pCloud Review (2025) – Why I Bought The Lifetime Plan?

Disclaimer : I strongly believe in transparency. If you buy using the links on our site, we may earn a small commission without any extra cost to you. This helps me to keep producing honest reviews. Read More >>

About pCloud

pCloud is a security-first cloud storage service founded by Tunio Zafer and Anton Titov in 2013. Based in Switzerland, pCloud currently has over 20 million users around the globe. 

It stands out by offering excellent security tools, good playback features, and affordable lifetime plans. pCloud is not a part of any intelligence-sharing agencies like the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances, which reinforce it as a secure platform. 

pCloud User Interface

The user interface of pCloud is pretty simple and intuitive. It is easy to use for beginners. As you log in to your pCloud account, you’ll find a list of your files and folders on the main screen.

On the left panel, you will find all the major features like backups, file requests, audio files, trash folders, etc. From the top left corner, you can access the account settings. 

Whereas, from the top right corner, you can add new files and folders, access the search bar, and check notifications. You also get dark mode support on all devices now.

Overall, its UI is seamless across all devices. I was personally surprised to see that the UI hadn’t changed significantly since 2021. It still had the same color theme and design. Even though the interface is neat and responsive, they should try upgrading it more often!

pCloud Data Centers & Jurisdiction

pCloud is headquartered in Switzerland, a country with the strictest data protection regulations. It has 2 data centers – in the USA and Europe. While signing up on pCloud, users can choose the region in which they want to store their data.

However, if you wish to switch your data storage region later on, it would cost you a one-time fee of $19.99. So, I’d recommend opting for the European servers as they’re not part of the 5-Eyes Alliance, and hence more secure. 

pCloud Speeds

To test the speeds of pCloud, I uploaded and downloaded a 200 MB video file with a network speed of 30 Mbps. Let’s look at the results. 

• Upload time: 1 min 21 sec
• Download time: 57 sec

Overall, both the upload and download speeds of pCloud are pretty swift. If you want cloud storage primarily for uploading your data, pCloud is a great option.

It also has a built-in speed testing tool you can access from under the account settings menu. It’s a handy tool for evaluating the speed and quality of your connection to their servers. 

pCloud File History and Recovery

1) Trash Folder 

When you delete a file or folder from your cloud vault, it’s not permanently deleted. Rather, it’s sent to the Trash folder, where you can manually delete it at any time.

On the free plan, the trash is stored for 15 days. Whereas, on the paid plan, you get a trash limit of 30 days. If you cannot restore your files within this duration, they will be permanently wiped off. 

2) File Revisions

If you work on office documents, this feature is for you. It specifically works on the pCloud desktop application. If you make edits to a local file synced with pCloud, the edits will show up as revisions within the file settings. 

You can download, preview, and restore a previous version of your file with a single click. Free plan users can access up to 15 days of file versions. Meanwhile, for paid plans, the versioning limit is 30 days. 

pCloud Security

pCloud ensures the privacy and security of its user data by offering the following features.

• AES 256-Bit Encryption: This is a military-grade encryption standard. It ensures that nobody can access your data while it’s been uploading and when it’s stored on pCloud’s servers.
• 2FA: If you enable two-factor authentication on your account, it’d require you to enter a security key via SMS or authenticator app along with your account password while logging in.
• Crypto Pass: This is a secure password you can set in your crypto folder to protect your sensitive files. 
• Session History: You can check the number of devices logged in to your pCloud account. If you want to remove a device, hit the delete button to remove it remotely.

pCloud File Syncing

On pCloud, you’ll find two types of file sync – Selective Sync and Block Level Sync. 

When you log in to the pCloud desktop client, you are asked to choose a folder on your local device you wish to sync with the cloud vault. You can create multiple sync pairs. Then, any changes you make on the local folder will be updated in the cloud and vice versa.

Similarly, Block-level sync ensures that only changes made to any files are synced with the cloud. This helps in reducing the file upload time and the bandwidth used. 

pCloud is probably the only reputed cloud storage that offers both selective sync and block-level sync. So, if you tend to work on multiple devices and prioritize file syncing, pCloud is the best option for you.

pCloud File Sharing

Talking about file-sharing features, pCloud doesn’t disappoint. You can share your files via public links or invite other users to your folder via email. You can also provide them with view or edit access as per your preference. 

While sharing via public link, you can enable the following features to enhance security and brand awareness. 

• Password Protection: You can set a password to protect your link from unauthorized access. Your shared file will only be visible when the recipient enters the password. 
• Link Expiry: You can set an expiry date for your links. So, when your task is fulfilled, the shared data will be automatically wiped off and the link will become inaccessible. 
• Custom Branding: If you are an established brand or company, you can also add your brand’s headline, description, title image, and cover, along with your shared file. This is great for improving your brand’s visibility and appearing more professional. 

