Best encrypted cloud storage
Choose the best encrypted cloud storage for your needs
Selecting the best cloud storage provider of encrypted cloud storage for your business can be challenging, due to the many options available. You need secure cloud storage that encrypts stored data, and uses end-to-end encryption to protect files when they are being uploaded or downloaded from the provider’s servers.
The best cloud storage for business must also be accessible via the internet at any time; seamlessly share, sync, and update documents; and enable you to recover backed-up files lost from your physical storage hard drives.
There are concerns often raised when comparing cloud storage vs local storage, such as service costs, the risk of data breaches, and the need to have an internet connection to access your account. Even so, cloud storage offers convenience, enabling employees to connect, collaborate, and share files securely online. It's also cheaper than investing in and maintaining your own on-premises solution.
Here, we discuss five of the most secure cloud storage options available.
The 3 best encrypted cloud storage providers right now
IDrive: the best cloud storage, with solid encryption
IDrive offers large amounts of storage at highly-competitive prices, supporting unlimited devices and offering secure encryption for your uploads. For a limited time, you can get 10TB of cloud storage for only £3.27 for the first year!
Google Drive: high performance secure storage
Google Drive integrates with Google Workspace, and offers a range of top features including slick apps, third-party integrations, quick performance, and secure encryption to keep files and shared documents safe.
Box for Business: top security and integrations
Box for Business offers businesses collaborative and file-sharing tools, alongside third-party integration. Its strong encryption and security features, partnered with an easy-to-use interface, top apps, and comprehensive support offer great value-for-money storage.
What are the best encrypted cloud storage options?
The most secure encrypted cloud storage providers are IDrive, Google Drive, pCloud, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box. IDrive is the top, well-rounded, and value-for-money option on our list, with great features and plan prices, and decent customer support. It's also our top choice for the best cloud storage when it comes to premium plans, and the best cloud storage for photos.
Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive are well-known for providing convenient, reliable, and safe cloud storage alongside their integrated proprietary collaboration apps. Box and pCloud additionally provide top-notch privacy and security features for their customers, across business and personal cloud storage.
The best encrypted cloud storage providers, compared
| Cloud storage provider | Lowest-priced plan | Encryption | Storage capacity | Mobile apps? | Number of users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDrive | £65.25 a year (IDrive Personal) | 256-bit AES | Up to 50TB | ✔ | Unlimited |
| Google Drive | £1.59 a month (Google One) | 256-bit AES | Potentially unlimited | ✔ | Unlimited |
| Box for Business | £12 a month per user (Business) | 256-bit AES | Potentially unlimited | ✔ | Unlimited |
| pCloud | £4.99 a month (Premium) | Zero-knowledge encryption, TLS/SSL channel protection, and 256-bit AES | Up to 2TB (per user) | ✔ | Unlimited |
| Microsoft OneDrive | £3.80 per user a month (OneDrive Standard) | 256-bit AES | Up to 1TB (per user) | ✖ (on more advanced plans) | 300+ |
The best encrypted cloud storage you can buy today
IDrive
Best value for money encrypted cloud storage
SPECIFICATIONS
- Lowest-priced plan: £65.25 a year (IDrive Personal)
- Encryption: 256-bit AES
- Storage capacity: Up to 50TB
- Mobile apps: Yes
- Number of users: Unlimited
REASONS TO BUY
- Works on mobile and desktop OSs
- Storage capacity can be upgraded to 50TB
- Online file syncing and versioning
- Competitive pricing
REASONS TO AVOID
- Slow backup and download speeds
- Lacks unlimited storage option
IDrive is a competitively-priced cloud storage option with features that can meet the needs of small and large businesses. Its business subscription plans offer more storage capacity depending on your requirements (up to 50TB), and 24/7 priority support via email, live chat, or phone. In addition, there are discounts available when you sign up, with up to 50% off for the first year if you pay for a two-year plan.
Plans start at £65.25 a year for one user, unlimited devices, and 5TB of storage (IDrive Personal). On the business side, IDrive Team offers five users, five computers and 5TB for £82.71 a year. For a limited time, IDrive is offering 10TB of storage for only £3.27 for the first year.
