"What are some secure and reliable cloud storage services I can use to back up my data?"

One user asks.

Data storage was never as simple as it is today, thanks to cloud storage and its amazing capabilities for data storage and automatic backup. Yet this online data-storage service does not come for free.

To help you find the perfect free cloud storage for your backups, we've put together a comprehensive guide featuring the best free cloud storage options available today. We'll also discuss Todo Backup, a professional backup tool that simplifies the backup process for you.

Read on to learn more!

Where can I get free cloud storage?

There are plenty of free cloud storage services available on the market, but if you want to truly keep your files private, you should choose only the best. To help you make up your mind, we've put together a list of the top free cloud storage providers for this post.

However, before we discuss how to get free cloud storage, it's important to understand what cloud storage is and why you might need it. Let's find out.

What is cloud storage?

Cloud storage is a highly useful service that enables you to store data online instead of keeping it on your computer's local hard drive. An internet connection is required to upload, edit, and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, music, images, videos, and other files with others. Online storage service providers do not save any data on your computer's hard drive.

Best Free Cloud Storage Services for Backup

Here is a list of the top free cloud storage programs and services, along with their latest download links. From this list of open source (free) cloud backup options, you can learn how to get free cloud storage. Browse through and pick the one that best suits your needs.

MEGA stands for "Maximum Encryption Global Access," meaning "maximum encrypted global access." It could also refer to "Megaupload," a large file hosting website that was shut down, or "Mega.nz," a similar service that was established afterward, offering cloud storage and file sharing. In the given context, MEGA could refer to any of these services.

With its incredibly generous free plan, MEGA is our top choice for cloud storage services. It gives you an impressive 20GB of free, uncapped storage, more than any other high-quality service on this list (and we're all about quality here). You can even boost your storage limit by completing MEGA's so-called "achievements."

Features:

    • It offers 20 GB of free storage.
    • Chats and files are encrypted with a key.
    • Mega supports file and folder syncing.
    • You can download up to 1 GB of data every 6 hours.

Advantages

    • Lots of storage space.
    • Offers shared public folders.
    • Available on mobile and desktop devices with apps.
    • Has a modern and clean interface.

Drawbacks

    • Downloading the file can take a long time.
    • There might be bandwidth restrictions.
    • Your storage space might shrink if you don't complete the achievement.

Price

MEGA offers four plans in total: three basic ones and one pro plan.

Base scenario

The Pro Lite plan: New users can get this for €4.99 per month, with 400 GB of storage and a 1 TB transfer allowance.

Option I: At €9.99 per month, it offers great value with 2 TB of storage and 2 TB of transfer allowance.

Pro II: For €19.99 per month, you get 8 TB of storage and 8 TB of transfers.

Profession

Pro III: An enchanting plan offering an astonishing 26TB of storage and 16TB of transfer, equipped with advanced cloud storage features. This incredible plan can be yours for just €29.99 per month.

2. Working Drive

For modern teams, small businesses, and enterprises, Zoho WorkDrive is the best online file storage, sync, and collaboration service. It comes with team folders that let teams of any size collaborate securely, as if they're sitting right next to you.

Plus, you get editor access for the Zoho Office Suite, along with comprehensive usage stats at the team and team folder levels. WorkDrive caters to your mobility needs with desktop sync clients, mobile apps for Android and iOS, and a web-based mobile app.

Features

    • Supports real-time collaboration with team members.
    • Accessible from tablets and smartphones.
    • It's the preferred choice for enterprise cloud storage due to its customizable reporting.
    • File management and storage are user-friendly.

Advantages

    • Fair pricing.
    • Responsive customer service.
    • User-friendly interface.
    • Advanced features.

Drawbacks

    • Limited integration with other systems.
    • Slight delay in content syncing when collaborating in real time across Sheets.

Price

It offers a 15-day free trial and has three pricing plans.

    • The Starter Pack includes a 1 GB file upload limit for $2 per month and 1 TB of storage per team.
    • The Team plan offers a 5 GB upload limit for $4 per month and 3 TB of storage per team.
    • Zoho WorkDrive's Business plan is popular, providing a 50 GB upload limit for just $9 per month and 5 TB of storage per team.

3. Google Drive

It would be madness not to include Google Drive on a list of the best free online cloud storage services. With its seamless integration with Google Docs and a generous 15GB storage allowance for free users, it's one of the best free cloud services out there.

Features:

    • Create free spreadsheets, slideshows, and documents.
    • Supports real-time collaboration.
    • You can create forms to help with surveys.
    • Integrates with thousands of third-party apps, including chart tools, Gantt charts, and mind mapping tools.
    • Available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.

Advantages

    • User-friendly web interface.
    • File sharing and collaboration capabilities.
    • Generous amount of free storage offered.
    • Available as both desktop and mobile applications.

