Best Encrypted Cloud Storage: Our Favorite Picks for 2024

Most people need a cloud storage provider to keep their photos, videos, and documents. However, there’s this group of people with plenty of sensitive information. This requires proper encrypted cloud storage, which will help keep files intact thanks to encryption.

To be honest, some top-of-the-line providers, surprisingly, don’t have this feature. For example, Dropbox, perhaps the best cloud service, isn’t encrypted. This isn’t too alarming, as you still have a plethora of them to choose from. Albeit, not all of them can be deemed the best.

As always, we made sure to test pretty much all popular encrypted cloud storage services. In today’s article, we’ll explain what they are, discuss their features, and of course – present our top 3 favorite encrypted cloud services for 2024.

What Is Encrypted Cloud Storage?

First off, we’ll need to explain this term. Just to be clear, all cloud services use AES-256 encryption to encrypt your transfers and prevent unauthorized access. Here, that’s not the point. The point lies in something called end-to-end, zero-knowledge encryption.

When storing private files or business-related files with strict discretion, it’s vital to ensure these files are accessible only by YOU. For that reason, many providers started including this zero-knowledge encryption, which applies to every aspect of your cloud storage.

You’ll usually get a so-called Master Key aside from the password you create at the start. This key is known only to you, as you’re the one creating it. In case you forget it, there’s a recovery key that lets you change the Master Key or access your account.

The encrypted cloud storage provider does NOT know these passwords and keys and that’s vital to know. This means that losing or forgetting any of the parameters will lead to the loss of your account access and it’ll stay locked, with all your files in it.

Zero-knowledge encryption, therefore, means that not even the cloud storage provider knows which files you’re storing, your passwords, or anything else. And end-to-end encryption means every aspect of the storage is encrypted, from the files themselves to all your transfers.

Furthermore, this also applies to the situation in which you lose your device. Someone who takes control of it also won’t be able to access your files unless he/she has the master key, password, or recovery key. As you can see, encrypted cloud storage is indeed extremely useful for preserving sensitive data.

Best Encrypted Cloud Storage of 2024

Now that the definition of encrypted cloud storage is out of the way, let’s talk about the best providers.

Today, we prepared the 3 best options for 2024, all tested and used by our team for months and years. Bear in mind that these are primarily premium providers and we’ll talk about their premium features.

However, some of them on this list will offer zero-knowledge encryption for free, albeit, with limited storage space, as it’s always the case. Without further ado, our list of the top 3 encrypted cloud services includes:

• pCloud
• NordLocker
• MEGA

Wanna find out more about them? Keep reading, as we review each provider and discuss its features.

1. pCloud

By default, pCloud isn’t an encrypted cloud storage service. However, on top of its affordable plans, you can add military-grade encryption by paying for the annual or lifetime plan. One-time payment for this encryption is just around $160, while annually, you’ll have to pay around $55 a year.

As said, this is indeed zero-knowledge encryption to keep all your sensitive files intact. During our pCloud analysis, we said that this is the fastest option in 2024. This means you’ll enjoy fast and unlimited transfers, which is further bettered by lots of storage options.

To be exact, pCloud gives you from 500 GB to 10 TB of storage, plus 10 GB of free storage for less demanding users. Moreover, pCloud is extremely secure, even if we take away encryption. For one, it’s based in Switzerland, a country with some of the strongest privacy laws.

Its data centers are in the US and Switzerland, and the provider stores your files on 5 servers at the same time. This means if one server fails, which won’t happen, the other 4 still have your files ready. In terms of practicality, this is among the most user-friendly options out there.

The interface is intuitive and there’s a built-in media player for playing videos and displaying photos. Playlists can also be created for those in love with music. pCloud supports file versioning of up to 30 days, and auto-syncing is available to make sure all your files from different devices are accessible.

We strongly recommend its Lifetime plans that represent its best deals. On top of that, there’s a 10-day refund policy, which makes purchasing the service risk-free. pCloud is available on all devices, with an excellent web version, so fret not – you’ll be able to use it almost on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.

Encrypt Your Files With pCloud

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2. NordLocker

NordLocker is an inferior option to pCloud, as it’s more of an encryption service rather than your typical cloud storage provider. However, it’s also encrypted cloud storage that gives you zero-knowledge encryption for FREE. Its free plan is limited to 3 GB a month – quite disappointing.

If you decide to go for its premium offerings, NordLocker ends up being very affordable. Its 2 TB plan at $6.99/month sounds exciting, and you get all of its great features. There’s secure sharing, as well as these Lockers where you can encrypt your files both locally and on the cloud.

Another perk of NordLocker is its 30-day refund policy, which you won’t get anywhere else. And security-wise, NordLocker is pretty much the best choice on the list. Its no-logging approach and Panamanian jurisdiction ensures that no one can access your files.

Also, NordLocker uses AES-256 encryption coupled with the xChaCha20-Poly1305 protocol that keeps the keychain safe. This is accompanied by Ed25519 encryption for securing digital signatures. Being a product of Nord Security, NordLocker’s features don’t come as a surprise.

Much like pCloud, it’s very intuitive, with apps for all aforementioned platforms. Its web app is a bit limited but still allows you to upload files and keep them in secure Lockers. This provider doesn’t support file versioning and you can’t restore your file versions like you can in pCloud.