Its multiplatform and multi-device features enable users to access the service from their phones or desktops, and back up data to a single account. In cases of total data loss on the local storage disks, you can use the IDrive Express feature, where IDrive will back up the bulk data to a physical hard disk and ship it to you. Even though data backup can be slow, incremental backups will lower network bandwidth because you’ll only be uploading modified versions of the data.
The military-grade 256-bit AES secures network drives, servers, and data, delivering end-to-end protection for files in transit to and from IDrive’s servers. IDrive provides a default and private encryption key, which encrypts your stored data, preventing criminals from reading your data if they manage to hack into your account.
Read our full IDrive review.
Google Drive
Best encrypted cloud storage for Google users
SPECIFICATIONS
- Lowest-priced plan: £1.59 a month (Google One)
- Encryption: 256-bit AES
- Storage capacity: Potentially unlimited
- Mobile apps: Yes
- Number of users: Unlimited
REASONS TO BUY
- Cloud-native collaboration apps available
- 15GB free storage
- Seamless integration with third-party applications, such as Microsoft Office
REASONS TO AVOID
- Concerns about privacy
- Lacks end-to-end protection
Google Drive positions itself as one of the best cloud storage platforms, providing reliable backup for hard disk drive and phone data. It has four subscription plans: Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus, which have storage ranging from 30GB to 5TB, and Enterprise, which offers as much storage as you need.
Teams can access company files through shared drives on Google Drive and use powerful AI and search technology to find specific documents faster. Drive’s integration with Google Workspace enables teams of all sizes to create, edit, and share documents through cloud-native collaboration apps, such as Google Docs.
Furthermore, Drive integrates with third-party apps, for example, Slack and Adobe, complementing the technology your team is already using. Data transfers are protected through 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption, and Workspace administrators can control how users share files and folders from Google Drive to contacts outside your organisation.
Read our full Google Drive review.
Box for Business
Best encrypted cloud storage for collaboration
SPECIFICATIONS
- Lowest-priced plan: £12 a month per user (Business)
- Encryption: 256-bit AES
- Storage capacity: Up to 150GB
- Mobile apps: Yes
- Number of users: Unlimited
REASONS TO BUY
- Advanced security controls
- Intelligent threat scan and detection
- Seamless team collaboration
- Strict data privacy
REASONS TO AVOID
- Inadequate storage capacity
- More expensive than its rivals
- Minimum of three users required
Box protects sensitive files in the cloud using intelligent threat detection and encryption features. Administrators can use the Box Shield feature to classify sensitive documents, and prevent data leaks by configuring access restrictions. Its deep learning-based malware detector thwarts content-centric risks, such as data breaches and ransomware, and sends a timely alert if your account is compromised.
Team members can collaborate seamlessly in a central workspace through Box’s Cloud Content Management feature. It has built-in integrations with Slack, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365, and over 1,500 third-party enterprise app integrations. The Box Relay feature enables employees to assign tasks, comment, or share files with external teams.
The Business, Business Plus, and Enterprise subscription plans start at £12 to £28 per user a month, offering storage space of up to 50GB. Users can contact Box for a price quote for the new Enterprise Plus plan, which offers 150GB of storage and 24/7 technical support.
Read our full Box for Business review.
pCloud
Best encrypted cloud storage for privacy
SPECIFICATIONS
- Lowest-priced plan: £4.99 a month (Premium)
- Encryption: Zero-knowledge encryption, TLS/SSL channel protection, and 256-bit AES
- Storage capacity: Up to 2TB (per user)
- Mobile apps: Yes
- Number of users: Unlimited
REASONS TO BUY
- Top-notch security
- Comprehensive backup options
- Affordable pricing
- Team and file management tools
REASONS TO AVOID
- Lacks integration with online editing apps
- Limited real-time collaboration options
- Insufficient customer support options
pCloud is one of the most secure cloud storage options, as it uses zero-knowledge encryption. This means you're the only one with access to your data, and your cloud storage provider can't view your encrypted files. It comes with 256-bit AES encryption and TLS/SSL channel protection to guard your internet traffic.
There is also an extra security layer called pCloud Crypto, making it easier to decrypt and encrypt files. With a straightforward interface, pCloud is available on any device, and each user gets 1TB of storage. You can easily organise your employees into teams, control access to shared folders, and set group permissions, thereby enhancing workflow.