Disadvantages

    • Storage shared with other Google services.
    • A simple desktop sync client.

Price

The first 15 GB are free. Its plans, as shown in the table, are priced as follows. It also offers unlimited storage in its business version, Google Drive for Work.

Storage Space Price
100GB $1.99 per month
200GB $2.99 per month
2TB $9.99 per month
10TB $99.99 per month
20TB $199.99 per month
30TB $299.99 per month

4. Koofr is an online storage and file management service that simplifies the organization and handling of users' digital files. It offers cloud storage space, enabling users to upload, share, and access their files from any device. Koofr also integrates features such as file synchronization, backup, and collaboration capabilities, making file management more efficient.

Koofr is a small cloud storage company from Slovenia, which recently increased its free tier. You can now get 10 GB for free, with no achievements or referral programs to increase that. As Koofr is based in the EU, all its users are protected by the GDPR, and it scores highly on security and privacy.

Features:

    • This free online storage solution offers automatic backup for your phone.
    • Synchronize data with your computer.
    • There are no restrictions on file types or size. You can upload any files you want to keep safe.
    • It's one of the most impressive free cloud services out there for backing up your phone's photos and videos.

Advantages:

    • User-friendly.
    • Secure and GDPR-compliant web, desktop, and mobile apps.
    • Compatibility with Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox.
    • Excellent sharing capabilities and integration with Microsoft Office 365.

Disadvantages:

  • No block-level synchronization.
  • No zero-knowledge encryption.

Price:

Koofr offers 10 GB of free storage and has the following three pricing plans:

    The Briefcase comes in two flavors: Small, at €0.50 per month for 10 GB of cloud storage; and Medium, at €1 per month for 25 GB. The Trunk has three tiers: Large, at €2 per month for 100 GB; XL, at €4 per month for 2,590 GB; and XXL, at €19 per month for 1 TB. The Cargo offers XXXL, at €20 per month for 2.5 TB; 10XXL, at €60 per month for 10 TB; and 20XXL, at €120 per month for 20 TB.

5. Icedrive

Newcomer Icedrive has already made it to the top tier of providers and offers new users 10GB of free storage. As we mentioned in our Icedrive review, it also boasts excellent security and privacy features, a sleek and simple user interface, and lifetime storage plans. It's also one of the fastest cloud storage solutions on the market.

Features:

    • It is the only cloud storage service that supports Twofish encryption. Client-side encryption ensures that no one can access your data.
    • You can store up to 10 GB of files for free.
    • Synchronization doesn't take long. Thanks to IceDrive's one-click mounting feature.
    • Icedrive offers a user-friendly interface to manage your files.
    • You can stream media from your cloud storage and easily share it with others.

Advantages

    • Practical computer and mobile app.
    • Saves previous versions of your files.

Drawbacks

    • Advanced sharing and encryption features aren't free.
    • There's a 3 GB daily bandwidth limit.

Price

Icedrive offers several plans to suit your needs, with a maximum of 10GB of free storage.

    • Monthly plans: Lite (US$1.67 per month, 150 GB storage) and Pro (US$1.67 per month, unlimited storage). Pro (US$4.17 per month, 1 TB storage). Pro+ (US$15 per month, 5 TB storage).
    • Annual plans: These include Lite (US$19.99 per year, 150 GB storage). Pro (US$49.99 per year, 1 TB storage). Pro+ (US$179.99 per year, 5 TB storage).
    • Lifetime plans come in two types: Lite (a one-time payment of £49, 150 GB storage) and Pro (a one-time fee of £99, unlimited storage). Pro (a one-time payment of £119 for 1 TB of storage). Pro+ (a one-time payment of £399 for 5 TB of storage).

6. Synchronization

If you're not interested in Icedrive, you should consider our seventh pick, Sync.com. Sync.com provides up to 5GB of cloud storage space, which should be enough to give it a try, but once you do, you'll find it hard to resist the urge to upgrade to 200GB or 2TB of storage. It's also one of the best cloud storage options for handling large amounts of data, seeing as it has no file size limits.

Features

    When you sign up for Sync, you get 5 GB of free cloud storage. You can upload multiple files at once through the web interface and desktop and mobile apps, similar to some other services on this list. You can create shared folders that others can access, and share any file or folder with anyone, whether or not they use Sync. You can also store files in the Vault folder to prevent them from syncing to your other devices, which is handy if you want to archive some content online without using it elsewhere.

Advantages

    Earn more free space by completing missions. Upload folders through the website. Collaborate with team folders. Share files with password protection.

Disadvantages

    • Lacks features for large files like video.
    • No way to pause web uploads.
    • Sleek and simple site with all the basics.

Price

Sync offers three team pricing options.

    • Team Standard (USD 5 per user per month).
    • Team Unlimited (USD 15 per user per month).
    • Enterprise pricing tier (contact for quote).

