As the data is increasing in our lives, more people and businesses are now moving to cloud storage solutions to save the files securely.
But there are a ton of different cloud storage providers available — and it can be challenging to find the one that works best for you and your business.
In this post, we will see the top 5 cloud storage services in Europe, with their detailed review to help you make a quick decision.
Let’s get started…
Why is Europe the Best Place for Cloud Storage?
Most cloud storage providers have servers in the United States. But as we all know, US privacy laws are not designed to keep the data secure from authorities.
The situation is entirely different in Europe, where some of the strictest privacy laws are established to ensure that only the user can access their data. With the implementation of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), all businesses operating in the EU are required to have transparent privacy policies. If companies fail to comply with GDPR, they suffer hefty fines.
That is why Europe based companies like pCloud offer much better security protection than US-based cloud solutions. If you live in Europe, then you can have the added advantage of better upload and download times.
Overall, European cloud services provide the best in class security and privacy — especially if you are looking to save sensitive data.
Now, let’s start this list with one of the most popular cloud storage services in Europe, pCloud.
pCloud: The Best Cloud Storage for Europe
Founded in 2013, pCloud is a fantastic cloud storage service known for its excellent privacy features.
All files stored in pCloud are secured with 256-bit AES encryption during and after transfer. More than five copies of your data are stored on at least three server locations to make sure your data is safe in every situation.
pCloud also has Zero-knowledge privacy, which means that neither pCloud nor any authority can ever have access to your data.
Recently, pCloud has launched a new data region feature, in which the users can decide where they want to store their data. The two available data locations are — United States (Dallas, Texas) and the European Union (Luxembourg).
The data centers used by pCloud are certified under SSAE 18 SOC 2 Type II & SSAE 16 SOC 2 Type II and comply with the highest security and data privacy levels.
This is huge for EU users as pCloud is based in Switzerland — the country with some of the strictest privacy laws. So pCloud is fully compliant with all the Swiss privacy laws, GDPR, and global security standards.
Data transfer speeds are also good as pCloud does not limit your download and upload speeds (you can set custom limits in the settings area). To speed up the syncing of large files, pCloud uses block-level sync that only replaces the changes in the files.
Besides the top-notch security, privacy, and speed, pCloud supports file sharing, file management, automatic backups, and media preview.
pCloud Plans & Pricing:
There are two annual plans. One priced at $47.88 for 500 GB and another at $95.88 for 2 TB. Both plans offer similar features like 30 days of trash history, shared link branding, and fair share.
pCloud also offers two-lifetime plans, $175 for 500 GB, and $350 for 2 TB. These are super affordable plans for long-term cloud users.
Tresorit
Next in our list is Tresorit.
Founded in 2011, Tresorit is based in Switzerland, and complies with all the Swiss privacy laws. It uses Microsoft Azure data centers in the EU, Switzerland, and North America.
imilarly to pCloud, Tresorit also uses Zero-knowledge privacy, which means that even Tresorit cannot access your data. The one downside of this is that your password is not stored in Tresorit servers, so if somehow you lose your password, Tresorit won’t be able to help you retrieve it.
End-to-end and AES 256 bit encryption is standard in Tresorit, with two-factor authorization and remote device wipe.
Apps for all the platforms (Mac, Windows, Linus, Android, and iOS) are available with built-in encryption support. So the data can be uploaded to the cloud without compromising the security.
But as Tresorit has a strong focus on security and privacy of user data, it does not integrate with third-party applications, and you cannot stream videos, edit files, or play music online. The only option is to download the files first — which can be limiting for some users.
All the security precautions are taken by Tresorit to make sure only you can access your data, with no unwanted data hacks or losses.
Tresorit Plans and Pricing:
There’s a free plan for individuals with 5 GB storage and secure file transfer. It can be upgraded at $10.42/month for 500 GB, and $24/month for 2.5 TB.