Backup options are extensive, as you can upload your data from other platforms, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. File versioning enables you to recover old versions of stored content for the past 30 days. However, real-time collaboration and document editing options are not available.
Customer support includes email, web form, and phone. pCloud’s Help page mentions that email responses may be delayed by more than 24 hours, though.
Read our full pCloud review.
Microsoft OneDrive
Best encrypted cloud storage for Microsoft 365 users
SPECIFICATIONS
- Lowest-priced plan: £3.80 per user a month (OneDrive Standard)
- Encryption: 256-bit AES
- Storage capacity: Up to 1TB (per user)
- Mobile apps: Yes
- Number of users: 300+
REASONS TO BUY
- Advanced security features and encryption
- Automatic backups and document sync
- Microsoft Office integration option plus productivity tools
- 24/7 online and phone support
REASONS TO AVOID
- More expensive than others
- Lacks zero-knowledge privacy
Microsoft OneDrive consistently appears on best cloud storage services lists, because it offers secure file backups, compatibility with and access from desktop or mobile devices, and seamless collaboration tools. Its security controls also enable you to manage your account’s privacy settings.
OneDrive’s security options include data encryption for files in-transit or at-rest. File auditing and reporting are easy to do, and the system can monitor and protect sensitive data using the Advanced Data Loss Prevention feature.
The Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Premium plans provide fully installed and up-to-date web-based and desktop versions of Microsoft Office apps, such as Word and Excel. Your team can edit and share files, collaborate in real-time, and set passwords to safeguard shared links.
Furthermore, its built-in search and discovery technologies will help your employees find documents quicker. Microsoft Teams is also available to enhance remote work, team planning, and staff video conferencing. Although OneDrive is pricey compared to its competitors, its feature stack is broad enough to cover the cost, and customer support is available around the clock.
Read our full OneDrive and OneDrive for Business review.
How to choose the best encrypted cloud storage
Choosing the best encrypted cloud storage will depend on several factors: budget, security and privacy needs; third-party app integration; storage capacity; backup and recovery functions; interface usability; safe file sharing; and collaborative tools. With these features in mind, you can identify the product that will suit your business.
For example, if you want a good quality encrypted cloud storage provider that's top overall, your pick should be IDrive. It ticks all the boxes for cross-platform compatibility, automated and intelligent backups, and secure data transfer and storage. Files are synced in real-time, managed from the IDrive dashboard, or restored to your specified devices when lost.
If you rate privacy higher than other features, you should select pCloud, which uses zero-knowledge encryption, TLS/SSL channel protection, and 256-bit AES encryption to protect your data. Its file management, versioning, and sharing features give you greater control over your content.
Anyone seeking a reliable cloud service can count on the tried-and-tested Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive services. They provide adequate security tools, decent storage space, integration with various apps, and online and phone support. Both offer Microsoft Office apps, crucial for creating and editing work documents. Moreover, they use search and discovery technologies to find documents, thereby enhancing collaboration between employees.
Box is a good choice for teams seeking to collaborate securely, as it enables users to create, edit, and securely share documents, and backs up changes automatically in the cloud, streamlining the process for your whole company. You can also transfer and work on large video files and high-resolution images.
How secure is cloud storage?
The best secure cloud storage provides top security via encryption, though in theory it's not as secure as local storage would be.
When you're looking for secure storage, prioritise end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge architecture. Encryption means that providers are, for all intents and purposes, hack-proof; zero-knowledge architecture prevents even cloud storage provider staff from accessing your files, even if compelled to by law enforcement.
Beyond these, in-transit and at-rest encryption means that your data is indecipherable, even if a cybercriminal were to intercept it. Most Storage as a Service (StaaS) organisations - top cloud storage providers among them - will have data centres protected by a raft of measures, including 24/7 security, biometric entry, and frequent auditing.
Finally, additional tools such as 2FA can give you even higher levels of security if required. The bottom line is that while you may naturally be concerned about data security in the cloud, the very best cloud storage providers offer military-grade, cutting-edge features to give you peace of mind.
Further reading on cloud storage
If you're looking for cloud storage but don't have much of a budget, make sure you take a look at our guide to the best free cloud storage, though we don't recommend this for businesses.
Wondering what might be best for your business when it comes to cloud and local storage? Our comparison pitting cloud storage vs local storage aims to explore the similarities, differences, advantages and disadvantages of both types.
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