Are you tired of running out of disk space and looking for a secure, easy-to-use cloud
storage platform?
Well, I am too.
So, if you find one, let me know.
Haha!
I was just kidding.
I have all the 411 you’ll need to help you choose the Best Cloud Storage for Personal
Use.
So, if you stick and stay with me for the next 10 minutes, I promise I’ll make it
worth your time.
Hello, I’m jason ...and I’m .
It isn’t your turn to introduce yourself yet.
So, chill.
In today’s video, I’ll be ranking 5 of the hottest platforms according to the following
categories: finest features, best security, and the most affordable prices.
So, be sure to watch to the very end.
In the meantime, you can get jaw-dropping discounts on some of the products in this
video if you sign up with the links in the description box.
Note that these offers are only exclusive to Cyber Lab viewers.
: Can we get to the video already?
Today’s gonna be a long one.
Let’s set the ball rolling with pricing.
Which of these platforms has the most affordable price?
The first up is Sync.
Sync delivers incredible cloud storage features at great prices.
You get a free 5 GB storage capacity when you sign up, which isn’t bad if you’re
just storing small-sized files.
However, bigger files require bigger storage capacities, so you’ll need to upgrade to
the paid plans.
The Basic plan is $8 per month but billed $96 annually.
It features 2 TB of storage space and comes with Advanced Sharing options such as restrictions
on downloads and link expiry.
If that doesn’t suit you, you can opt for the professional plan, which costs $24 a month
or $240 a year, and enjoy 6 TB of storage space.
It showcases all the features in the Basic plan plus you get to customize your account
with your own brand, which is great for professionals.
Affordable prices if you ask me, but about pCloud?
pCloud’s pricing structure is slightly different from Sync.
On pcloud, you only get an increase in storage capacities and shared link traffic when you
upgrade to its premium plans.
Aside from that, you can access most of its features on both the free and paid plans.
The Free Plan comes with a storage capacity of 3 GB, which you can increase to 10 GB by
asking others to sign up with your unique link.
Its paid plans come in two options: Premium and Premium Plus.
The Premium goes for $49.99 and features 500 GB of storage capacity alongside 500 GB of
shared link traffic.
While…
While the Premium Plus…
What is it, Vert?
: Are we going to pretend everyone knows what shared link traffic is?
Shared link traffic is simply the traffic generated when you send or receive a link.
So, each month, you can share up to 500 GB of traffic under the Premium plan.
If you exceed it, then you’d have to wait for the next month or upgrade your subscription.
Do you get it now?
: Sure thing.
Meanwhile, the Premium Plus plan comes with 2 TB of storage space and 2TB of shared link
traffic and costs $99 per year.
Remember, you get to enjoy almost the same features, which we’ll come to later in this
video.
But for now, let’s join the Google Drive price train.
All aboard!
Google Drive’s Free plan has 15 GB of storage capacity, which is the biggest on this list.
However, the available storage capacities on its paid plans are not too impressive.
The Basic Plan costs $19.99 and has 100 GB of storage capacity.
The Standard plan goes for $29.99 a year and comes with 200 GB of storage.
As a plus, you get to add up to 5 members of your family.
The last plan, Premium, costs $99.99, comes with 2 TB of storage space, and allows up
to 6 family members.
But I wouldn’t spend much money on the paid plans if my files were in small sizes because
there’s little difference between the paid plans.
As you can see, all of them have similar features.
The major difference is bigger storage capacities and getting a percentage of your money back
in the Google Store.
So, if you don’t need a bigger space, just roll with the Basic, and you’ll be fine.
And this brings me to my next platform, Dropbox.
Unlike Google Drive and pCloud, Dropbox offers more features based on the plan you subscribe
to.
Thus, the more you pay, the more features you enjoy.
Its Free Plan showcases 2 GB of storage space with restricted sharing, limited collaboration,
and few security features.
Plus, it allows you to use it on up to 3 devices.
But with the Paid Plan, you get 2 TB of storage capacity with access to files across an unlimited
number of devices and the option to remotely wipe your files when your PC is lost or stolen.
Plus, you can even edit your files offline and recover corrupted data, all for $99.9
a year.
Impressed already?
Wait till you hear the price of the last one, OneDrive.
Just like Dropbox, OneDrive offers more features on its paid plans.
If you sign up you enjoy 5 GB of storage capacity and a free email on its Free Plan.
To get the full Microsoft Office 365 suite you have to sign up for the Personal plan
which costs $7.99 a month.
It comes with 2 TB of storage space and Advanced Sharing features.
So, which platform takes the “Most Affordable” crown?
Well, I’ll go with Google Drive because it features the biggest storage capacity on
a Free Plan and its paid plans are affordable.
But most importantly, you get similar features no matter the plan you subscribe to.
