IceDrive is one of those cloud storage that is gaining attention for its cheap prices and strong privacy policy.
I have used lots of cloud storage in past like pCloud & Sync. Since last few months I’m using IceDrive as my primary cloud storage. This Icedrive Review will be based on that experience and I’ll continuously update it as I progress.
With more and more users entering the digital world every day, Cloud Storage services have become a thing of prime importance.
Cloud Storage lets you store all your data on a remote server, freeing up space from your local devices. Bid goodbye to the eternal fear of losing your important photos, videos, and documents! Cloud storage is here to save the day.
You must have come across many cloud storage companies offering cloud space along with many additional features for privacy, collaboration and ease of use. One of them is Icedrive!
In this article, we will do a detailed Icedrive Review. It is a relatively new service, but has been growing with a swift pace.
Note: All the points discussed in this article are based on my personal experience and research. These are my 100% honest opinions and are not sponsored by anybody!
With that being said, let us dive straight into our review.
IceDrive Review
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About Icedrive
ID Cloud Services Ltd, a company based in Wales, United Kingdom, is the owner of Icedrive. Launched in January 2019, it is still a very new player in the cloud storage market.
But the steady pace at which it is growing and improving is what makes it a tough competitor for other popular cloud storage services.
The need of the hour is online security & privacy. This is where Icedrive jumps in. An interesting thing to note here is that it calls itself a ‘Privacy oriented company’. We will find out later if this statement holds any truth or not!
IceDrive Free Storage
Icedrive features a free plan, plus very affordable premium plans! With a free Icedrive account, you get 10 GB of free cloud space, which is quite amazing!
Unlike pCloud, it does not employ a reward system for unlocking storage space on completing tasks like installing the desktop app, etc. Icedrive is a pretty straightforward service.
If you sign up for a free account using your email, you get the entire 10 GB space with no hidden demands!
The only downside is that Icedrive doesn’t provide a free trial with any of its paid plans. However, to make up for that, they offer a 14-days money-back guarantee!
Speed
In my tests, Icedrive offers some really appreciable speeds for a cloud storage service. I tried to upload and download an 885 MB video file on Icedrive, and these are the results I received.
- Upload Time: 1 min 51 sec
- Download Time: 1 min 15 sec
I saw the same results while uploading and downloading with zero knowledge encryption.
For this IceDrive review all speed tests were done from India and my iceDrive server is in Europe.
I have used various cloud services including India’s DigiBoxx and I can say IceDrive is fast. It gives Better speeds than DigiBoxx and Sync.
IceDrive Review Video
For users who prefer video, here’s the video review of IceDrive in Hindi language with English subtitles.
Data Centers
The Data Centers of Icedrive are in Europe and the United States. The European servers are good from the speed and privacy point. But unlike pCloud, you don’t get to choose your server location with Icedrive.
They will auto select the server for you.
Zero-Knowledge Encryption
Zero Knowledge Encryption basically means that nobody can read or access your stored data except you. Without your master password no one can decrypt your data.
Icedrive offers a Zero Knowledge Encryption with all its paid plans, which does not cost you any extra charges! Unlike pCloud.
This feature provides you an encrypted space secured with a passcode to store all your sensitive data. You can find all the encrypted files under the ‘Encrypted’ tab.
What’s unique about Icedrive is that it lets you decide what data you wish to protect with encryption. You get both encrypted and normal storage space.
I personally use normal storage space for things which require frequent access. Encrypted storage is used for sensitive and private data.
Versioning
Versioning feature lets you preview, restore, and download the previous versions of your files. This is helpful in case your file gets accidentally changed, edited or deleted. You can restore it to any of its previous versions with a single click!
I did not find any versioning limits with Icedrive. It indefinitely stores all the previous versions of your files consuming no cloud space!
You should keep in mind that Icedrive is new and they will add some limitations in versioning. As of now there is no limit.
This is really cool, considering that pCloud only offers a 30 days versioning limit.
Trash
The Trash tab holds all your deleted files and folders. Unlike many other cloud storage services, the Icedrive Trash folder has no limit. All your deleted items would remain there unless you delete them permanently.
An important thing to note is that the space occupied by the deleted files is included in the total storage. Meaning trash space is included in your total storage. So if you are running out of storage space, clearing your trash bin will help!
Sync
IceDrive doesn’t provide sync folder but it have the option to sync any folder on your hard disk. Using the IceDrive virtual drive, you can select folders from your devices to sync with the cloud.
