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Cloud Backup Pricing, Real Cost per TB

Advertised prices hide the real question: what does it cost to back up your data? Set how much you back up and rank every service by its true annual cost and effective cost per terabyte.

1.0 TB
Cost / year ▲ServiceTypePlanEffective $/TB/yrNotes
$60/yrcheapest Filen Storage 1 TB $60 Open-source, zero-knowledge; priced in euros, not dollars Visit →
$60/yr Koofr Storage 1 TB $60 EU, connects other clouds; priced in euros, not dollars Visit →
$70/yr Arq Premium Backup 1 TB $70 The Arq app plus 1TB and 5 computers; extra terabytes run about $7 a month Visit →
$90/yr Carbonite Safe Backup Unlimited $90 Unlimited, 1 computer Visit →
$93/yr Acronis Cyber Protect Backup 1 TB $93 Backup + anti-malware Visit →
$96/yr Livedrive Backup Backup Unlimited $96 Unlimited, 1 computer Visit →
$96/yr Sync.com Storage 2 TB $96 Zero-knowledge encryption Visit →
$99/yr Backblaze Personal Backup Unlimited $99 Unlimited, 1 computer Visit →
$99/yr Icedrive Storage 2 TB $99 Encrypted, Gibraltar; names no currency on its own pricing page Visit →
$100/yr pCloud Storage 2 TB $100 EU privacy, lifetime plans too Visit →
$100/yr Microsoft 365 Storage 1 TB $100 1TB OneDrive + Office apps Visit →
$100/yr Google One Storage 2 TB $100 Google Drive/Photos Visit →
$100/yr Degoo Storage 10 TB $100 Cheap bulk, ad-supported free Visit →
$120/yr CrashPlan Backup Unlimited $120 Unlimited per device Visit →
$120/yr IDrive Personal Backup 5 TB $120 Backs up all your devices; standing annual rate, first year is 30% off Visit →
$120/yr Internxt Storage 1 TB $120 Open-source, encrypted; priced in euros, not dollars Visit →
$120/yr iCloud+ Storage 2 TB $120 Apple devices, monthly billing only Visit →
$120/yr Dropbox Plus Storage 2 TB $120 Best sync + sharing Visit →
$120/yr Proton Drive Storage 3 TB $120 Swiss, end-to-end encrypted Visit →
$130/yr Jottacloud Backup Unlimited $130 Norwegian, unlimited for one user, though upload speed is reduced past 5TB Visit →
$130/yr Mega Storage 2 TB $130 Generous, encrypted; MEGA bills in euros whatever it quotes you Visit →

Indicative annual pricing as last reviewed 12 September 2026 , in US dollars except where a row says otherwise. Four European providers here bill in euros and are marked as such, so their figures are euro amounts and the ranking treats them as if they were dollars. Plans change and promotional first-year rates are common, confirm on the provider before buying.

How the ranking works. For your data size we pick each service's cheapest plan that fits (or its unlimited plan) and show the real yearly cost plus the effective cost per terabyte at that size. Slide the amount you back up: small data favours cheap capped plans (pCloud, Icedrive, IDrive), while large data favours flat unlimited backup (Backblaze, Carbonite) because the per-TB cost keeps falling. Backup services copy your whole computer for disaster recovery; storage services sync selected files, both are shown with a type label.
What is the cheapest cloud backup?

It depends on your data size. Above ~2TB, unlimited plans (Backblaze, Carbonite) win on cost per terabyte. For a few hundred GB, a small capped plan (pCloud, Icedrive, IDrive) is cheaper. Slide your size above to see the winner.

Backup vs storage, what is the difference?

Backup (Backblaze, Carbonite, IDrive, Acronis) auto-copies your whole machine for recovery, often unlimited for one device. Storage (Google One, OneDrive, Dropbox, pCloud) syncs selected files and is capped. Many use storage for backup, so both are listed with a type label.

Are unlimited plans truly unlimited?

Mostly, but they usually cover one computer, back up only internal and attached drives, and may purge files a while after you delete them locally. They shine once you store more than about 2TB.

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