Cheapest Cloud Storage in 2026: Real Cost per TB, Lifetime Plans Compared

Last verified 4 October 2026. The cheapest cloud storage for most people is Filen: its 2 TiB plan costs €89.99 a year, about €45 per TB, and MEGA's 3 TB plan is cheaper per terabyte, at about €40 a year, if you need that much room. The best lifetime cloud storage is Internxt, which sells 1, 3 and 5 TB for a one-time €380, €580 and €780, but a lifetime plan only pays off if you keep it for roughly four to six years. Below are 12 services ranked on what a terabyte-class plan costs per year, with prices in euros as shown on each vendor's page to a visitor in Germany.

Toolradar data: of the 33 cloud storage tools in our catalog, 4 are completely free and another 17 are freemium. The category also holds object-storage and backup services, so consumer storage plans are only a subset.

Prices are the list prices each vendor showed to European customers on 4 October 2026, in euros unless marked in US dollars. US prices can differ, so confirm the amount at checkout.

Quick Comparison

Our picks: the cheapest cloud storage, ranked

1. Filen

Filen sells 200 GiB for €19.99 a year, 500 GiB for €39.99, 2 TiB for €89.99 and 10 TiB for €399.99, or monthly at €1.99, €3.99, €8.99 and €39.99. Filen counts in GiB and TiB, so each plan holds roughly 7 to 10 percent more than the same number of GB or TB. All plans include unlimited bandwidth and client-side encryption, plans can be stacked on one account, and Filen says taxes and fees are already in the price. The free tier is 10 GiB, there is no minimum commitment, and Filen has removed its lifetime plans for an indefinite period.

Pick it if you want the lowest annual bill at 2 TB with client-side encryption, and you do not need a lifetime option.

2. MEGA

MEGA has the biggest free tier here at 20 GB. Yearly plans run from 200 GB at €3.97 a month after tax (€47.64 a year) to 3 TB at €9.92 a month after tax, which is €119.04 a year, about €40 per TB. The 10 TB plan is €19.83 a month after tax (€237.96 a year), about €24 per TB. MEGA headlines the lower pre-tax price; the figures here are the after-tax amounts a German buyer pays. Monthly billing starts at 3 TB, at €11.89 a month after tax (€9.99 before tax), and its transfer quota drops from 36 TB on yearly billing to 3 TB.

Pick it if you need 3 TB or more and want the best price per terabyte on a normal renewal.

3. Internxt

Internxt is the lifetime-first option. Its pricing page shows 1 TB for a one-time €380, 3 TB for €580 and 5 TB for €780, marked 80% off, against crossed-out prices of €1,900, €2,900 and €3,900. Plans can be stacked up to 100 TB, split into interest-free Klarna installments, and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Free storage is 1 GB. Internxt also sells annual plans, but its page labels the same figures both per month and billed annually, so confirm the billing period at checkout. We leave them out of the math.

Pick it if you will keep the same cloud storage for at least five years and want to pay once.

4. Icedrive

Icedrive sells a 2 TB Pro plan at €59 for the first year, then the crossed-out €99 regular price (4 TB is €89, then €149). Monthly is €9.99 for 2 TB. The lifetime plans are 500 GB for €349 and 2 TB for €599, one time. Icedrive says lifetime suits casual users: it includes 2 sync devices and 14 days of file versions, against 3 devices and 30 days on Pro. Its terms say Icedrive may discontinue any part of the service at any time without liability. Free storage is 10 GB.

Pick it if you want cheap first-year 2 TB now, or lifetime storage for light personal use.

5. pCloud

pCloud sells lifetime plans of 500 GB for €219, 2 TB for €499 and 10 TB for €1,499, shown against crossed-out prices of €279, €709 and €2,799. Yearly plans are €49.99, €99.99 and €299.99 for the same sizes, which puts the 10 TB plan at about €30 per TB; monthly is €4.99, €9.99 and €29.99. pCloud's 2 TB lifetime price equals five years of its own yearly plan, and the money-back window is 14 days. Shared link traffic is capped at 500 GB on the smallest plan and 2 TB on the others. pCloud says it has run for 12 years and offers up to 10 GB free.

Pick it if you want a lifetime plan from a long-established provider, or a 10 TB plan at a low yearly rate.

6. Google One

Google One costs €19.99 a year for 100 GB (€1.99 monthly) and €99.99 a year for 2 TB (€9.99 monthly), about €50 per TB. On Google's page for German visitors, the 2 TB tier is sold as Google AI Plus, so the price includes Gemini features you may not use. A Google account includes 15 GB free, and storage is shared with up to 5 others. Annual billing saves up to 16% against monthly.

Pick it if you already live in Gmail, Drive and Photos and want the cheapest mainstream tier at 100 GB or 2 TB.

7. iCloud+

iCloud+ is billed monthly only, in euros with tax included: 50 GB is €0.99, 200 GB is €2.99, 2 TB is €9.99, 6 TB is €29.99 and 12 TB is €59.99. At 2 TB that is €119.88 a year, about €60 per TB. Every Apple Account starts with 5 GB free. It makes sense mainly for iPhone backups and Photos, not for the lowest price.

Pick it if your devices are Apple and you want storage that works without setup.

8. Dropbox

Dropbox Plus gives 2 TB for €9.99 a month on yearly billing (€119.88 a year) or €11.99 on monthly billing (€143.88), about €60 to €72 per TB. Dropbox's Standard plan, sold for one person or more, starts at 3 TB for €12 a user a month on yearly billing, which is €144 a year or €48 per TB. The Basic free plan is 2 GB, and Plus keeps deleted files for 30 days.

Pick it if you share files with clients and need Dropbox's integrations, not the lowest price.

