Google Drive alternative: five picks with prices in US dollars

Google Drive alternatives at a glance

Five Google Drive alternatives are priced here: pCloud, Proton Drive, Microsoft 365 Family (OneDrive), Dropbox and Icedrive. Google sells its storage plans through Google One, and its 2 TB plan, Google AI Plus, is $99.99 a year, as listed on 5 October 2026. Google One Basic, 100 GB, is $19.99 a year, and Google AI Pro, 5 TB, is $199.99 a year.

pCloud's Premium Plus 2 TB is the same $99.99 a year, and Premium 500 GB is $49.99 a year or $219 one-time, as listed on pCloud's US pricing page on 3 October 2026. A pCloud Lifetime plan is that one payment, and pCloud's terms say it lasts for the account owner's lifetime or 99 years, whichever is shorter.

Leaving one shared Google storage pool

Google storage is one pool shared by Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, and photos backed up in Original quality count against it. Google says it might delete content across Gmail, Drive and Photos from an account that stays over its quota for 2 years. An alternative keeps files and photos apart from Gmail.

To take files out, open Google Takeout: the Google products you use are selected for you, and downloading an archive does not delete anything from Google's servers. pCloud's third-party backup imports from Google Drive and Google Photos directly as a one-time job, with a limit of 2,000 photos per Google Photos backup. pCloud vs Google Drive has the two side by side.

The limit on the pCloud side is the free tier: a free pCloud Basic account starts at 2 GB against up to 15 GB at Google, and a free pCloud account inactive for 12 months is deleted with its files.

Alternatives that keep old file versions longer

Proton Drive Plus keeps previous file versions for 10 years, the longest window on this page. Drive Plus 200 GB is $47.88 billed every 12 months, which Proton lists as $3.99 a month billed yearly, as read on 6 October 2026.

pCloud's paid plans keep deleted files and old versions for 30 days, or 365 days with Extended File History, a paid add-on that applies only from the day you turn it on. Sync.com keeps 90 days on Personal 1 TB, Dropbox Plus 30 days, and Icedrive Pro 30 days and Pro Plus 60. pCloud vs Proton Drive compares the two services, encryption included.

Alternatives for a family or a one-time payment

Microsoft 365 Family is $129.99 a year for up to 6 people with 1 TB each. Google One can be shared with up to 5 family members too, but they share one storage quota, and Google says your files are not shared with the rest of your family.

pCloud Family costs $749 one-time for 2 TB, as listed on 25 September 2026, with private accounts for the owner and up to 4 relatives and no monthly or yearly option. For one person, pCloud's one-time plans include Premium 500 GB at $219 and Premium Plus 2 TB at $499.

Icedrive's Personal Lifetime, 500 GB at $399 one-time, includes encryption.

Which Google Drive alternative fits which buyer

• Proton Drive for 10 years of file versions on Drive Plus.
• Microsoft 365 Family for up to 6 people with 1 TB each.
• pCloud to pay once for storage, from $219 for 500 GB.
• Dropbox Plus for transfers of up to 50 GB.
• Google Drive itself for up to 15 GB free in one pool with Photos and Gmail.

Should pCloud disappoint, you can ask for your money back in writing within 14 days, though a refund can be declined on a discounted purchase.