Sadly, there are no block-level sync or selective sync features available!
You can find syncing options in its mobile apps for auto-uploading photos, videos and files.
IceDrive is not the best when it comes to Sync. In my opinion pCloud or Sync does a better job as of now.
Virtual Drive
The Icedrive Virtual Drive can be accessed when you install its software and mount the drive.
You can effortlessly sync any folder from your computer to the cloud storage using its desktop application. Icedrive also lets you specify the sync direction, i.e., if you change any data in the synced folder, should the changes be made:
- Only on the local folder
- Only on the Icedrive cloud
- Both locally and on the cloud
I personally like IceDrive sync direction feature a lot. Everyone should implement this.
The best part is that this virtual drive does not take up any space on your device. It only consumes a brief space to store the recently used files in its cache to avoid any slowdowns.
Icedrive truly works like an external hard drive attached to your computer! But you need an Internet connection in order to operate it.
User Interface
The interface of Icedrive is one of the best interfaces I have ever seen on any Cloud Storage.
It is very easy to use with modern interface. Sharing options is easy to use and identification of already shared data is also effortless.
Interface is so simple that I can even recommend it to my Dad.
The design and color theme of Icedrive is very pleasing! Also, the polar bear logo is adorable, right?
- All the tabs are neatly arranged on the left sidebar for easy access.
- You get the File management and customization options on the top.
- The sorting features and list/grid view are available on the right.
This is a very well-organized interface. It is easy to use, decent and simple! A drag-and-drop upload feature makes it even more convenient. Plus, you can also change the colors of your uploaded folders, which reminds me of Notion.
Devices
Icedrive has dedicated desktop apps for Windows, MAC, and Linux; Mobile apps for Android and iOS, and a web interface that works pretty smoothly on all the major browsers.
The mobile app has a lovely and clean interface, and has integrated players for all document types, audio and video files.
It comprises handy features like automatic backup, password protection, marking files for offline access, and dark mode.
Overall, my experience on all the devices was very satisfying. 🙂
Customer Service
Icedrive does not have live chat or phone support features.You can contact them with your queries through an email ticket system where the average response time is two days!
So, yes, the support is a bit slow, but I found their replies to be quite informative, kind and positive.
You can also find short but informative FAQ style articles on their Help Center to solve your basic queries.
Sharing
I found the Sharing options to be quite limited in Icedrive. If you sign up with a free account, you get the basic sharing and collaboration options like adding an email or sending a public link. (The user must have an Icedrive account in order to collaborate.)
However, with the premium plans, you get some more advanced features like setting the link expiration limit. This is helpful when you only want the shared data to be present on the web for a limited amount of time.
For an added layer of security to your shared data, Icedrive also lets you set a passcode to protect your links from being accessible to outsiders. It is good for sharing something with a limited audience.
Icedrive does lack some important features like the Upload using Links feature, which lets any non-Icedrive user upload data on your shared folder through a link.
Also, there is no dedicated tab featuring all the files, folders and links shared with/by me. Though it comes with a simple icon on top of the folder indicating it is being shared.
There’s a small icon on the files showing if they were shared. Honestly, pCloud is much better when it comes to Sharing!
Documents
Icedrive lets you view all file types including word documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, audios, videos, etc. But the catch is, you cannot edit them in the web version.
It does not have any integrated editing apps.
With the desktop application, you can edit your files with the native apps on your device and when you click on Save, your file will automatically be re-uploaded to the cloud.
Means if you want to edit .doc file, then you can install IceDrive desktop app and then the doc file will automatically open using your editor like MS Word.
Once you close the file it will automatically be re-uploaded on cloud.
Playback Features
It has integrated players for playing audios and videos internally on the web version itself.
Though there are very few customization options available here, it’s pretty decent.
WebDAV Access
This is an interesting feature for developers. Using this, you can access your Icedrive storage by installing no software on your device.
They were going to remove it previously, but guess it’s going to continue!
Security
Icedrive calls itself a ‘Privacy Oriented Company’ which is true, because it uses the TwoFish client-side Encryption protocol for encrypting its users’ files in place of AES 256-bit, which is the industry standard.
Client-side encryption means encrypting all your files before transferring them from your local device to the Icedrive servers.
Wondering why have they used the Twofish encryption? They believe that because it is a lesser known protocol, it would guarantee an enhanced security, mainly because hackers are unfamiliar with it.