The business plan starts at $20/user/month for 1 TB of encrypted storage and 3 to 9 users.
Dropbox
Dropbox is one of the well-established names in the cloud storage industry.
It offers many security features like a password manager, encrypted storage, and file recovery for up to 30 days. Dropbox supports all major platforms for seamless sync between multiple devices. If your device is lost at any time, you can wipe the data remotely in just a few clicks.
Dropbox uses several data centers located in the United States for all the customers on individual plans. But Dropbox Business users can select the server location from Germany, Australia, and Japan to store the data.
Powerful productivity tools are included in Dropbox for fast team collaboration. Team members can request files for review or collect everything in a single folder for multiple access. It also supports various third-party app integrations like Zapier, Trello, Salesforce, Slack, and Gmail.
Dropbox lacks some advanced security features compared to pCloud and Tresorit, as its primary focus is to become a workspace tool, not just a cloud storage solution.
So if your main focus is to have cloud storage with amazing collaboration tools, file sharing options, and fast sync — Dropbox is a great option! But for highly secure data, pCloud is still at the top.
Dropbox Plans and Pricing:
Dropbox offers a free plan for individuals with 2 GB of free storage. It can be upgraded at $9.99/month for 2 TB and $16.58/month for 3 TB storage. Business plans are also available, starting at $12.50/user/month for 3 TB storage.
Sync.com
Founded in the same year as Tresorit, Sync.com now boasts a user base of over 750,000 customers.
Sync.com is a cloud service with a focus on user productivity without compromising security or privacy.
Security features like end-to-end encryption are built-in in all the Sync.com platforms and apps to prevent data upload from unauthorized access. No data of users is collected or shared with any advertisers or other third-parties. Two-factor authentication, remote wipe, and custom passwords are included in all the plans.
The user data is also replicated across multiple data centers with RAID storage, automatic failover, and 99% or better uptime SLA.
While Sync.com is not EU based, it complies with all the global data standards like GDPR, PIPEDA, and Canadian privacy laws. So it’s safe to use, no matter where you live.
Sync.com Plans and Pricing:
There’s a free personal plan with 5 GB of free storage and 5 GB of share transfer limits. Individual plans start at $8/month (billed annually) and include 2 TB storage and all the Pro features.
Sync.com also has dedicated plans for businesses, starting at $5/user/month (billed annually), including 1 TB storage per user.
IDrive
Lastly, we have IDrive cloud storage solution.
IDrive is one of the oldest cloud storage services with super affordable plans. It uses the standard 256 bit AES encryption for data security, and multiple device backup to take data from all the devices to one account.
The best feature of IDrive is that you can backup unlimited devices to a single account, without hitting any limits. You can even backup all your external hard drives to keep multiple copies. All the data is kept for a period of 30 days after deletion so you can restore files quickly.
True Archiving is also offered by IDrive, where no data is deleted from their servers until you manually delete the files or run Archive Cleanup to match your desktop data to your account. This is a handy feature to keep the desktop clean, and all the critical data in one place.
The one issue with IDrive is slow backup times. Their data centers are in the US, which results in further reduced upload speeds. If you’re in the UK, you can have slightly higher speeds if you select the UK plans.
IDrive Plans and Pricing:
IDrive personal plan starts at $52.12 for 5 TB that supports one user and unlimited computers. Its business plan starts at $74.62 for 250 GB storage, unlimited users, computers, and servers. All the plans are only for the first year, after which they get to the standard rate.
Conclusion
If you’re based in the EU, pCloud is the best cloud storage service you can try.
Its primary focus on user security, compliance with Swiss privacy laws, and easy to use features, makes pCloud an excellent option for both personal and business use.
You can sign up for the pCloud free plan to get up to 10 GB of free cloud storage or start your journey with any annual or lifetime pCloud plan.
pCloud Lifetime plan is one-time payment only, no monthly or annual costs, which makes this a very reasonable choice.
