Boxcryptor is free to use with one cloud storage provider on two devices. As a single user you can boost your range of features with an upgrade. You get unlimited devices, unlimited providers and advanced security with filename encryption. An upgrade to Boxcryptor Personal gives you the freedom to profit from everything the cloud has to offer, in a secure way. If you want to have your encrypted data available on all your devices you have to take the following steps: Install Boxcryptor on your iPhone or iPad and also on your desktop devices. Make sure that you are signed in to iCloud on all devices. Add the iCloud provider in Boxcryptor for iOS.
In this age of technology, digital security is of the utmost importance. There have been countless hacking scandals over the past few years that have brought far too many people into disrepute due to their personal digital items being leaked or stolen. Likewise, the possibility of your digital files being wiped and lost forever is also a constant threat should your hardware break. This is why no matter who you are, it is always worth considering backing up your information on an online cloud. We put together this pCloud review to see if it’s the right storage system for you.
USB sticks are still used by many people today. They are excellent devices, however, there is always the chance of them being lost, stolen, or damaged. By taking a look into what storing your data in a secure online storage facility can do, you are setting yourself up to truly secure your precious memories, meaningful work, and just about anything else you find valuable.
By figuring out the best cloud storage service for you, everything on your phone or computer that you hold dear can be secured for a lifetime.
So, read on and see how pCloud fares against its competitors.
Key features:
- Holds all of your data in one system
- Allows easy sharing or integrating of files
- Top of the range security
- Features a great music system
Things we liked / disliked:
- Extremely secure encryption
- Backed up by strong data privacy laws
- Particularly good pricing
- Synchronizes quickly
- No drag and drop feature
- Customer service can be lacking
An overview of pCloud: What is pCloud
pCloud is an online storage space where users can upload, save, and protect their files. The company started in 2013, and it now has more than 10 million members using its services. It is a deviation away from the well-known and generally trusted online storage programs such as iCloud and Google Drive, so it needs to be investigated to see if it matches up to the rest of the best online file storage systems. By understanding what it has to offer, you can begin to discover that there are some wonderful alternatives out there that you may have never considered.
pCloud features
We’ll take a quick pCloud review of the platform’s features. pCloud includes all of the essential features that you would expect from any legitimate online storage platform. It is exceptionally straightforward in terms of navigation. You can easily share files and folders, large or small, as long as they fit within the size limits of your pCloud subscription plan.
pCloud Rewind
One of the features we had to include in our pCloud review is the rewind feature. If any of your files get deleted or corrupted, they can be recovered up to 30 days later. You can extend this for up to a year of recovery time for an extra charge of $39. This is an excellent addition to the program. Rest assured that should anything happen to your files, they can be successfully recovered and returned to their original format, making pCloud one of the safest cloud storage platforms on the market. The only drawback is that it does not automatically put them back to the position that they were in before, so you must manually place them back into the order that suits you.
pCloud Save
This pCloud extension allows you to save photos at the click of a button. If you’re browsing your computer and see an image that you like, simply right-click it, and it will automatically be saved to your pCloud drive. This feature takes away a fair bit of the hassle that comes with saving images as it takes away the steps of firstly saving it to your device and then uploading it to your pCloud account.
pCloud Music
Pcloud With Boxcryptor
pCloud also offers some of the best cloud storage for music as it features the pCloud audio player. Most other cloud platforms don’t provide music saving options that are as good as pCloud. Not only can you save your music to it, but it also features a music playing system set up just like any other general music player where you can create playlists, etc. You can also download the music to your device, and you can play it when you’re offline. Our pCloud review certainly gives a big thumbs up to the service for this great bonus feature.
pCloud Security
When it comes to saving your files on an online cloud platform, security is of the utmost importance. Luckily, pCloud is based in Switzerland, which has some of the world’s strongest data security laws. This means that your data will be protected by Swiss law, giving you an extra dosage of security and protection. This guarantees that pCloud is one of the safest cloud storage systems out there.
When you upload files to pCloud, they are protected by 256-bit AES encryption. pCloud splits these files between five separate servers, giving them secure protection. pCloud Crypto is also an excellent add-on security service. For an additional $3.99 (if you have an annual subscription), you can get an extra layer of security by having client-side encryption. This is when your files are also encrypted on your device, keeping your pCloud safe to an extra level. The parts of your files that are encrypted are sent to the pCloud servers, and the plain text files don’t leave your device.
pCloud even had a “come hack us” challenge recently where a $100,000 prize was up for grabs if someone could successfully hack their system. There was a six-month time limit to complete the challenge, yet nobody was able to do so. This included over 2,800 individuals, 613 hacking organizations, and 21 tech universities. With pCloud happy to put their money where their mouth is, it goes to show the confidence that they have in being one of the top cloud storage operators in the world.
