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File Storage · head to head

LucidLink vs pCloud

LucidLink logo

LucidLink

File Storage

Cloud filesystem that streams large media files on demand instead of syncing them

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
pCloud logo

pCloud

File Storage

Prices are final. No setup fees or other hidden charges

From
$199/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: LucidLink additional storage at $7 to $8 per 100GB per month is roughly three to four times raw S3 pricing, so teams with large cold archives pay a heavy premium for data they rarely touch.; pCloud ultra plan has 10TB storage but only 2TB transfer traffic, creating asymmetry
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LucidLink and pCloud actually diverge.

Attributes where LucidLink and pCloud differ
AttributeLucidLinkpCloud
Starting price$7/month$199/one-time
Pricing modelPer member per month plus storageone-time
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, Linux, iOSWeb

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in LucidLink

  • Filespaces
  • On-demand streaming
  • Client-side encryption
  • Customer-managed keys
  • Bring your own storage
  • Snapshots

Only in pCloud

Nothing recorded that LucidLink does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

LucidLink

  • A post house with editors in three countries cutting from one shared 4K rush library without shipping drivesnot pCloud
  • A broadcaster giving freelancers access to a project for a fortnight without provisioning VPN and a NAS mountnot pCloud
  • A game studio sharing multi-gigabyte asset builds where syncing every file to every workstation is impracticalnot pCloud
  • An architecture practice opening large point cloud and BIM files from a laptop on a hotel connectionnot pCloud

pCloud

  • Long-term cloud storage with no monthly feesnot LucidLink
  • File archival and backupnot LucidLink
  • Secure file sharing with encryptionnot LucidLink

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

LucidLink

  • Additional storage at $7 to $8 per 100GB per month is roughly three to four times raw S3 pricing, so teams with large cold archives pay a heavy premium for data they rarely touch.
  • Included storage is pooled per member, so adding a seat is also how you buy capacity, and teams with a few heavy users and many light ones buy seats purely for the gigabytes.
  • Performance is bounded by the network link and local cache size, so a workstation with a small cache on a poor connection performs far worse than the demonstrations suggest.
  • Small-file and metadata-heavy workloads such as code repositories, node modules trees or build outputs perform badly, so it is not a general-purpose file server replacement.
  • Customer-managed keys and bring your own storage are Enterprise-tier options, so organisations that cannot let a vendor hold their keys cannot use the published pricing at all.

pCloud

  • Ultra plan has 10TB storage but only 2TB transfer traffic, creating asymmetry
  • Download traffic limited to plan tier; no unlimited transfer option

Pricing, plan by plan

LucidLink

$7/month
  • Starter$7/month
    • 100GB included per member, pooled across the team
    • Additional storage $7 per 100GB per month
    • Client-side encryption
  • Business$32/month
    • $27 per member per month billed annually
    • 400GB included per member, pooled across the team
    • Additional storage $8 per 100GB per month
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom pricing and storage terms
    • Customer-managed encryption keys
    • Bring your own object storage bucket

pCloud

$199/one-time
  • Premium 500GB$199/one-time
    • 500GB storage
    • 500GB transfer traffic
    • unlimited file uploads
  • Premium Plus 2TB$399/one-time
    • 2TB storage
    • 2TB transfer traffic
    • unlimited file uploads
  • Ultra 10TB$1190/one-time
    • 10TB storage
    • 2TB transfer traffic
    • unlimited file uploads

Which should you pick?

Choose LucidLink if

  • You need filespaces.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS.
  • You also want on-demand streaming.
LucidLink review

Choose pCloud if

Nothing in the data separates pCloud from LucidLink on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

pCloud review

Questions people ask

Is LucidLink or pCloud better?
Neither clearly leads. LucidLink starts at $7/month and pCloud at $199/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LucidLink or pCloud?
LucidLink starts at $7/month and pCloud at $199/one-time.
Does LucidLink or pCloud run on more platforms?
LucidLink runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS. pCloud runs on Web.
What is LucidLink best used for?
LucidLink is most often used for a post house with editors in three countries cutting from one shared 4k rush library without shipping drives, a broadcaster giving freelancers access to a project for a fortnight without provisioning vpn and a nas mount, a game studio sharing multi-gigabyte asset builds where syncing every file to every workstation is impractical, an architecture practice opening large point cloud and bim files from a laptop on a hotel connection. Of those, a post house with editors in three countries cutting from one shared 4k rush library without shipping drives and a broadcaster giving freelancers access to a project for a fortnight without provisioning vpn and a nas mount are not what pCloud is typically brought in for.
What can LucidLink do that pCloud cannot?
LucidLink covers Filespaces, On-demand streaming, Client-side encryption, Customer-managed keys.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LucidLink: What does storage actually cost?

$7 per 100GB per month on Starter and $8 per 100GB per month on Business, above the pooled allowance. Model this separately from the seat cost.

pCloud: Can I recover deleted files?

Yes, you can restore previous versions and recover data from up to 30 days ago.

Source
LucidLink: Can we hold our own encryption keys?

On the Enterprise tier, yes, along with pointing the filespace at your own S3 or Azure bucket. Not on Starter or Business.

pCloud: What is the difference between lifetime and monthly pricing?

Lifetime plans are one-time purchases ($199-$1,190). Monthly options are also available but exact monthly prices are not specified on the pricing page.

Source
LucidLink: Does it work for source code?

Not well. It is built for large sequential reads. Many small files is the workload it handles worst.

pCloud: Is there a money-back guarantee?

Yes, pCloud offers a 14-day money-back guarantee with 256-bit SSL encryption protecting payments.

Source
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