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Compare Cloud Storage Costs

Built by Kevin Glover · @gloverbuilds · Verified formula

Compare pricing for Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive by storage needs and features.

📅 Updated April 2026 ✅ Formula verified 📖 4 min read 🆓 Free · No sign-up

In this article

Cloud Storage Comparison (2026)
How Much Storage Do You Need?

Cloud Storage Comparison (2026)

Google One: Best free tier (15GB), $1.99/100GB, $2.99/200GB, $9.99/2TB. Works across all devices. iCloud: $0.99/50GB, $2.99/200GB, $9.99/2TB. Best for Apple ecosystem — seamless backup. Dropbox: Only 2GB free, $11.99/2TB. Best file sharing and collaboration. OneDrive: $1.99/100GB, $6.99/1TB (includes Office 365!). Best value if you need Microsoft Office apps.

How Much Storage Do You Need?

Light use (documents, email): 15-50GB — free tiers work. Photos (10,000+): 100-200GB. Photos + videos: 200GB-2TB. Professional/video editing: 2TB+. Family (5 people): 200GB-2TB shared. The average smartphone user has 50-100GB of photos. 4K video consumes 6GB per hour of footage.

⚡ CalcWolf Insight

The best cloud storage deal in 2026: OneDrive $6.99/month for 1TB of storage PLUS full Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook). If you would buy Office anyway ($100+/year), the cloud storage is essentially free. No other provider bundles productivity apps with storage at this price point.

Frequently asked questions

Which cloud storage is cheapest?▾

For free: Google (15GB) beats iCloud (5GB), OneDrive (5GB), and Dropbox (2GB). For 200GB: Google and iCloud tie at $2.99/mo. For 1TB: OneDrive at $6.99 (includes Office 365) is the best value. For 2TB: Google at $9.99 vs Dropbox at $11.99.

Can I use multiple cloud services?▾

Yes — and many people do. A common setup: iCloud for iPhone backup + Google for documents and email + Dropbox for work collaboration. Most services offer free tiers, so you can use multiple at no cost for basic needs.

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Kevin Glover · @gloverbuilds

Founder, CalcWolf · GLVTS · Blickr

All formulas sourced from primary references — IRS publications, peer-reviewed research, and official standards. Results are tested against independent reference calculators before publishing. Rates and brackets updated when official sources change. Editorial policy →