An interesting thing about pCloud is that it doesn’t impose any limits on file size. You can upload files of all formats and sizes. You also get unlimited upload and download speeds.

If you want to check stats for your shared files, pCloud also offers Link Stats. You can view the date of link creation, total downloads, and total traffic on it. 

pCloud Documents Preview and Editing

You can preview all types of documents on pCloud. These include images, Docs, PDFs, excel files, and more. While previewing your files, you get basic file options, allowing you to delete, move, copy, and rename your file. 

For Doc and PDF files, you get a good viewer with options to view, rotate, zoom in/out, download, and print the file. Under the Image Viewer, there’s a unique feature allowing you to resize an image into a specific format and download its resized version. 

Overall, the file previewing options are really good. The only thing I missed was the feature that lets me add comments on any part of my file. This could’ve been great for collaboration and feedback. 

Talking about document editing, pCloud doesn’t support document editing yet. I hope it integrates with Office 365 or a similar service in the future to let you edit your documents on the web app. As of now, you need to use your local apps to edit your cloud files. 

pCloud Playback Features

pCloud has a built-in music player with an elegant design. Recently, they have introduced the Dual Listening Mode where you get a Music Mode and a Podcast Mode. 

As you play a music file, the player pops up from the bottom right corner. You can minimize the player, adjust its volume, play audio on loop, add more tracks, create custom playlists, share playlists with friends, etc. Now, you can even play music while your mobile screen is locked!

In the Podcast mode, you can vary your audio speed from 0.75x to 2.5x. You can also seek backward or forward by 15 seconds and enable a sleep timer with a range of 5 minutes to 1 hour. You can also save progress to later continue right from where you left off. 

It also features a built-in video player. You can adjust the volume of your videos, enable mini player, enter slideshow mode, enable captions, adjust video quality, and more. Overall, the media playback features of pCloud are excellent.  

pCloud Additional Features

1) File Requests

Are you, too, tired of chasing people for event photos that never arrive? With File Requests, you don’t have to! It lets you create a folder and share it so others can upload their files to it. 

You can set a link expiry date, an upload limit for files, and also add a message for requesting files. Under file stats, you can also check the number of uploaded files and the space they consumed. This feature makes it easy to collect outings or event pictures, assignments, etc. 

2) pCloud Rewinds

If you accidentally delete or lose any data, you get this convenient option to rewind your entire account. This will restore your account to what it was on the specified data. On the free plan, you get a rewind limit of 15 days. Whereas, on paid plans, this limit is extended to 30 days. 

3) pCloud Pass

pCloud Pass is an encrypted password manager offered by pCloud. Besides saving and auto-filling your passwords, it also offers a biometric lock, account recovery, categorization by tags, auto lock, contact list access, and more. 

It supports imports from all popular password managers and is available on all devices and operating systems. The free plan of pCloud Pass can be used on 1 active device. For unlimited active devices, you can upgrade to the Premium plan for $2.99/month.

4) pCloud Save

pCloud Save is a browser extension that lets you save your favorite images, videos, content, audiobooks, and files from the web into your pCloud vault. It is available on Chrome, Firefox, and Opera web browsers. 

5) pCloud Transfer

pCloud Transfer is a file transfer tool offered by pCloud. It allows you to send large files up to 5 GB to anyone. The best part is that this tool is completely free and doesn’t require registration on pCloud either. 

If you want to share sensitive files, you can enable encryption and set a secure password on your files. Check out this article to understand how to use pCloud Transfer. 

In its recent update, pCloud has launched the following free security tools for its users. Let’s check them out!

6) Data Breach Checker

This tool uses the Haveibeenpwned website as a source and analyzes if your email has been found in any data breaches. It also lists the platforms from where your data was leaked, along with details about the breach and the list of compromised data. 

If your email was found in any data breaches, you should change your password to a better one. This brings us to the next tools!

7) Password Strength Checker

All you need to do is enter your password. It scores your password on its difficulty. For instance, “red” stands for a password that’s easy to crack. Whereas “green” stands for a complex password that can’t be cracked easily.  

Interestingly, below your password, it also shows the time it would take for a hacker to crack your password. The longer the time, the stronger your password. 

8) Random Password Generator

If you quickly want a secure password, this Random Password Generator tool will help. You can select a password length between 4 to 64 characters. You can also enable symbols, digital, upper case, and lower case characters to create your passwords. 

