The short answer (each provider's own pricing page, checked 23 October 2026): the lowest one-time price we found for 5 TB with every file encrypted on your device is the ShieldFive Founding Lifetime, 5 TB for €199 paid once (€199 until 31 October 2026, then €249.) Next is Internxt, whose 5 TB lifetime plan is €585. pCloud sells no 5 TB lifetime plan; the smallest that holds 5 TB is 10 TB at €1,499, or €1,649 with its encryption add-on. Icedrive's largest lifetime plan is 2 TB. Reseller sites (StackSocial and similar) have sold lifetime plans below the providers' own prices; they are not compared here.
5 TB paid once, like for like
The fair comparison is the smallest pay-once plan each provider sells that holds at least 5 TB, with encryption on your device included in the price.
| Provider | Smallest pay-once plan with 5 TB or more | One-time price | Price per TB | Encrypted on your device |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShieldFive | 5 TB | €199 | €40 | Every file and file name, by default |
| Internxt | 5 TB | €585 (shown down from €3,900) | €117 | Every file, by default |
| pCloud | 10 TB (no 5 TB plan) | €1,649: €1,499 storage + €150 pCloud Encryption | €165 | Only inside one Crypto folder |
| Icedrive | None: the largest is 2 TB, €479 | — | — | Only inside its Encrypted folder |
Filen removed its lifetime plans "for an indefinite period" (pricing). Proton Drive, MEGA, Sync.com, Tresorit and NordLocker sell subscriptions only. pCloud's per-TB figure is for its 10 TB, which is more storage than the others; if you need more than 5 TB, it is the only plan here that has it.
At these prices ShieldFive's 5 TB costs €386 less than Internxt's. That is the whole of the price case; the rest of this page is what the cheaper plan leaves out.
What each plan leaves out
ShieldFive. It works in the browser, and an Android app is coming to Google Play; there is no iOS app and no desktop sync client yet, so on an iPhone you upload from Safari. No independent security audit has been completed: one is planned, and the open-source crypto core (Apache-2.0), its wire-format spec and test vectors are public. The plan includes 200 GB of downloads every 30 days, for personal use; reaching that pauses downloads until the next cycle and never deletes a file. "Lifetime" is 99 years or the owner's lifetime, whichever is shorter; 12 months' notice and full export if ShieldFive closes, non-transferable, with a 30-day full refund. The web app's code is delivered by ShieldFive, so the encryption guarantee holds for the code you are served. See the security overview.
Internxt. It has desktop, iOS and Android apps, open-source clients and a penetration test by Securitum, none of which ShieldFive can match today. Its terms end lifetime plans when the holder reaches 99, an account with no activity for 12 months gets an email and may be ended if you do not reply within 30 days, and a Fair Usage Policy applies without a stated figure. Detail: Internxt lifetime vs ShieldFive.
pCloud. The longest track record of the three (lifetime plans since 2013) and polished sync apps, but the default storage is not end-to-end encrypted: only files you put in the Crypto folder are, and that folder is the €150 add-on. Its terms define lifetime as the account owner's lifetime or 99 years, whichever is shorter, with a 14-day refund. Detail: pCloud lifetime alternative.
Icedrive. Stops at 2 TB for a one-time payment and describes its lifetime plans as "made for casual use". More in is Icedrive lifetime worth it?
How we checked
- Providers' own pages only. Every price is the one shown on the provider's own pricing page on 23 October 2026, including a sale price when the page showed one, with the struck-through list price noted. Coupon codes, affiliate links and reseller listings are excluded, so a lower price may exist elsewhere.
- Same storage. Each provider is compared at its smallest plan that holds at least 5 TB, never a smaller plan.
- Encryption included. Where client-side encryption is a separate purchase (pCloud), it is added to the price.
- Our own price is read from the live plan catalog, so this page changes on its own when the Founding Lifetime price does.