Short answer (updated 16 October 2026): as of October 2026, four providers sell pay-once cloud storage — pCloud, Internxt, Icedrive and Koofr — plus ShieldFive's Founding Lifetime (5 TB for €199 once. This release closes 31 October 2026.). Filen no longer sells lifetime plans. The plans differ less on price than on two things that are easy to miss: whether your files are encrypted on your device by default, and what "lifetime" means in the terms.
Who still sells lifetime cloud storage
| Provider | Lifetime plan on sale | Files encrypted on your device by default | What "lifetime" means |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShieldFive | Yes — 5 TB, €199 once, 30-day refund. This release closes 31 October 2026. | Yes, every file and filename, on every plan | 99 years or until ShieldFive stops operating the service; non-transferable |
| pCloud | Yes — 500 GB €219, 2 TB €499, 10 TB €1,499 (shown as discounts from €279, €709 and €2,799) | No — zero-knowledge encryption is a separate purchase (pCloud Encryption, €150 lifetime) for one folder | Lifetime of the account owner or 99 years, whichever is shorter; non-transferable |
| Internxt | Yes — 1 TB €285, 2 TB €435, 5 TB €585 (shown as 85% off) | Yes | Not defined in the terms we could find |
| Icedrive | Yes — 500 GB €349, 2 TB €599 | Partly — check which folders are encrypted on your device | Not defined in the terms we could find; Icedrive withdrew lifetime plans once before bringing them back |
| Koofr | Yes | Check Koofr's documentation | Check Koofr's terms |
| Filen | No — Pro ended November 2025, Starter paused January 2026 | Yes (existing plans) | Existing plans run "as long as the service is online" |
| Proton Drive, MEGA, Sync.com, Tresorit, NordLocker | No — subscriptions only | Yes | — |
Prices re-checked on 17 October 2026 on each provider's own site (pCloud, pCloud Encryption, Internxt, Icedrive); encryption and terms checked 5 October 2026. pCloud, Internxt and Icedrive show these as discounts from higher list prices, and lifetime prices change often — check the current price before you compare. ShieldFive's €199 buys 5 TB; on 17 October 2026 it was lower than any of these providers' 2 TB prices, and Internxt's 5 TB was €585.
For a closer look at the two biggest, see is pCloud lifetime worth it?, is Icedrive lifetime worth it? and pCloud vs Icedrive lifetime. Head to head with ShieldFive: pCloud lifetime alternative, Internxt lifetime vs ShieldFive and, for anyone who missed Filen's last sale, Filen lifetime alternative.
Filen lifetime vs pCloud vs ShieldFive
These are the three names most people compare when they search for a Filen lifetime plan. Checked on 16 October 2026:
| Filen | pCloud | ShieldFive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifetime plan on sale | No. The pricing page says lifetime plans are removed "for an indefinite period" | Yes — 500 GB €219, 2 TB €499, 10 TB €1,499 (pricing) | Yes — 5 TB, €199 once (Founding Lifetime) |
| 2 TB with every file encrypted on your device | Not sold as lifetime; 2 TiB subscription €8.99 a month | €499 + €150 for pCloud Encryption = €649, encryption for one Crypto folder only | €199 buys 5 TB, every file and filename |
| Free plan | 10 GiB, end-to-end encrypted | Up to 10 GB, not end-to-end encrypted | 10 GB, end-to-end encrypted |
| Apps | Web, desktop sync, iOS, Android, CLI | Web, desktop sync, iOS, Android | Web and Android (in Google Play testing); no desktop sync client, no iOS app |
| Open source | Clients are AGPLv3 | No | Crypto core only (Apache-2.0); apps are closed source |
| External security audit | None yet; Filen says one is planned | Crypto folder survived a public hacking challenge around 2014 | None completed |
| Years selling lifetime plans | Stopped | Since 2013 | Since 2026 |
What happened to Filen lifetime. Filen announced in June 2025 that its Pro lifetime plans would be phased out (Filen, 24 June 2025) and brought them back once more for Black Friday 2025 as "the final return" (Filen, 9 October 2025). On 16 October 2026 its pricing page lists only monthly and annual plans. Lifetime plans already bought keep working; Filen's terms ask lifetime accounts to sign in at least once every three years.
Where the others win. Filen and pCloud both have desktop sync and iOS apps today, and Filen's clients are open source. pCloud has sold lifetime plans for more than a decade. ShieldFive has neither an iOS app nor a desktop sync client yet, and no external audit.
Where ShieldFive differs. Every file and filename is encrypted on your device by default, so there is no separate encryption purchase and no folder to remember, and 5 TB paid once costs €199, against €649 for pCloud 2 TB with its encryption add-on at regular prices.
If you were looking for a Filen lifetime plan
Filen sold its Pro lifetime plans for the last time on Black Friday 2025; they sold out by early December and Filen has said they will not come back. It paused the Starter lifetime plan on 3 January 2026, with no return date. Existing Filen lifetime plans keep working.
If what you wanted from Filen was end-to-end encryption by default and a single payment, the remaining options are Internxt and ShieldFive. pCloud and Icedrive sell lifetime plans too, but on pCloud the default storage is not end-to-end encrypted.
The two questions that matter more than the price
1. Who can read the files? "Encrypted" usually means the provider encrypts your files on its servers with keys it holds. That protects against a stolen disk, not against the provider, a breach of the provider, or a legal demand. End-to-end (zero-knowledge) encryption means the file is encrypted on your device and the provider stores only ciphertext. On a lifetime plan this matters more, because you are committing for decades to whatever the default is.
2. What happens if the company stops? A lifetime plan is a bet that the provider stays in business and keeps honouring old plans. Every plan on this page is tied to the life of the service in one way or another. Prefer providers with a clear export path, keep a local copy of anything you can't lose, and read the terms on termination before you pay.
ShieldFive's Founding Lifetime: what you get, and its limits
The Founding Lifetime is 5 TB for €199, paid once, with a 30-day full refund. This release closes 31 October 2026. Every file and file name is encrypted on your device, in your browser, before upload — web uploads default to ML-KEM-1024 with XChaCha20-Poly1305 — and we store only ciphertext and never hold your keys. You can preview PDFs, images, spreadsheets and Word documents in the browser without downloading them. There is also a free 10 GB plan, so you can try it with files you can afford to lose first.
The limits, stated plainly: there is no desktop sync client and no iOS app yet, and the Android app is in Google Play testing; the crypto core is open source (Apache-2.0) but the apps are not, and no external security audit has been completed. We serve the web app's code, so the guarantee holds for the code you are served, and file sizes and timestamps are not encrypted. pCloud has sold lifetime plans since 2013; ShieldFive's Founding Lifetime is newer.
Which one fits you
pCloud fits if you want the longest track record and polished sync apps, and you are willing to pay extra for its encryption add-on for the files that need it.
Internxt fits if you want end-to-end encryption by default with desktop sync and iOS apps on a single payment, bought during one of its frequent sales.
ShieldFive fits if you want every file encrypted on your device by default, 5 TB is enough, and you can work through the web or Android today. Read the security model first.
Try it
The free plan is 10 GB with no card. Upload a few test files, preview one, share one with an expiry, revoke it, and check recovery before you buy anything, from us or anyone else.
This comparison reflects each provider's public pages and terms as of 5 October 2026 (prices and the Filen, pCloud and ShieldFive comparison re-checked 16 October 2026) and will be updated as the plans change.