The short answer (each provider's own pricing page, dates per row below): 2 TB costs about €10 a month or €100 a year almost everywhere (Google One, iCloud+, Dropbox, pCloud). 1 TB costs about $100 a year (Microsoft 365 Personal). 5 TB costs €219.99 a year at Google One, so €1,099.95 over five years. The lowest subscription prices per TB come with the biggest plans: pCloud 10 TB at €30 per TB per year, MEGA 3 TB at about €33. Paying once is cheaper if you keep the storage for years: the ShieldFive Founding Lifetime is 5 TB for €249 ($279 in US dollars), which over five years is €9.96 per TB per year. $279 until 30 November 2026, then $335.
Private photo and file backup, paid once
5 TB for a single payment, no subscription. Every file and file name is encrypted on your device before upload. Pay by card, PayPal or Klarna; 30-day full refund, or start with 10 GB free.
Founding Lifetime · 5 TB · 150 vaults in total · until 30 Nov, then $335
Every plan, side by side
Price per TB per year is our arithmetic, not a price the provider shows: the largest listed plan's yearly cost (12 times a monthly price where that is how the page states it) divided by its TB. Five-year totals below are the same arithmetic. "Encrypted by default" means every file is encrypted on your device before upload, with keys the provider does not hold.
| Provider | Plan sizes | Monthly | Yearly | Per TB per year | Pay once | Encrypted by default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShieldFive | 1 TB, 2 TB, 5 TB | €6, €10, €20 | €60, €96, €192 | €38.40 (5 TB) | 5 TB: €249 / $279 | Yes, files and file names |
| Google One (Spain, EUR) | 200 GB, 400 GB, 2 TB, 5 TB | €2.99, €4.99, €9.99, €21.99 | €29.99, €49.99, €99.99, €219.99 | €44 (5 TB) | No | No |
| iCloud+ (euro area) | 200 GB, 2 TB, 6 TB, 12 TB | €2.99, €9.99, €29.99, €59.99 | Not sold yearly | €60 | No | Partly: only with Advanced Data Protection turned on |
| Dropbox (Spain, EUR) | Plus 2 TB | €11.99 | €9.99 a month, billed yearly | €59.94 | No | No (team Advanced plan only) |
| Microsoft 365 (US, USD) | Personal 1 TB | $9.99 | $99.99 | $99.99 | No | No |
| Box (EUR) | Personal Pro 100 GB | €12 | €9 a month, billed yearly | €1,080 | No | No |
| pCloud (EUR) | 500 GB, 2 TB, 10 TB | Not read | €49.99, €99.99, €299.99 | €30 (10 TB) | €219, €499, €1,499 | Partly: one Crypto folder, a €150 lifetime add-on |
| MEGA (EUR) | Pro Lite 750 GB, Pro I 3 TB | €9.99 (Pro I) | €5.00 and €8.33 a month, billed yearly | €33.32 (3 TB) | No | Yes |
| Proton Drive (EUR) | 200 GB, 500 GB, 2 TB (Duo, 2 users), 3 TB (Family) | €4.99, €12.99, €19.99, €29.99 | €47.88, €119.88, €179.88, €287.88 | €95.96 (3 TB) | No | Yes |
| Sync.com (US, USD) | Personal 1 TB, Pro Solo 5 TB | $16, $32 | $12 and $28 a month, billed yearly | $67.20 (5 TB) | No | Yes |
| Icedrive (USD / EUR) | Pro 2 TB | $8.99 (list) | $75.52 first year; renewal not shown | $53.94 (monthly) | €219 (500 GB), €479 (2 TB) | Partly: its Encrypted folder |
| Internxt | 1 TB, 2 TB, 5 TB | Not shown | Not shown when checked | — | €285, €435, €585 (EUR); $339, $509, $679 (USD sale) | Yes |
| Filen (EUR) | 200 GiB, 500 GiB, 2 TiB, 10 TiB | Not read | €19.99, €39.99, €89.99, €399.99 | €36.38 (10 TiB) | No (withdrawn) | Yes |
| Tresorit (USD) | 50 GB, 1 TB, 4 TB | Not read | $5.59, $13.59, $31.99 a month, billed yearly | $95.97 (4 TB) | No | Yes |
| Backblaze Personal Backup (USD) | Unlimited, one computer | Not shown | $99 | — (unlimited) | No | Partly: optional private encryption key |
Not like for like on features: Google One and iCloud+ back up a phone in the background, Microsoft 365 includes Office, Proton and MEGA bundle a VPN and a password manager, and Backblaze is a computer backup, not a drive you open from your phone. ShieldFive works in the browser, on Android (Google Play), Windows and Mac; the iOS app is in testing and not yet available, and no independent security audit has been completed.