The best part is that you don’t need to sign up to use this tool! For extra features, you can sign up on the pCloud Pass password manager. 

pCloud Add-Ons

pCloud Encryption

With pCloud Encryption, you can unlock the Crypto folder. This is for storing your sensitive files. It applies client-side encryption, meaning that data is encrypted on the user’s device before it’s sent to the server. So, even if the server is compromised, your data remains secure. 

It is also secured with a zero-knowledge policy, meaning nobody except you can ever have access to your data. So, the pCloud Crypto folder is a highly secure way of storing your confidential files. It can be availed for $4.99/month.

Extended File History

If you accidentally moved any file to trash or wish to access file revisions from a few months back, this add-on will be valuable for you. The Extended File History add-on extends your file rewinds to 365 days. It can be availed for $79/year. 

pCloud Devices and Apps

pCloud has functional apps for all devices, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. It is also available on popular browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Brave.

Its mobile UI is pretty clean and easy to use. You can manage all your files, listen to music and videos, upload new files, etc. 

You can even enable automatic uploads, mark files for offline access, enable passcode lock, clear cache, etc. I hope they also offer 2FA on their mobile app. Biometric lock is not available on the free plan right now.  

pCloud also features a sleek and handy desktop app. It functions as a virtual drive on your system. Besides file syncing, you can use it to upload new files, backup your device, create new sync pairs, and access your shared files, file requests, and encrypted folder. 

Overall, pCloud is available across multiple platforms. Its apps are functional on all devices and keep your cloud vault accessible no matter where you are. 

pCloud Privacy Policy

pCloud collects the following data.

• Usage Data, including IP address, browser type/version, OS, device details, etc.
• Tracking Data, including page views, visit duration, frequency, and pattern of usage.
• Purchase Information, including product type, subscription details, and purchase date.
• Card details of paid services are stored for subscription purposes until canceled explicitly. 
• If you link any external services for backups, pCloud may collect data based on the policies of those services. 
• If you sign up on pCloud through other platforms, they may collect data like name, language, gender, etc.
• They may collect your IP address, country, email, postal code, name, and last four digits of the payment card from your payment processor.

In addition to this, pCloud follows the European Union’s GDPR Policy, and its data is governed by Switzerland’s FADP (Federal Act on Data Protection). So, users can access their personal data stored with pCloud and also request them to delete it. This strengthens data privacy.

Overall, the privacy policy of pCloud is transparent and clean.

pCloud Pricing

pCloud offers multiple monthly, annual, and lifetime subscriptions for individual users. The following table compares the key features of these plans. 

	Monthly Pricing	Annual Pricing	Lifetime Pricing
Lite (100 GB)	$1.99	$19.99	$139
Premium (500 GB)	$4.99	$49.99	$199
Premium Plus (2 TB)	$9.99	$99.99	$399

The Starter (Lite) plan of pCloud offers 100 GB of cloud storage and 100 GB of shared link traffic. It costs $1.99/month. However, you’ll find the most value in its lifetime plans. I personally have its 2 TB lifetime plan that I’ve been using for the last few years! 

If you are planning to share cloud storage with your family members, you can check out its Family plans. 

	Lifetime Pricing	Users	Shared Link Traffic
Family Plan (2 TB)	$595	Up to 5	2 TB
Family Plan (10 TB)	$1499	Up to 5	10 TB

On the Family plans, you only get a lifetime subscription. You can only share your account with up to 5 users, which would be sufficient for most families.

Free Plan

pCloud offers a generous free plan with a free storage of 10 GB. However, it is incentive-based. When you sign up on pCloud, you only get 2 GB of cloud storage.

But the rest can be unlocked by performing tasks like downloading the desktop and mobile apps, uploading a file, verifying your email, etc. On the free plan, you get limited file-sharing features, and the trash and file versioning is also limited to 15 days. 

Refund Policy

You get a 14-day money-back guarantee on pCloud. So, you can subscribe to a plan of your choice and thoroughly test it out for 2 weeks. If you don’t find it suitable for your needs, you can request a complete refund. 

Payment Methods

pCloud accepts payments made through International credit cards and PayPal. I hope they also include UPI payments in the future. 

pCloud Support

pCloud offers customer support via a knowledge base, email, and live chat. Its knowledge base features lists of FAQs arranged by categories. You can find answers to all your common queries here. 

For more personalized support, you get the pCloud Assistant. It’s a chatbot that answers your basic queries for you. If you need human assistance, you can contact the pCloud support team via email.

In my opinion, they should implement improved live chat support with human agents to offer better assistance. 

pCloud Pros

1) Swift Speeds

I experienced fast upload and download speeds on pCloud. So, if your primary purpose is uploading lots of data, then this pCloud could be a great option for you.