Zero Knowledge Encryption is also there for private and sensitive data.
Biggest con with their security is no 2 Factor Authentication.
They recently introduced Two Factor Authentication (2FA) on their cloud storage. I’m really happy that they finally decided to introduce it. Better late than never.
Privacy Policy
Their Privacy Policy is very transparent. They do not share any of your data and don’t make use of Google Analytics either.
Apart from this, Icedrive is completely GDPR compliant, so you have the option to download or erase all of your data possessed by them. I found these privacy measures very reassuring.
Pricing
Icedrive offers some really advanced features at very affordable prices starting from just $1.67/month! Apart from their monthly and yearly plans, they also have their lifetime plans that are 100% value for your money.
Check out their Annual plans below!
But, what I find the most attractive are their Lifetime plans starting at $99 for 150 GB storage space. You can easily recover the entire amount spent within the first 3-4 years. Check out their Lifetime plans below.
Other than this, they also offer a 14-days money-back guarantee on all the premium plans!
Pros
Icedrive offers lots of exceptional features, giving a neck-to-neck competition to other popular cloud storage services.
1. Clean Interface
It offers a clean, appealing, and organized user interface
2. Speed
Upload and Download speeds of icedrive is truly outstanding. I live in India and I’m getting good speeds from IceDrive. With or without zero knowledge encryption.
3. Privacy
IceDrive is having good security and privacy standards. It is also completely GDPR compliant, which makes its privacy policy very reliable!
4. Affordable Pricing
Starting at just $1.67/month, makes it clearly one of the cheapest & reliable cloud storage services. IceDrive is my recommendation if you are looking for cheap cloud storage option.
5. No Add-Ons
Unlike pCloud Storage Icedrive has no add-ons. You don’t need to pay extra charges for availing the zero-knowledge encryption or any other features.
6. Versioning
Provides unlimited versioning for documents.
7. Fast Development
IceDrive is new and hence have a roadmap of the features that they are planning to introduce. I am following them since their AppSumo LTD Deal and I’m really impressed by their development rate.
Cons:
1. No Selective Sync
Syncing options like Selective Sync and Block-level Sync are not available. pCloud & Sync does have better selective sync options.
2. Bugs
They are still new in the business and some bugs are still present in IceDrive desktop App.
3. Basic Sharing Options
It doesn’t have advance sharing option like pCloud & Sync. Link analytics are not available, like how many users clicked on the link, how many downloaded the shared data, etc.
Upload links cannot be shared that means other users cannot upload to your folder without registration.
So, now we arrive to the key question, which is:
Should you buy Icedrive?
Icedrive is a pretty new to the cloud storage market right now. But they have still provided some advanced features at an affordable price.
Along with a beautiful and responsive interface, they also focus on the privacy of their users. Icedrive deserves an applause for implementing all of these features in such a brief span of time!
If you have never used a Cloud storage service before and need a budget-friendly Cloud storage with good privacy, fast speeds, and an easy-to-use interface, then you can go with Icedrive.
But if you can hike up your budget, and require a complete cloud storage solution with all the advanced features, then I suggest you choose pCloud. I recently reviewed pCloud Cloud Storage as well. Check out the detailed review video.
You might also use a combination of Icedrive and pCloud to get the best of both worlds. That is what I prefer for myself!
Anyway, I hope you liked this review article and hope it helps you purchase the best cloud storage for your requirements. What other topics do you want me to cover? Let me know in the comments section below.
Also, if you enjoy reading my blogs and wish to stay updated with the latest posts, then subscribe to my Newsletter. This is Kripesh signing off! Take care and keep learning, guys. I’ll see you in the next article.
FAQs
Is Icedrive better than pCloud?
In terms of features, pCloud is better. If you are looking for cloud storage in budget, Icedrive would be a good choice. But if you can increase your budget a bit, you can enjoy the advanced features of pCloud.
Is Icedrive Safe?
Yes. Icedrive uses Zero-knowledge Encryption to keep your data safe from online threats. It also has a good privacy policy, which is why using Icedrive is definitely very safe.
What is Icedrive?
Icedrive is a cloud storage service that offers you 10 GB of cloud space for free! So, you can transfer all your data to the Cloud, and free up space on your hard disk.
Is Icedrive Free?
Icedrive has a free plan where you get access to 10 GB of free cloud space.
However, it also features its Premium plans with the monthly plan starting at just $1.67/month! Lifetime plans are also provided, which is really cool!
