Google Drive vs pCloud
pCloud comes out ahead of Google Drive on 5 of the 7 things that decide this, going by what each company publishes and what independent review sites report. The one that matters for you may be one the leader loses.
The verdict
pCloud takes it, 5–2 on rounds.
On the published figures and the independent review sites, pCloud takes 5 of 7 rounds. Treat that as a starting point and check the current figures on both pages, because prices and plans move.
Choose Google Drive if…
- • You want Google Drive's edge on how much you get free and what the cheapest paid plan costs
Choose pCloud if…
- • You want pCloud's edge on who can read your files and paying once instead of monthly
Round by round
- Round 1How much you get freeGoogle Drive wins
Google Drive wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 2What the cheapest paid plan costsGoogle Drive winspCloud5/10
$4.17
Premium 500 GB, $49.99 a year, shown per month
- $4.17, against $1.99
Source: pcloud.com ↗
Google Drive wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 3Who can read your filespCloud winsGoogle Drive5/10
Not zero-knowledge
Google can read files on its servers
- Not zero-knowledge, against Optional
Source: cloudslinker.com ↗
pCloud8/10Optional
zero-knowledge encryption is the paid pCloud Crypto add-on
Source: allcloudhub.com ↗
pCloud wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 4Paying once instead of monthlypCloud winsGoogle Drive5/10
No lifetime plan
monthly or yearly plans only
- No lifetime plan, against Lifetime plans
Source: allcloudhub.com ↗
pCloud wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 5What customers say on TrustpilotpCloud winsGoogle Drive5/10
2.3 out of 5
TrustScore from 10,422 reviews on Trustpilot
- 2.3 out of 5, against 3.1 out of 5
Source: trustpilot.com ↗
pCloud wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 6Storage on the cheapest paid planpCloud winsGoogle Drive5/10
100 GB
Google One Basic (100 GB) / Google AI Plus (2 TB), billed monthly (Monthly tab, US)
- 100 GB, against 500 GB
Source: one.google.com ↗
pCloud8/10500 GB
Premium 500 GB (Premium Plus 2 TB for the 2 TB price), billed monthly (click MONTHLY); lifetime on the LIFETIME tab
Source: pcloud.com ↗
pCloud wins this round on what the published sources say.
- Round 7Biggest single file you can uploadpCloud winsGoogle Drive5/10
Up to 5 TB per file
Google One Basic (100 GB) / Google AI Plus (2 TB), billed monthly (Monthly tab, US)
- Up to 5 TB per file, against Unlimited - any file size
Source: support.google.com ↗
pCloud8/10Unlimited - any file size
Premium 500 GB (Premium Plus 2 TB for the 2 TB price), billed monthly (click MONTHLY); lifetime on the LIFETIME tab
Source: pcloud.com ↗
pCloud wins this round on what the published sources say.
Side by side
- $1.99, against $0.99
- Not zero-knowledge, against Optional
- No lifetime plan, against Lifetime plans
- 2.3 out of 5, against 3.1 out of 5
- 10 GB, against 15 GB
- $4.17, against $1.99
- $4.17, against $0.99
- Optional, against Zero-knowledge