But for the price, it’s surely at the very top of the ranking of the best encrypted cloud storage providers in 2024. In fact, while we’re at this affordable choice, why don’t you check our list of the top budget cloud storage services? You’ll be able to make some juicy savings!

Get Zero-Knowledge Encryption With NordVPN

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3. MEGA

MEGA rounds off this ranking of the best encrypted cloud storage solutions. MEGA is mostly known for its free cloud storage of 20 GB, which used to be 50 GB back in the day.

The great news about it is that its zero-knowledge encryption hasn’t bypassed free users. That said, you don’t have to pay for it to fully encrypt your files and make them fully secured.

Let’s talk about its interface – one of the best things about it. It’s so easy to use that you’ll feel at home right off the bat. Then, there’s this chat feature, which lets you enjoy video/voice calls or simply chat with your friends, as you exchange and share files.

MEGA offers cloud storage where you can store photos and videos in full resolution and size. Also, this provider has AES-256 encryption (zero-knowledge), so you’ll have your master and recovery keys for access. Losing them means you lose your account – better write them down.

For added security, there’s 2FA, as well as the entire season history where you can see your previous logins. Our gripe with MEGA is that its premium plans are quite expensive, although there are lots of them. To be precise, MEGA relies on four premium plans.

They’re all capable in terms of easy file sharing, file versioning (100 versions), and backup/syncing features. However, the starting plan with 400 GB of storage and a 12 TB transfer limit is around $55 a year. The 2 TB plan will cost you around $110 a year, with a 24 TB transfer limit.

For comparison, NordLocker’s 2 TB plan is $84 manually, so it’s about $30 cheaper. MEGA undoubtedly has more “cloud-like” features, making it a lot different. Still, there are more expensive plans of up to 16 TB of storage at ~$340 a year, which makes MEGA ludicrously costly.

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What To Look for in Encrypted Cloud Storage?

Picking the top encrypted cloud storage for your needs isn’t rocket science. However, you do need to take into account several features that make for a proper experience. Here are the criteria we used to create this list for you.

Zero-Knowledge Encryption

Of course, the most important feature of this type of cloud storage is zero-knowledge encryption. The options we provided are all equipped with it. But if you opt for a provider outside of this list, carefully go through its features and see if you find this one on the list.

If you don’t see end-to-end or zero-knowledge encryption anywhere, don’t bother with it. We’ll tell you right away that Dropbox doesn’t have this encryption but it’s a very powerful service nonetheless. However, if this is your main criterion, you should avoid it.

Fast Transfer Speeds

Another thing to take into account is fast transfer speed. By transfer, we mean both upload and download. Arguably, NordLocker isn’t blazing-fast, so its performance is so-so. On the flip side, we have pCloud with extremely fast uploads and downloads, which is great for larger files.

Get the Best Transfer Speeds With pCloud

Even MEGA is reasonably fast and allows for swift transfers of larger files and folders. Vital to note is that NordLocker and pCloud have no transfer file size limits, making them suitable for transferring terabytes of data in one go.

MEGA, on the other hand, has limits even in paid plans but they’re huge and won’t affect your transfers. For example, the cheapest plan has a 12 TB transfer limit, which you’ll never cross in one go.

Ease of Use

We wanted the encrypted cloud storage services of our ranking to be easy to use. MEGA, NordLocker, and pCloud all have impressively crafted interfaces with impeccable ease of use and access. Their setup processes are simple too, and they require no special tech knowledge to properly install.

NordLocker has a beautiful drag-and-drop interface for easy file uploads and downloads. pCloud comes with apps for all platforms, with many features at your hand’s reach. Finally, there’s MEGA and its intuitive web app that you can access and use even on mobile devices.

Lots of Storage Size Options

Flexible storage is a must-have in encrypted cloud storage providers in 2024. By that, we mean the ability to tailor the experience to your needs. First, you have free storage options in each provider, hence:

• NordLocker offers 3 GB,
• pCloud offers 10 GB,
• and MEGA comes with 20 GB of free storage.

On top of their free plans, you also have a boatload of paid plans, all ranging from 500 GB to 16 TB.

• NordLocker gives you 500 TB and 2 TB plans,
• pCloud offers from 500 TB to 10 TB of storage,
• and MEGA offers the most – 400 GB to 16 TB of storage.

As you can see, your options are vast and it only boils down to how much space you need.

Affordable Pricing

While MEGA isn’t the most affordable on this list, its price isn’t catastrophically expensive. This provider still offers a 400 GB plan at just below $5/mo, with NordLocker and pCloud being even cheaper. But you get the point – we listed encrypted cloud storage options for everyone’s pocket.

Snatch NordLocker’s Cheap 2 TB Plan

And if you’re willing to make even more significant savings, we strongly recommend using the buttons we left throughout the article. With 01net, you can save up to 80% (pCloud’s 10 TB plan) and invest your remaining money somewhere else.

Bottom Line

Having encrypted cloud storage is of the utmost importance for storing confidential files safely. Zero-knowledge encryption ensures your files are accessible only to you, which you can get only with this type of cloud storage. So, what’s the takeaway?

Well, the takeaway is that pCloud is the best option overall, with zero-knowledge encryption being a paid, optional add-on. If you want this encryption for free, NordLocker and MEGA are here, albeit, with fewer features in comparison.

Now that you know all their features, pros, and cons, it’s easier to decide. pCloud, NordLocker, or MEGA – what’s it going to be this time?

Try pCloud Today