2) Data Center Choice

While creating an account on pCloud, you can manually opt for a data center in the US or EU. Most cloud storage providers don’t offer you a choice of data center. 

3) Affordable Lifetime Plans

pCloud offers 3 different tiers on its lifetime subscriptions. These plans are quite affordable in the long run. I have its 2 TB lifetime plan as well.  

4) Powerful File Sharing 

While sharing your files with others, you get additional features like password protection and link expiry dates. This ensures only the authorized user receives your data, and it is wiped off once your purpose is fulfilled. 

5) Multi-Platform Availability

pCloud offers functional apps for all devices, including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux. So, you can access your cloud storage from anywhere and at any time. 

6) Strong Syncing Features

Unlike other cloud storage services, pCloud offers both selective syncing and block-level syncing. Thus, it helps in reducing the upload time and the bandwidth consumed.

7) Zero Knowledge Encryption

The paid plans of pCloud employ zero-knowledge encryption. This means that the data stored in your cloud vault is only accessible to you, and nobody else. 

8) Excellent Security Features

You get advanced security features to safeguard your account and data. These include 2FA support, 256-bit AES encryption, session history, and more. 

9) Effortless Backups

You can enable automatic backups of your photos on the pCloud mobile app. Additionally, it also lets you back up your entire device on the desktop app. These are convenient options to secure your data. 

10) Built-in Media Players

pCloud features responsive and functional media players. You get lots of convenient options if you’re a music enthusiast! For cloud storage, the media players of pCloud are pretty extraordinary.

pCloud Cons

1) No Built-In Document Editing

The collaboration tools in pCloud are limited to file sharing. It doesn’t have a built-in document editing feature, which makes real-time collaboration impossible. 

2) UI Can be Improved

They have not made any significant updates to their user interface since 2021. Even though it’s clean and easy to navigate, I’d love to see some design and visual updates on its UI. 

3) Extra Charges for Add-ons

If you need to enable the pCloud Encryption (Crypto folder) or the Extended File History feature on pCloud, you need to pay an additional charge. 

4) Slow Customer Support

pCloud offers customer support via FAQs and email. They also have a support bot to assist via live chat. However, I hope they bring human agents for resolving advanced queries. 

pCloud Alternatives

pCloud vs Icedrive

Icedrive is a popular cloud storage provider focused on privacy and security. Like pCloud, it offers secure cloud storage with fast speeds, file-sharing capabilities, privacy-focused encryption, and cost-effective lifetime plans.

Icedrive stands out with its clean UI, privacy-friendly policies, and affordability. It’s a great choice for those who value simplicity and security. However, its lack of advanced syncing, limited support, and absence of features like in-app editing may be drawbacks for some users. 

Icedrive offers a free 10GB plan, with its premium plans starting at $1.67/month.

pCloud vs Sync

Sync is an encrypted cloud storage that keeps your data secure and private. Both pCloud and Sync focus on security, offering zero-knowledge encryption, strong file-sharing tools, multi-platform support, and affordable plans.

Sync is ideal for privacy-conscious users with its end-to-end encryption and seamless Office 365 integration. It also excels in secure file sharing and document collaboration. However, its outdated UI, lack of Linux support, and limited data center options may be limiting. 

You get a limited 5 GB on Sync’s free plan. Its paid plans start at $8/month. 

Why Should You Trust Me?

I’ve been working full-time in the digital industry since 2015. In these years, I have thoroughly used, tested, and reviewed all popular cloud storage solutions. These include Icedrive, Sync, Zoho WorkDrive, etc. You can find their detailed reviews on my blog and YouTube channel.

For this review, I’ve spent a few weeks testing all the key features of Mega cloud storage on all devices and apps. My experience and expertise in the field of cloud storage have made me capable of recommending you the best service for your needs.

Conclusion

Overall, pCloud looks like a solid cloud storage choice. Its fast speeds, flexible file-sharing options, and lifetime plans make it an affordable long-term investment. 

Also, features like zero-knowledge encryption, multi-platform support, and built-in media players cater to both security-conscious users and media enthusiasts. However, it lacks built-in document editing, has an outdated UI, and charges extra for certain features like encryption.

If you need a reliable cloud service for backups, secure file sharing, and media streaming, pCloud is a great pick! But if collaboration and real-time editing are your main priorities, you may want to explore other options like Sync and Google Drive.

I hope this pCloud Review helped you identify if it’s the right cloud storage solution for you. You can check out these Best Cloud Storage to explore other options. Anyway, this is Kripesh signing off. I’ll be back with more such interesting articles soon. Till then, keep learning. Cheers!

FAQs