User experience
The pCloud user experience is straightforward. You can access the service through various programs on your devices. The pCloud desktop app is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. This doesn’t mean that your files will take up space on your computer’s hard drive as they will be saved to the pCloud internet storage system. You will instead feel like you have a lot more space on your computer! (Up to 2 TB depending on your package).
You can also access pCloud through the mobile app. The pCloud app is supported on both iOS and Android systems. It can be frustrating when your phone’s memory is always full. This is primarily due to the number of photos and videos people store on a regular basis. But with this easy-to-use app, you won’t face these issues anymore – all of your mobile files can be uploaded onto your pCloud system, making it seem like your phone has an infinite capacity of storage space.
The app is smooth and easy to handle, with the only apparent drawback being the lack of a drag and drop feature which appears on the desktop app. Nevertheless, pCloud offers some of the best cloud storage for Android and iOS.
pCloud customer support
We also put pCloud’s customer support to the test to see how it fared. In general, not a great deal of customer support situations can arise when using the pCloud program, and if any do, your best bet is to first check out the website’s in-depth FAQ page. Should you have an urgent query, bear in mind that pCloud’s offices are based in Switzerland – a few hours ahead of the United States. If you need to make a phone call for pCloud to review your problem, you’ll need to rise early to get through to them. Because of the time difference – which ranges from six to nine hours depending on where you live in the US – you might have to wait until the next morning before you get a response.
Unfortunately, pCloud support still doesn’t have live chat, which has improved customer service immensely for many companies around the world. If you could message these concerns to them through this method, then perhaps our pCloud review of their customer support would be better.
The fact that their offices are located in Switzerland is a shame for US users when it comes to communication. On the other hand, it means you get stronger privacy laws. Given that we are reviewing a cloud storage system, the extended privacy should take priority over customer service.
pCloud Pricing
pCloud specializes in offering large amounts of storage space. If you don’t need more than 100 GB, then perhaps it is worth looking at other options. If, however, you need high quantities of storage, you’ll find that pCloud’s prices are quite reasonable when sized up against the competition.
With a great abundance of perks, pCloud offers a price to match it. pCloud premium cloud storage is priced at $59.88 per annum. This package gives you 500 GB of storage space, 500 GB of shared link traffic, fair share links, the ability to brand your links as well as 30 days of trash history so that you can recover deleted items. For $95.88, you can upgrade from 500 GB to 2 TB of storage space with the premium plus package.
For some long-term value, you can get a pCloud lifetime subscription with premium costing a one-off $480 and premium plus $980. Keep a sharp eye out for deals though because very often their packages are heavily discounted, leaving you with some whacking deals. With the lifetime deal, you’ll have access to all of that memory and file protection space forever, unless of course, pCloud as a company folds.
pCloud also has one of the best deals for cloud storage membership deals for family accounts. This consists of a one-off payment of $1,400 (again, often heavily discounted) for a lifetime membership to pCloud. It gives yourself and four other family members access to 2 TB of space. This space can be divided up into separate amounts for each family member with a pCloud review of distribution available. Say one person needs more space; they can take 1 TB, whilst the other four may only need 250 GB each. As well as this, each family member shall be entitled to their own personal and private space, meaning that they have their own account and password to access their content.
You can also sign up for the pCloud business plan, which is a great way to organize your company. pCloud business pricing is dependent on how many employees you plan to sign up, and if you pay for them in advance. Each employee that is signed up for the program costs $7.99 per month if the year is paid for upfront or $9.99 if it is not paid for in advance. Each employee is assigned 1 TB of space for files, which is sufficient for most companies.
Alternatives to pCloud
Although it’s a great platform, pCloud is still the new kid on the block and not as much of a household name as some of its competitors, like Backblaze and iDrive. However, pCloud stands out from the crowd with its superb security coupled with intuitive interface.
How Does pCloud Compare to Other Backup Solutions?
- Holds all of your data in one system
- Allows easy sharing or integrating of files
- Top of the range security
- Features a great music system
- Synchronizes entire folders
- Backs up the disk image
- Free disk shipping on demand
- Support for multiple platforms
- Automatic Backups
- Unlimited File Retention
- Cross-platform access
- Offsite Backup
Conclusion
Despite being relatively new to the industry and not having the same power as Microsoft or Google, pCloud puts up a great fight, earning the title as one of the best cloud based storage systems out there.