9. Backblaze B2

Backblaze B2 is object storage, not a sync app, with pricing in US dollars. It starts at $6.95 per TB per month, pay as you go, with no minimum file size or storage duration fees, free egress up to 3 times what you store, and free transactions. That is $83.40 per TB a year, or about $8.34 for 100 GB. You need a client such as a backup tool to use it.

Pick it if you want cheap archive or backup space, you are technical, and your storage needs vary.

10. Koofr

Koofr sells yearly plans only, with prices including 22% VAT: 100 GB at €2 a month (€24 a year), 1 TB at €10 a month (€120), 2.5 TB at €20 (€240) and 5 TB at €35 (€420, about €84 per TB). Free is 10 GB. Koofr's loyalty discount lowers renewals by 5% after one year, 10% after two, 20% after three, 30% after four and 50% after five, on plans from 100 GB up.

Pick it if you plan to stay for years and want renewals to get cheaper, not dearer.

11. Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 sells OneDrive space with the Office apps. Basic is 100 GB for €20 a year (€2 monthly), and Personal is 1 TB for €99 a year (€10 monthly), as shown on Microsoft's Ireland storefront. Family is €129 a year for up to 6 TB, 1 TB for each of up to six people. OneDrive free is 5 GB. As storage alone it is expensive at €99 per TB; with Word and Excel included, it is a different deal.

Pick it if you would pay for Office anyway, or you can fill a Family plan with six people.

12. Proton Drive

Proton Drive is the privacy premium. Drive Plus is 200 GB for €47.88 billed every 12 months (€4.99 monthly). Proton Unlimited is 500 GB plus VPN and Mail for €119.88 a year, and Duo is 2 TB for €179.88 a year for up to two users, about €90 per TB. Free is 5 GB, and every paid plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pick it if end-to-end encryption and a Swiss privacy brand matter more than price.

How to choose cheap cloud storage

Compare at your size, not the headline. The cheapest 100 GB plans cost about €20 a year (Google One, Microsoft 365 Basic and Filen's 200 GiB). At 1 TB, Microsoft 365 is €99 and Koofr is €120. At 2 to 3 TB, Filen, Google One, MEGA and Internxt lifetime are cheapest. See our guides to the best free cloud storage and the best cloud storage for features.

Annual billing saves about 17 to 20%. Dropbox Plus is €9.99 a month on yearly billing against €11.99 monthly. Google One 2 TB is €99.99 a year against €119.88 monthly, and Proton Drive Plus is €47.88 against €59.88.

Read the renewal price. Icedrive charges €59 the first year, then €99. Sync.com sells 1 TB at $72 for the first year (USD), then renews at the regular $144. Koofr is the reverse: its loyalty discount grows each year.

Know what lifetime really buys. In practice, lifetime means for as long as the vendor keeps selling and running the service, not for your own lifetime. Against Microsoft 365's €99 for 1 TB, Internxt's €380 breaks even after about 3.8 years. Against MEGA's €119.04 for 3 TB, Internxt's €580 takes 4.9 years. pCloud's €499 for 2 TB breaks even against its own €99.99 yearly plan after 5 years, and Icedrive's €599 for 2 TB against its own €99 plan after 6.1 years. Filen's decision to stop selling lifetime plans shows that vendors can change the deal.

Check tax and billing currency. Apple, MEGA, Koofr and Filen say how tax is handled. Others do not, so your checkout total may differ.

FAQ

What is the cheapest cloud storage per TB?

On annual billing, MEGA's 3 TB plan is cheapest at about €40 per TB per year after German VAT, followed by Filen's 2 TiB at about €45 and Google One's 2 TB at about €50. Internxt's lifetime 3 TB works out to €38.67 per TB per year if you keep it five years.

What is the best lifetime cloud storage?

Internxt has the lowest lifetime price per terabyte at 1 to 5 TB, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. pCloud is the established alternative, with 500 GB, 2 TB and 10 TB lifetime plans for €219, €499 and €1,499 and a 14-day refund window. Icedrive offers 500 GB and 2 TB, with fewer devices and shorter file history than its subscriptions. Filen no longer sells lifetime plans.

Is lifetime cloud storage worth it?

Only if you will use it for more than four to six years and the vendor survives that long. The break-even against annual plans is roughly 3.8 to 6.1 years in the examples above (pCloud sits at about 5), and Icedrive's terms let it discontinue services at any time.

Is annual or monthly billing cheaper?

Annual, by about 17 to 20% wherever both exist. Dropbox Plus is €119.88 a year against €143.88 monthly, and Google One and pCloud at 2 TB are €99.99 a year against €119.88. iCloud+ is monthly only and Koofr is yearly only.

Is there free cloud storage?

Yes: MEGA gives 20 GB, Google 15 GB, Icedrive and Koofr 10 GB, Filen 10 GiB, iCloud, OneDrive and Proton 5 GB, Dropbox 2 GB and Internxt 1 GB. For Prime members, Amazon Photos adds unlimited full-resolution photo storage plus 5 GB of video.

What does extra Amazon Photos storage cost?

Amazon lists video storage plans in US dollars: 50 GB for $0.99 a month, 100 GB for $1.99, 1 TB for $6.99 and 2 TB for $11.99. It is for photos and videos, not general files.

Bottom line

Choose Filen if you want the cheapest annual bill at 2 TB, or MEGA if you need 3 TB or more and want 20 GB free to start. Pick Internxt only if you are confident you will still be using it in five years. If you already pay for Google, Microsoft or Apple, upgrade inside that ecosystem instead of switching for savings. For most people, the decision is simple: start with Filen's 2 TiB plan and switch to Internxt lifetime after a year if you plan to stay.