internxt, kDrive doesn’t offer private encryption.
What’s more, kDrive is just one of the many tools offered by Infomaniak, proving to be a genuine alternative to the Google ecosystem of tools (Google Docs, Gmail, etc.), for example. It will be of particular interest to companies looking for a complete suite of tools.
Internxt: Impeccable privacy protection and the best value for money in the long term thanks to its lifetime offers
Why is it a better alternative?
- Excellent security and privacy. Private encryption is included: your data can only be viewed by you.
- 2TB, 5TB and 10TB lifetime offers at very low prices.
- Service and data hosted in Spain, with greater respect for privacy than the USA.
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
Why choose Internxt?
You’ll prefer Internxt if your aim is to protect your privacy at a very low price, but with a slight loss in functionality and ease of use compared to pCloud. All data entrusted to Internxt is end-to-end encrypted. You can store sensitive data without worrying: only you can access it, and even Internxt will have no way of reading your files.
Icedrive : Another alternative
Why is it a better alternative?
- Low prices, especially for lifetime payments.
- Excellent security and privacy (private encryption included).
- 14-day money-back guarantee.
- 10 GB free cloud space.
Why choose Icedrive?
Icedrive is an excellent online storage solution. But its main appeal lies in its lifetime offers, which create tremendous savings over the long term. Indeed, at today’s prices, buying lifetime cloud storage costs less than a 3-year annual subscription. In other words, after just 3 years, online storage becomes “free”!
It is, however, both less feature-rich than pCloud and more expensive than Internxt. So we prefer the latter two.
Why avoid Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, etc.?
Security and privacy
The first issue to mention is data security and privacy. While most cloud giants incorporate satisfactory data encryption, they don’t guarantee the secrecy of your data.
This is a big problem for data that should be confidential, such as your personal or professional data.
In the Google Drive terms of use, for example, it is clearly stated that uploaded content is analyzed. This analysis has several aims: to personalize services with information extracted from your private data, or to detect forbidden content. Several other services use this type of automatic analysis.
Apart from the secrecy of your data, this is also a security issue. If your data is accessible to the storage provider, what happens if the servers are hacked? It wouldn’t be easy for hackers to read the data, because it’s encrypted before being stored. But if hackers gain access to the decryption keys, then it’s a disaster.
The answer to this problem of data confidentiality and security is private encryption. This process encrypts data before it is sent to storage servers, leaving you as the sole owner of the decryption key. The storage provider can’t read your data, because it’s in a format it can’t decipher.
For various reasons, the best-known online storage providers refuse to integrate this principle into their service. The solution is to choose a provider that integrates it directly (like Internxt or Icedrive) or offers it as an option (like pCloud).
American companies’ problem with privacy
The other potential invasion of your privacy when using American companies comes from the country’s politics. In recent years, the USA has amended its legislation with the Patriot Act and the Cloud Act. The result is that American authorities can more easily demand access to data stored by American companies (even if the data is hosted elsewhere than in the USA).
This policy runs counter to the protection of privacy, and it is therefore considered advisable to avoid American companies for storing personal or professional data.
For further explanations, please consult our article on this subject.
Price and long-term savings
Many people think that because the cloud giants are “bigger”, they are able to offer cheaper rates. This is not true.
In reality, alternative solutions often have lower or identical prices.
Let’s take the example of an account with 2TB (2000GB) of storage space, offered by many providers.
in our opinion, pCloud, kDrive and Internxt are excellent alternative online storage solutions. Their offers for such space are cheaper or close to those proposed by Google, OneDrive, Dropbox or iCloud:
- kDrive is €5.54 per month, and around €60 per year. That’s almost half the price of all other cloud storage! What’s more, a 2 or 3-year commitment reduces the price by up to 20%.
- pCloud is €9.99 per month, and around €96 per year (20% cheaper than the monthly subscription).
- Internxt is also €9.99 a month (with frequent promotions), but offers lifetime deals that make it much more economical in the long term.