Price per TB over 5 years: subscription vs pay-once
Five years of the plan nearest to 5 TB at each provider, at today's price with no increase. A price rise during those years only adds to the subscription totals.
| Provider and plan | Paid how | 5-year total | Per TB per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShieldFive 5 TB Founding Lifetime | Once | €249 | €9.96 |
| Internxt 5 TB lifetime (23 October 2026) | Once | €585 | €23.40 |
| ShieldFive 5 TB yearly | Yearly | €960 | €38.40 |
| Google AI Pro 5 TB | Yearly | €1,099.95 | €44 |
| pCloud 10 TB lifetime + Encryption | Once | €1,649 | €32.98 |
| pCloud Ultra 10 TB | Yearly | €1,499.95 | €30 |
| iCloud+ 6 TB | Monthly | €1,799.40 | €59.98 |
After year five the pay-once plans cost nothing more and the subscriptions keep billing. To try your own numbers, including a yearly price rise, use the cloud storage cost calculator.
Hidden costs
- Encryption sold separately. pCloud's client-side encryption is pCloud Encryption, a separate purchase (€150 lifetime on 23 October 2026), and it covers one Crypto folder, not the whole drive. Icedrive encrypts only its Encrypted folder. iCloud+ end-to-end encryption needs Advanced Data Protection switched on.
- First-year prices. Sync.com (25% off the first year), Icedrive and Microsoft 365 show a lower first-period price on their pricing pages; the table above uses the price after the offer where the page showed it.
- Bundles. Google's 2 TB and 5 TB plans are sold as Google AI plans with Gemini included, and Proton's 2 TB and 3 TB plans are Duo and Family bundles with Mail and VPN. You pay for the bundle whether or not you use it.
- Transfer limits. MEGA plans include a transfer quota (36 TB a year on Pro I). The ShieldFive Founding Lifetime includes 200 GB of downloads every 30 days, for personal use; reaching it pauses downloads until the next cycle and never deletes files.
- Lifetime terms. pCloud and Internxt define lifetime as up to 99 years, and Internxt may end a lifetime plan after 12 months without activity if you do not answer its email. Filen withdrew its lifetime plans. ShieldFive's lifetime is 99 years or the owner's lifetime, whichever is shorter, with 12 months' notice and full export if it ever closes.
On ShieldFive, files are encrypted on your device; we hold only ciphertext and never hold your keys.
Sources
- ShieldFive: live plan catalog (this page reads it, so it updates when prices change).
- Google One, iCloud+ (Apple's price table, published 16 September 2026), Dropbox, Proton Drive, pCloud yearly: providers' pages, 24 October 2026, browser in Spain.
- pCloud lifetime and Encryption, Internxt lifetime (EUR), Icedrive lifetime, Filen: providers' pages, 23 October 2026, EU visitor.
- MEGA: mega.io/pricing, 14 October 2026, EUR. On 11 November 2026 the page showed the same plans plus Pro II 10 TB and Pro III 20 TB, priced only in Swiss francs for our connection, so those are not listed.
- Microsoft 365, Sync.com, Tresorit (yearly billing), Icedrive Pro, Internxt (USD sale), Box, Backblaze: providers' pages, 11 November 2026. Tresorit's monthly-billing prices, Internxt's annual prices and Backblaze's monthly price did not show on the page and are left out.