to choose the best provider to satisfy your needs.
Cloud storage makes sure your data is safely stored, backed up, and easily accessible. What makes a cloud storage service better than others is the processing speed and extra layers of security. To make the decision of finding a cloud storage provider easier for you, we put together a list of cloud storage platforms to try out in 2024.
Diversity and inclusion are two terms that often get thrown around but are rarely defined. Let's fix that!
Diversity is the state of being different, while inclusion is the act of including others. You might be saying to yourself, "Well, duh!" But this definition can take many forms: it includes race, gender identity, and expression, age (and other age-related identities), national origin/ancestry, religion/spirituality/beliefs (or lack of), sexual orientation/gender identity and expression (or lack of), body type or ability level – and that list goes on.
Diversity and inclusion also include a diversity of thought. After all, it's impossible to create a diverse workplace if everyone thinks exactly alike.
- Microsoft OneDrive
One of the most popular cloud storage services is none other than Microsoft OneDrive. The best part about it is that it offers free versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. So, OneDrive is the best choice for Office integration. For personal use, OneDrive is great for storing photos and sharing them with your family and friends, helping you at the same time to save on your phone storage.Microsoft OneDive offers 5GB of free storage and there are two types of storage plans: for your home or your business. For home plans start from $20/year for one person and from $100/year for up to six people. For business plans are charged per user and the cheapest alternative is $5/month.Microsoft OneDrive’s Key Features:
- Backing up and high protection
- Easy access from anywhere even when offline
- File sharing and real-time creation in collaboration
- Document scanning
- IDrive
What makes IDrive a great cloud storage service is the generous number of features. IDrive Mini is budget-friendly and is recommended for smaller devices such as your phone, be it iPhone or Android. IDrive BMR offers ransomware protection and recovery solutions. IDrive Express ensures quick backup and data retrieval in less than a week. Also, IDrive doesn’t have a limited number of devices that can be linked to the same account.The best online cloud storage service in terms of prices is IDrive. Without requiring a credit card you can get 10GB for free. For more storage, you can profit from a discount for the first year of using IDrive, so the personal package adds up to $69.65.IDrive’s Key Features:
- Microsoft Office 365 backup
- Google Workspace backup
- Multiple device backup
- Continuous data protection
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- Sync
Without having to worry about transfer fees and running out of storage space, Sync helps you connect with both internal and external partners. Even more so, it works with all apps you might be using. From mobile and desktop apps to Microsoft Office 365, you can open them with Sync. What sets Sync apart is the fact that it’s extremely user-friendly and straightforward. It allows up to five devices to connect to an account and offers storage plans for both individuals and teams. For individuals priced plans start from $8/month and for teams Sync charges by the user starting from $6/month, all billed annually.Sync’s Key Features:
- Secure sharing and collaboration
- Custom-branded client file portal with your company’s logo on display
- Real-time backup
- Instant access from anywhere and anytime
- Google Drive
If you work in Google Docs or Sheets, Google Drive is the right pick for you. It is also extremely popular among students and it’s a great choice since it offers a generous amount of 15GB of free storage. You can collaborate with Microsoft Office, which you might be already using, without having to convert files. In Drive, Google’s search is included, so finding files is incredibly easy.Google Drive has two plans: one for personal use and one for businesses. The personal plan is completely free and the business standard plan costs $12/month for each user and it’s a yearly commitment.Google Drive’s Key Features:
- Protection against malware, spam, and ransomware
- Docs, Sheets, and Slides integration
- Microsoft Office file collaboration without converting them
- Google’s Search and AI technology
- pCloud
Being named the best cloud storage provider of 2021, pCloud is a European cloud storage provider. The servers are highly secured and are located in the European Union. It is suitable for both family and business use and is very easy to use. pCloud offers 10GB of free storage when signing up. In terms of pricing, pCloud offers both lifetime packages and annual subscriptions. The three types of plans available are individual, family, and business. The individual plans start from a $54.70/year price point, the family – $651 for lifetime access, and the business – $8.75/month if billed annually.pCloud’s Key Features:
- Swiss data protection
- Multi-device access
- European Union-located server
- First-class security
- Dropbox
Dropbox is our pick for the best cloud collaboration. It is meant to help you save time and collaborate seamlessly and efficiently. It doesn’t offer free storage and it’s best for professionals or businesses as it includes features such as eSignature. Choosing to pay annually can be beneficial as the monthly prices are lower. For single users, there are two plans: personal – $11/month and professional – $19.69/month. When it comes to businesses the subscription is charged per user and it starts from $17.50/month.Dropbox’s Key Features:
- eSignature templates
- High security – file recovery, password protection, watermarking, and viewer history
- Trackable link sharing
- Capture and Replay for video projects
- Icedrive
With excellent speeds, Icedrive is continuously evolving to come up with new features. Even more than that, Icedrive is extremely affordable especially when picking the two-year subscription plan. If you decide Icedrive is not for you, there is a 14-day money-back guarantee.When getting started, Icedrive provides you with 10GB of free storage and the priced plans start from $3/month if you choose the two-year subscription plan. However, if this is too long for you, you can opt for monthly payments – from $5/month, or yearly payments – $4/month.Icedrive’s Key Features:
- Client-side encryption
- Password protection
- Timeout sharing
- Generous data transfer capacity
- MEGA
MEGA is best for companies as it offers massive amounts of storage. In addition, MEGA takes the cake for the best offer of free cloud storage – 20GB. Besides incredible storage, MEGA prides itself on the highest level of security. Your data is exclusively available to you, not even MEGA can read it.The two available plans – individual and team – have different prices depending on the storage you need. For individuals prices start from $55/year and for teams of a minimum of three members the monthly fee is $16.40. MEGA’s Key Features:
- Easy storage extension
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Non-MEGA user sharing option
- Complete control over your data
- Proton Drive
Proton is a Swiss company that intends to make digital freedom become reality. For this reason, data privacy and complete data control are at the core of Proton Drive. Compared to Big Tech, Proton Drive has the best level of privacy, being at the same time part of a larger ecosystem that puts privacy first.In terms of the price of the offered services, Proton Drive provides 5GB of free storage space. For this type of package, you don’t even need to add a credit card when making the account. For more storage, prices start from $4.40/month with a 30-day money-back guarantee.Proton Drive’s Key Features:
- Swiss privacy
- Open source
- End-to-end encryption
- No ads
- Box
For business cloud storage, Box is a great alternative. One of the main focuses of Box is making business collaboration more efficient and convenient. Still for work-related purposes, Box includes e-signatures in the plan they offer.When done annually, Box customers benefit from a 25% discount. Business plans are meant for a minimum number of three users and the prices start from $14.77/month/user.Box’s Key Features:
- Simplified workflow
- 1,500+ app integrations
- E-signatures
- Advanced security and threat detection