- Google Drive, iCloud or Dropbox are all around €10 per month, either the same or more expensive.
Free offers
Another untruth is that these better-known services find it easier to be generous with free storage. In reality, there’s no rule.
pCloud, Internxt and Icedrive offer 10 GB of free space, while kDrive provides 15 GB. This is superior to all the cloud giants mentioned above, with the exception of Google Drive, which offers 15 GB.
Conclusion on the shortcomings of Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud
Please note that we’re not saying that all competitors other than GAFAM or Dropbox are good solutions. There are many companies that should be avoided at all costs. But there are also excellent services that are reliable, secure, privacy-friendly and inexpensive.
These are the alternatives we highlight in this article.
The advantages of Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, etc.?
While we believe that data security and confidentiality is an indispensable feature of good online storage, there are not all downsides to using the services of Google, Dropbox, etc. There is one aspect on which the competition has a very strong position.
There is one aspect that the competition will find hard to match: integration with other services.
For example, Google Drive obviously offers unrivalled compatibility with its other tools: Google Docs, Google Photos and so on. The same is true for OneDrive and the Microsoft environment, or iCloud and the Apple environment.
Dropbox, too, has been around long enough for many software applications to have integrated it in one way or another.
What strategy should you adopt when choosing online storage?
Use the right tool for the right job
The fact that the cloud giants have both advantages and disadvantages vis-à-vis their competitors doesn’t make it easy for us to choose.
But we believe that using them can be complementary, at no extra cost. Why not use the services where they are the best, and take advantage of free offers when they are sufficient?
For large-scale, long-term storage and synchronization (a few hundred gigabytes or a few terabytes), we clearly advise you to opt for a paid package from one of the best online storage providers. This will be the safest and most effective approach over the long term.
Free or low-cost offers for occasional needs
In your personal or professional life, you are likely to use the services of the web giants.
For example, you might regularly need the power of Google Docs to draft documents (especially in collaboration with others) or to manage spreadsheets in Google Sheets.
In this case, Google Drive will come in very handy. Fortunately, a few gigabytes of storage space is more than sufficient for such purposes. In most cases, the free offers will suffice.
What’s more, it’s likely that you already have a Google account, in which case you’ll have those few gigabytes! The same applies if you have an icloud email account.
Operating several online storage services is not a problem. At least, as long as you know how to take advantage of them without mixing everything up. In that case, it’ll certainly be a boost to your efficiency!
Summary of the best alternatives
| pCloud. The best general-purpose cloud storage. pCloud is the default choice for the general public. Overall, it’s the best online storage on the main criteria: security, features, price, etc. Lifetime offers (a one-off payment) are very economical over the long term. See pCloud offers and prices | |
| Internxt. Impeccable privacy protection and low prices. You’ll prefer Internxt if your aim is to protect your privacy at a very low rate, but losing slightly in functionality and ease of use compared to pCloud. All Internxt data is end-to-end encrypted. You can store sensitive data without worry, as only you can access it. It’s also the offer that will give you the most savings over the long term, thanks to its particularly affordable lifetime offers. See Internxt offers and prices | |
| kDrive. The cheapest subscriptions and a European service for an alternative to GAFAM. Choose kDrive if you’re looking for storage exclusively located in Europe (Switzerland) and with very low subscription fees. In fact, kDrive subscriptions are half the price of other online storage solutions! But we regret that kDrive doesn’t offer private encryption. See kDrive offers and prices | |
| Icedrive. The most economical in the long term, thanks to its lifetime offer. Icedrive is a great online storage solution. But its main attraction lies in its lifetime offers, which create huge savings over the long term. Indeed, at today’s prices, buying lifetime cloud storage costs less than a 3-year annual subscription. In other words, after just 3 years, online storage becomes “free”! This offer is available for three storage spaces: 100 GB, 1 TB or 5 TB. See Icedrive offers and prices |