Those prices are for annual billing. Sync.com also offers plans for individuals, starting at $8 per month. It has a free starter plan with basic features that remains free forever.

OneDrive is a cloud storage service provided by Microsoft, letting users store and sync their personal files, photos, and documents. In Chinese, it's often called "onedrive" or "云端硬盘."

We've already discussed Google Drive and Microsoft's cloud storage options, and OneDrive fits right in with them. It combines cloud storage with Microsoft's Office, Outlook services, and the Windows operating system. However, OneDrive is a standalone service with features worth highlighting.

Features:

    • Scan business cards, receipts, whiteboard notes, and other paper documents with your phone to save them to OneDrive.
    • Set expiration dates for shared files, images, and links for security.
    • Supports file uploads up to 15 GB in size.
    • One of the top enterprise-grade cloud storage solutions with robust business features.

Advantages:

    1. Use Microsoft Office Online.
    2. Supports multiple file upload options.
    3. Control sharing permissions for your files.
    4. Unlimited access to superior storage space.

Disadvantages

    Less storage space

Price

    * The basic version of OneDrive comes with 5 GB of storage for free. A standalone tier with 100 GB costs $1.99 per month. * For individuals, OneDrive offers two premium options: Microsoft 365 Personal (1 TB for $5.99 per month) and Microsoft 365 Family (6 TB for $7.99 per month). * Both plans include access to Microsoft 365 tools such as Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word.

We've covered all the major free cloud storage options, and MEGA is the most generous with its unlimited 20GB of storage. However, it still lacks some of the features you might want from a cloud storage service.

But don't worry, in the next section, we'll introduce you to an excellent cloud backup tool that offers up to 250GB of free cloud space and more perks. Let's find out!

Additional Tip: A Good Cloud Backup Tool – Todo Backup

This is where Todo Backup, a renowned cloud backup software, comes into play. This impressive tool boasts unique and additional features that perfectly address all your backup and recovery needs. Packed with valuable functionalities, it offers up to 250GB of free cloud storage space and an enticing backup system. The main features of Todo Backup include:

Main features of Yi Backup

Here are some of its key features.

    Here are the translations of the features in English: 1. **Massive File Recovery and Backup:** Offers efficient instant recovery and one-click backup, making it easy to restore and back up all your files. 2. **Multi-Path Backup Storage:** Adheres to the [3-2-1 Backup Rule](/knowledge-center/3-2-1-backup-rule.html). Backup files can be stored on external hard drives, cloud storage, or network drives. 3. **Generous Cloud Storage Space:** tools Todo Backup provides users with up to 250GB of cloud storage space. 4. **Bootable Backup & Recovery:** Create a WinPE bootable disk in just three simple steps for backup and recovery capabilities. 5. **Basic Backup Scheduling:** Set up daily, weekly, or monthly backup schedules to automate the process and alleviate the stress of forgetting to perform backups. 6. **Password-Protected Encrypted Backups:** Encrypt backup files for an extra layer of data security. Tools Todo Backup respects user privacy and emphasizes data confidentiality.

You can use this intelligent tool to back up your data by following these steps:

**Step 1:** When you first use Todo Backup to back up files, click "Create Backup" on the main interface, then click the big question mark to **select what to backup**.

Backup files Step 1

**Step 2.** Since you're planning to back up files and folders from your computer, go ahead and choose the “Files” backup mode, from where you can pick and choose images, videos, documents, and all sorts of other file types to back up.

3. Navigate to the files, folders, or directories you wish to back up along the pathway, select them, and click “OK.”

Backup file, step 3

**Step 4:** You'll now need to choose a location to save and keep the backup.

Next up, we just need to translate this into American English: "Create Backup Step 3"

**Step 5.** In AnyBackup Family 7, you can save your backup files to any device that is convenient for you to access, including a local hard drive, external USB device, SD card, network drive, NAS storage, or AhsayACB cloud storage. We recommend that users prioritize saving important data to cloud storage, as it is more convenient, flexible, and secure.

All you need to do is register and log in with an email account to access Aliyun.

Backing up files to the cloud

6. If you want to set up an automatic and intelligent backup schedule for future file backups, proceed to the “Options.” Here, you can encrypt your backup for secure files, compress the backup image size, or customize your backup scheme to tell the software when to start the next backup.

Here you can configure advanced and automatic backup tasks:

Backup Strategy

Step 7. Click Back Up Now to start the backup process. When finished, the backed-up file will appear as a card in the left-hand pane.

Final Verdict

By now, you should have decided which free cloud storage service and how to get free cloud storage works for you, seeing as you've made it this far. The beauty of it is that, even if our top pick Mega isn't for you, you can quickly switch to something like Sync.com or another alternative.

But if you want a free 250GB cloud storage, we recommend you try Todo Backup. This tool has many more functions than that. We've talked about them above. So, don't hesitate and download it now!