File Storage · alternatives
Alternatives to pCloud
23 file storage tools sit alongside pCloud in this directory. Below is what separates each from pCloud on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 23
- With a free tier
- 10
- Cheaper to start
- 13
- pCloud starts at
- $199/one-time
Why people look past pCloud
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the pCloud entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
pCloud starts at $199/one-time. Across the 13 file storage tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $5/month.
There is no free tier
The record for pCloud carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 10 of the 23 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Modern data protection for enterprise workloads
- Can be used without paying; pCloud cannot.
- Starts $51 a year dearer, at $250/year.
Complete backup solution with built-in ransomware protection
- Sold on a subscription model rather than one-time.
Simple and reliable cloud backup for businesses
- Starts $193 a month cheaper, at $6/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than one-time.
- 1 tier to pCloud's 3.
Unlimited cloud backup at an affordable price
- Starts $190 a month cheaper, at $9/month.
- 2 tiers to pCloud's 3.
Google's consumer cloud storage app, sharing the same 15GB quota as Gmail and Google Photos
- Can be used without paying; pCloud cannot.
- Sold on a Free tier plus paid storage add-on model rather than one-time.
Low cost S3-compatible object storage with egress included up to a multiple of what you store
- Can be used without paying; pCloud cannot.
- Starts $195 a month cheaper, at $4/month.
- Sold on a Per terabyte per month model rather than one-time.
- 2 tiers to pCloud's 3.
Every pCloud alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pCloud (this page) | $199/one-time | One-time | 3 | |
| Veeam Backup & ReplicationModern data protection for enterprise workloads | Free, then $250/year | - | - | vs pCloud |
| Barracuda BackupComplete backup solution with built-in ransomware protection | On request | Subscription | - | vs pCloud |
| CarboniteSimple and reliable cloud backup for businesses | $6/month | Subscription | 1 | vs pCloud |
| BackblazeUnlimited cloud backup at an affordable price | $9/month | - | 2 | vs pCloud |
| Google Drive | Free | Free tier plus paid storage add-on | 3 | vs pCloud |
| IDrive e2 | Free, then $4/month | Per terabyte per month | 2 | vs pCloud |
| Cloudflare R2 | Free, then $0.015/month | Per gigabyte stored per month | 3 | vs pCloud |
| Ceph | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs pCloud |
| MinIO | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs pCloud |
| Storj | Free, then $4/month | Per terabyte per month | 2 | vs pCloud |
| Tigris | Free, then $0.004/GB/month | Usage-based tiered storage with per-request fees | 4 | vs pCloud |
| Box | Free, then $5/month | Subscription | 4 | vs pCloud |
| Nextcloud | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs pCloud |
| LucidLink | $7/month | Per member per month plus storage | 3 | vs pCloud |
| VAST Data | On request | Quote | 1 | vs pCloud |
| Panzura | On request | Quote | 1 | vs pCloud |
| Scality RING | On request | Quote | 2 | vs pCloud |
| Cloudian | On request | Quote | 1 | vs pCloud |
| Nasuni | On request | Quote | 1 | vs pCloud |
| Veritas NetBackup | $100/month | Subscription | 1 | vs pCloud |
| Zerto | $5/month | Subscription | 1 | vs pCloud |
| Microsoft OneDrive | $1.99/month | Subscription | 4 | vs pCloud |
| IDrive | $2.5/month | Subscription | 7 | vs pCloud |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the pCloud badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (10)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Veeam Backup & Replication , Free, then $250/year
- Google Drive , Free
- IDrive e2 , Free, then $4/month
- Cloudflare R2 , Free, then $0.015/month
- Ceph , Free
- MinIO , Free
- Storj , Free, then $4/month
- Tigris , Free, then $0.004/GB/month
Cheaper than pCloud (13)
Entry price under pCloud's $199/one-time. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
What you would be giving up
pCloud is most often brought in for long-term cloud storage with no monthly fees, file archival and backup, secure file sharing with encryption. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If pCloud is broadly right and the question is cost, the pCloud pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the File Storage category lists everything the directory holds, and best file storage tools ranks them.
pCloud runs on not recorded. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about pCloud alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to pCloud?
- 23 other file storage tools are listed in this directory, led by Veeam Backup & Replication, Barracuda Backup, Carbonite, Backblaze. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to pCloud?
- 10 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Veeam Backup & Replication, Google Drive, IDrive e2, Cloudflare R2, Ceph.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to pCloud?
- Yes. 13 of the alternatives below start under pCloud's $199/one-time: Carbonite at $6/month, Backblaze at $9/month, IDrive e2 at Free, then $4/month, Cloudflare R2 at Free, then $0.015/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to pCloud?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from pCloud?
- pCloud is most often brought in for long-term cloud storage with no monthly fees, file archival and backup, secure file sharing with encryption. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to pCloud?
- None of the file storage tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these pCloud alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, File Storage, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare pCloud against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against pCloud covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every file storage tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the File Storage category, 23 tools beside pCloud. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.