Proton Drive vs pCloud
Two of the top three cloud storage services, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Proton Drive has 73 points and pCloud 69, 4 apart on our cloud storage services rules.
- Proton Drive earns more on security and audits; pCloud earns more on apps and sync, recovery and sharing and price and plans.
- Cheapest paid plan with 100 GB or more: Proton Drive $3.99/mo, pCloud $4.66/mo.
- Only Proton Drive meets: open-source apps, security key for two-factor sign-in and public bug bounty.
- Only pCloud meets: restore the whole account, cheapest paid plan with 1 TB or more and one-time lifetime plan.
Proton Drive73/100 #1 of 10
Best for: People who want every file encrypted by default and open-source apps.
pCloud69/100 #2 of 10
Best for: People who want a one-time lifetime plan or a virtual drive instead of a monthly subscription.
Points by group
| Group | Proton Drive | pCloud |
|---|---|---|
| Security and audits of 31 | 25 | 10 |
| Apps and sync of 20 | 18 | 20 |
| Recovery and sharing of 22 | 18 | 22 |
| Price and plans of 27 | 12 | 17 |
| Total | 73 | 69 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Proton Drive | pCloud |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end encryption (10) | default 10 | option 5 |
| Independent security test since 2024 (6) | Not published 0 | Not published 0 |
| SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Open-source apps (3) | Yes 3 | Not published 0 |
| Security key for two-factor sign-in (4) | Yes 4 | Not published 0 |
| Public bug bounty (3) | Yes 3 | Not published 0 |
| Apps (10) | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android 8 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android 10 |
| Files on demand in Windows (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Choose which folders sync (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| File version and deleted-file history (6) | 3650 6 | 365 6 |
| Restore the whole account (4) | Not published 0 | Yes 4 |
| Password-protected share links (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Edit documents in the browser (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Plan for five or more people (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Free plan with 5 GB or more (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Cheapest paid plan with 100 GB or more (8) | $3.99/mo 4 | $4.66/mo 4 |
| Cheapest paid plan with 1 TB or more (8) | $14.99/mo 0 | $9.32/mo 2 |
| One-time lifetime plan (3) | No 0 | Yes 3 |
| Refund period of 14 days or more (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
Proton Drive
Proton Drive suits people who want all files encrypted by default and apps whose code anyone can read. Drive Plus is $3.99 a month on a yearly plan and adds 10 years of file-version recovery. The catch: the plans with 1 TB or more cost $14.99 a month or more.
pCloud
pCloud suits people who prefer to pay once for a lifetime plan or want a virtual drive that keeps files in the cloud. Paid yearly plans start at €49.99 for 500 GB. The catch: end-to-end encryption costs extra and covers only the Crypto folder, and researchers reported attacks on that encryption in 2024.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score cloud storage services.