Plus, it has some of the best features on the market, which we’ll discuss later in
this video.
If you’ve made it this far, then it means you’re enjoying the review.
So, leave a like and a comment.
We’ll appreciate it a lot.
Now, let’s compare the security features of the cloud storage platforms to determine
which one provides maximum security.
All the platforms employ similar security measures to keep your files and data safe.
They use the Transport Security Layer encryption protocol to protect the files when they’re
in transit to the cloud.
Once they are there, the platforms secure them with AES 256-bit encryption.
Each platform allows you to secure your account with Two-factor authentication, and you can
restore lost files with their respective file recovery features.
However, here’s where they differ.
While platforms like Sync Cloud and pCloud provide client-side encryption, Google Drive,
Dropbox, and OneDrive don’t.
Do you care to explain client-side encryption?
Because I have my own theory.
You do?
Alright, let’s hear it.
: Ok.
If encryption means protecting data by converting intelligible words into codes and “client”
represents the user’s device, then client-side encryption should mean encoding user data
on the client side before it leaves the device to the server.
Excellent, .
In addition, the user is the only one with the keys to decrypt the files.
Thus, no one, not even the company, can see what is stored in your files on the cloud,
giving you maximum protection.
So, back to the video.
pCloud provides client-side encryption through Crypto Pass, which is only available as a
paid feature.
Sync Cloud provides client-side encryption for both its free and paid plans.
Though OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox don’t provide client-side encryption, you
can use third-party apps such as Cryptomator to encrypt your files.
So, the most secure personal cloud storage award goes to pCloud.
Wait a minute.
I was thinking the award would go to Sync Cloud for providing client-side encryption
on both the free and paid plans.
True.
But I crowned pCloud because client-side encryption has its pitfalls, which pCloud has expertly
circumvented.
Client-side encryption can slow down the speed of data transfer due to the processing power
it consumes.
Plus, it prevents you from previewing files, which can be a bit annoying.
However, pCloud avoids this by allowing you to choose the files you want to encrypt and
leave the rest unencrypted.
This allows you to have both encrypted and unencrypted files in the same account.
This way, the data transfer speed isn’t affected, plus you don’t have to preview
encrypted files because you already remember what’s there.
Hmm…makes sense.
Thanks, Vert.
So, can we proceed?
Sure
Now that we’ve crowned the most secure platform, let’s see who wins the Best Features category.
Interestingly, all 5 platforms in this video have certain features in common like file-sharing,
which allows you to set a password to a file before sharing it.
This way, even if the document lands in the wrong hands, they won’t be able to access
the contents, preserving its confidentiality.
Then, there are the automatic file backup and syncing features, which store your files
on the cloud.
Talking about storage, pCloud, OneDrive, and Dropbox have their unique ways of storing
files using block-level syncing.
:Block level syncing?
Erm…how do I explain this?
Ok.
Let’s say you have a huge file stored on the cloud that you just edited.
With traditional syncing, the entire file would be reuploaded after editing, which is
time and bandwidth-consuming even if you made changes to a few sentences.
However, with block-level syncing, only the part you edited would be reuploaded, saving
time and bandwidth.
: Hmmm….interesting.
Unfortunately, Google Drive doesn’t support block-level sync, and neither does Sync Cloud,
but this won’t matter if you’re dealing with smaller files or are on a faster internet
connection.
The 5 platforms also have file versioning features that allow you to view older versions
of files and revert to them if you need to.
A great way to save time and energy.
Another feature they have in common is granular permissions, which allows you to set who can
view only, comment, or make edits to a file.
All the platforms have desktop and mobile apps for easy accessibility, and they support
most operating systems, including Windows, Android, iOS, and MacOS.
However, Linux is a special case.
Google Drive, OneDrive, and Sync Cloud don’t support Linux except through third parties
such as Insync and Rclone.
pCloud and Dropbox support Linux, but only if you download their desktop apps.
Though all the platforms have collaboration features, Google Drive stands out for me.
And this is why.
Its video chat feature is second to none, at least compared to the platforms on my list.
The feature allows you to chat face-to-face with a collaborator right on the document
you both are working on.
This way you can both see the edits and suggestions and real time and discuss challenges as well.
This feature saves time, allowing you and your team to be on the same page.
So, Google Drive is the winner for me in this category.
But which of these features caught your attention?
Let me know in the comments section.
The Best Cloud Storage for individuals would ultimately depend on personal preferences.
For instance, Google Drive is budget-friendly and pCloud is your best option for security.
So, click on the link in the description for an 85% discount on all pCloud’s premium
plans.
And if you're interested in lifetime cloud storage solutions then check out our next
video Best Lifetime Cloud Storage.'See you there.
Thanks for watching.