Its security is top-notch – 256-bit AES encryption, files backed over five servers, and an extra pCloud Crypto option to ensure your data is never compromised. Your privacy rights are enshrined in Swiss law, meaning it is tough for corporate and state institutions to snoop. Overall, we review pCloud security as just about as good as you’re going to get.
Additionally, pCloud can be used over various devices and platforms, including Windows, iOS, and Android. Both its desktop and mobile applications are straightforward to use, and you should be able to get the hang of them in no time, even if online cloud backups are something completely new to you.
Its pricing structure is also a match with its competitors. If you need large amounts of cloud storage space, pCloud is hard to beat. With various big discounts going on, you can find yourself with one of the most affordable cloud storage systems on the market. When you throw in some of its excellent features, it really does offer great value for your money. The only pricing drawback is that a couple of those features, such as extra encryption, come with an added price. Nevertheless, when you compare the cloud storage features of other providers, some of them don’t even offer the add-ons that pCloud offers.
The one other drawback that comes with pCloud is its customer support. It doesn’t have a live chat option, can be slow to respond, and can be hard to reach due to the time difference. The site does have a great FAQ section, however, and that alone should be able to answer most inquiries.
Things we liked / disliked:
- Extremely secure encryption
- Backed up by strong data privacy laws
- Particularly good pricing
- Synchronizes quickly
- No drag and drop feature
- Customer service can be lacking
FAQ
Absolutely. It has one of the most secure encryption systems on the market, backed up by Swiss privacy laws. The program is straightforward to use, and it offers you great value for your money if you need a large quantity of cloud storage space.
If you were to compare pCloud vs Google Drive or against Dropbox, we would say that it certainly matches up to the other big hitters of the cloud storage operators out there. Its interface is neatly developed, easy to use, and has both desktop and mobile applications that help to simplify access to your files.
The price range also matches up to the great features offered, meaning that you can swipe an excellent deal for yourself.
pCloud is perhaps the safest cloud system on the market. When your files are uploaded onto pCloud’s system, they are split into five different servers, protecting them from being lost.
The pCloud Rewind feature also allows you to retrieve files up to 30 days later if they are corrupted or deleted.
They also offer the added feature of pCloud Crypto, which gives you client-side encryption, meaning that the encryption is performed on your device, further enhancing the security of your information.
Pcloud Boxcryptor
On top of that, Swiss data privacy laws, amongst the strongest in the world, protect your files even further. Our pCloud review concludes that it is amongst the strongest cloud platforms you can sign up for.
When answering which of the pair of these is better there are various factors which must be taken into account. In this review of pCloud and Dropbox, we’ll go over which parts score stronger than others so that you can choose for yourself which one works best for you.
First of all, we would score pCloud’s security as being stronger than Dropbox. If you want to have zero-knowledge encryption, pCloud offers it for a small extra price. With Dropbox, however, you must sign up for a third party such as Boxcryptor.
When doing a pCloud vs Dropbox review, you also need to take a look at privacy. pCloud offers greater privacy than Dropbox due to it being based in Switzerland, which has some of the toughest data protection laws in the world.
Dropbox is based in the United States which means that legislation such as the Patriot Act could be used for the government to gain access to your files.
Dropbox also states in its terms and conditions that it can access your files should it require and, additionally, can sell your data to other web giants such as Google and Amazon. pCloud doesn’t.
Price-wise, pCloud also seems to come out on top. They are both competitive in their prices, but pCloud just seems to take the edge.
They offer some of the best free cloud storage as you can get up to 10 GB (you need to earn some by inviting people) for free, whilst Dropbox only offers 2 GB. The 2 TB plan is also cheaper with pCloud as it costs $9.99 per month or $7.99 per month if you are paying the annual subscription upfront.
Dropbox is priced at $11.99 per month or $9.99 if it is paid in advance. Therefore, when you compare cloud storage prices, pCloud again takes the edge.
The one section where Dropbox perhaps comes out on top is when comparing interfaces. When used on a desktop or laptop, both pCloud and Dropbox have a good, familiar interface that you should become comfortable with quickly.
Dropbox takes the lead when it comes to its app, however. The Dropbox app is more straightforward to use than pCloud with the latter missing the drag and drop feature.