What is Icedrive lifetime deal?
Lifetime Plans of Icedrive are the most value-for-money options. It offers three different types of Lifetime plans that you can opt for according to your requirements.
Lite Plan: 150 GB cloud space for $99
Pro Plan: 1 TB cloud space for $229
Pro+ Plan: 5 TB cloud space for $599
Can Icedrive see your files?
No, iceDrive can not see your files. It follows Zero-knowledge encryption which is client-side.
This means all data uploaded on IceDrive gets encrypted on your device before it reaches their servers.
And zero-knowledge ensures that nobody else can decrypt that data except you.
Can Icedrive compete with other prominent cloud storage providers?
Icedrive is relatively new in the cloud storage market. It is not feature-rich like pCloud or Sync as of now, but it is improving at a quick pace!
Thanks for a very comprehensive report!
You mentioned as a Con that IceDrive is still a new business.
What are your thoughts concerning the possibility that this relatively small company could go under, bankrupt, or taken over.
What would happen to the data?
Is there a sensible way to backup IceDrive files, (I’m using a Linux laptop)?
Glad you liked it.
More often than not a reputed company usually gives a chance to backup your data before they shuts it down.
I don’t exactly know if there is a way to backup IceDrive files but you can backup it to another cloud service.
For that you can use services such as cloudsfer or cloudfuze.
Thanks for that.
Any thoughts about no 2FA with IceDrive? Isn’t this a big vulnerability?
Most welcome.
If you are going to keep sensitive files then better to opt for one which provides 2FA.
I wouldn’t call this a vulnerability but having 2FA is better.
And it’s disappointing that icedrive has not implemented it yet.
Hi Kripesh!
2FA has now been implemented.
Time to update your article perhaps?
Thank you so much for the information.
I’ve updated it. 🙂
How Many devices I can use with one Icedrive account?
There’s no limit on devices as such.
One thing that seems unclear is usage across a family. Typical use case would be using across family to consolidate pictures etc. how does ice cloud tackle that. Didn’t seem to be explicitly written anywhere. Could you throw more light on it. I would hate to use iCloud for easy family sharing and pcloud is tad expensive
As per IceDrive
When you share files the bandwidth is deducted from the user which downloads the file.
However, if they do not have an account the bandwidth will be deducted from your personal allocation. This helps maintain the fairest balance possible.
I tried it but didn’t like it very much. It’s to basic. I wanted to buy life time subscription for my family. It’s cheap. The main use will be storing document photos videos and Musik. A that’s the problem. You can store the media file but how to find something later. Everything is Organizer in folders. There is no Foto or video section. It’s pretty basic. If they would update the whole thing and add some digital media Organizer I would buy it immediately.
Thanks for sharing your experience Buky.
WebDav speed SUCKS!
That’s the only complaint I have.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Encryption Store update images not loading….
Have you tried contacting the support team?
I purchased 1 tb plan… please..help mee…….. encryption space is very slow…
Space or Speed?
Just spent a couple hours playing around with IceDrive hoping to buy one of their Black Friday plans. But I can’t find any way to play short audio files sequentially. Say you’ve got an audiobook you want to listen to as you’re driving. How do you get all the short audio files to play automatically? Players like VLC manage this smoothly. Right now, as far as I can tell, with IceDrive you have to load each tiny, short-duration file manually. A massive inconvenience and not safe while driving…
Also, the import files function (on mobile) seems to limit you to a single file selection at a time. So getting that loooong audiobook of 200 files of just 1-2 minutes each into IceDrive to play could take a very, very long time.
I’d happily pay a big premium for a convenient media storage AND playback service that offered iron-clad privacy. So far, I can’t find one. Hope IceDrive addresses these issues in future updates.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Have you tried pCloud?
You should try pCloud free account first and see if it serves your media purpose.
Your indicated lifetime prices need to be updated.
Thank you.
It’s updated now.
Hi Kripesh!,
I just subscribed for one year.
Do you know if it is possible to know in which country are my data stored ?
Hi Merlin,
Usually they allot you the nearest data center.
To confirm you’ll need to ask the IceDrive support team.
Be warned — I got overcharged — my bank stopped my card — opened a ticket with Icedrive — Icedrive suggested it was my bank — asked my bank — it wasn’t — Icedrive now ignoring my ticket.
My data gets stored with people that I trust and now I don’t trust Icedrive.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Is your issue solved now?