What your cloud storage costs over 5, 10 or 20 years
Pick the plan you pay for now: Google One, iCloud+, Dropbox, Proton Drive or pCloud. See what it adds up to, set against paying once for 5 TB of private photo and file backup.
Providers’ own prices · checked 24 October 2026 · runs in your browser
Over 10 years, Google AI Plus 2 TB costs €999.90 on yearly billing. That is €800.90 more than paying €199 once.
This plan holds 2 TB; the Lifetime holds 5 TB. Price after the introductory offer. The 400 GB, 2 TB and 5 TB plans are sold as Google AI plans with Gemini features included. Google holds the keys to files in Drive and Photos.
Year by year
| Year | Google One | Once |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | €99.99 | €199 |
| 2 | €199.98 | €199 |
| 3 | €299.97 | €199 |
| 4 | €399.96 | €199 |
| 5 | €499.95 | €199 |
| 6 | €599.94 | €199 |
| 7 | €699.93 | €199 |
| 8 | €799.92 | €199 |
| 9 | €899.91 | €199 |
| 10 | €999.90 | €199 |
Google One price from its own pricing page (Spain, EUR), checked 24 October 2026. The sums run in your browser; we record only that the calculator was used.
What paying once gets you, and what it does not
ShieldFive’s Founding Lifetime is 5 TB for €199, paid once. Every photo, video and file name is encrypted on your device before upload; we store ciphertext and never hold your keys. Lifetime means 99 years from purchase or your lifetime, whichever is shorter.
The limits, before you compare:
- It runs in the browser today. The Android app is coming to Google Play; there is no iOS app and no desktop sync app yet, so nothing backs up in the background.
- Downloads are 200 GB every 30 days, for personal use. Reaching it pauses downloads until the next cycle and never deletes a file.
- No face or object search and no shared family library: the server holds only ciphertext, so it has nothing to index.
- No completed independent security audit yet. The crypto core is open source, with its spec and test vectors.
- A one-time price depends on the provider staying in business. The Terms commit to at least 12 months’ notice and export if ShieldFive stops operating: what Lifetime means.
The plans compared here are not like for like on features: Google One and iCloud+ back up a phone in the background, and several bundle other services (Gemini, Mail, VPN). The calculator compares money only. For a longer comparison, see a private Google Photos and iCloud alternative.
Questions
- How much does Google One cost over 10 years?
- At the prices Google showed in Spain on 24 October 2026, Google AI Plus 2 TB is €99.99 a year, so 10 years cost €999.90 if the price never changes, and the 5 TB Google AI Pro plan at €219.99 a year costs €2,199.90. Any price rise in between adds to that.
- How is the break-even month worked out?
- The calculator adds up every payment in order (each month on monthly billing, each year on yearly billing, with your optional yearly increase applied at each renewal) and reports the first month in which the running total reaches the one-time price of €199. Yearly plans are paid up front, so their break-even always falls on the first month of a year.
- Is paying once for cloud storage a good idea?
- It is cheaper the longer you keep the storage, and it carries a risk a subscription does not: you are trusting the provider to still be running. ShieldFive's Terms commit to at least 12 months' notice and export if it ever stops operating, and the decryption library is open source, so an exported bundle decrypts without ShieldFive. There is a 30-day full refund.
- Why are plans under 200 GB not listed?
- At under €2 a month, paying €199 once takes the better part of a decade to break even, and a library that fits in 100 GB does not need 5 TB. For small libraries a free plan or the provider's smallest plan is the cheaper choice.