Free cloud storage compared: MEGA 20GB still leads
MEGA still gives away the most: 10 GB upfront plus up to 10 GB more through achievement bonuses, for 20 GB total. pCloud, Koofr and Filen each offer a straight 10 GB. If you want the free space end-to-end encrypted by default, pick MEGA or Filen — pCloud's free tier is not zero-knowledge without its paid add-on.
What "free" actually gets you in 2026
Free cloud tiers are customer acquisition, and the economics of that acquisition have changed. The generous days of 50 GB promotions are mostly gone; the standard today is 5 to 10 GB with varying hoops. What differs between providers is less the raw number and more what surrounds it: encryption defaults, expansion mechanics, and the limits hiding below the storage figure.
| Provider | Free tier | Expansion options | E2EE by default | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEGA | 10 GB base, up to 20 GB | Achievement bonuses (apps, invites) | Yes | Transfer quota on free tier |
| pCloud | 10 GB | Small bonuses (invites, referrals) | No (Crypto add-on) | Encryption not included |
| Koofr | 10 GB | Connect other accounts (Dropbox, Drive) | Vault folders only | Vault space capped on free plan |
| Filen | 10 GB | Referral bonuses | Yes | Smaller ecosystem, fewer integrations |
| Proton Drive | 5 GB | Proton ecosystem bonuses | Yes | Smallest free tier |
| Sync.com | 5 GB | Referral bonuses | Yes | Smallest free tier |
MEGA: the 20 GB leader, with fine print
The 20 GB figure is real but layered: 10 GB arrives at signup, and the rest comes from achievement bonuses — installing the desktop and mobile apps, completing a referral, and similar tasks that are permanent once earned. The free tier's real constraint is the transfer quota rather than storage: heavy upload and download volume in a month hits a cap that paid plans remove. For most people storing documents, photos, and a few archives, the quota never appears. For anyone moving hundreds of gigabytes, it will. Full default encryption means the free account is as private as the paid one.
pCloud: 10 GB, but the encryption gap matters
pCloud's free tier is straightforward — 10 GB with small expansion bonuses for referrals — and the client is among the most polished. The caveat is that pCloud's standard storage is not zero-knowledge; client-side encryption requires the paid Crypto add-on, which also cannot be applied retroactively to already-synced files without moving them. If you would store anything sensitive in the free account, this is the detail that pushes you toward MEGA or Filen instead. The full paid-lineup analysis is in our best cloud storage comparison.
Koofr: the connector that quietly adds up
Koofr's differentiator is account linking: you can attach other cloud accounts and manage them from one interface, which effectively extends your free capacity with storage you already own. The 10 GB base is competitive, and the paid tiers are the cheapest per gigabyte in our comparison. Its Vault client-side encryption is available on the free plan but with limited capacity, so treat free Koofr as a management layer plus modest storage rather than a privacy vault.
Filen: the privacy-first underdog
Filen matches pCloud and Koofr at 10 GB and adds the strongest privacy defaults of this list: end-to-end encryption on every account tier, open-source clients, and the cheapest encrypted paid plans anywhere (200 GB for €1.99 a month). The trade-off is ecosystem maturity — fewer third-party integrations and a smaller feature set than MEGA. For a free encrypted drop-box, it is excellent; for daily-driver sync across many apps, MEGA remains the safer default.
How free tiers make their money
None of this is charity. Free tiers are paid for in three ways: they are the top of the funnel for paid plans (the 10 GB account is one storage-full notification away from a subscription), they feed engagement metrics for referral and bonus mechanics, and in the worst cases they monetize the account itself through ads or data partnerships. The encrypted providers in this table — MEGA, Filen, Proton Drive, Sync.com — cannot sell file contents they cannot read, which is one more quiet argument for picking an E2EE free tier over a convenient non-encrypted one. Free Koofr and pCloud remain fine for non-sensitive files, but understand the bargain you are making: you are the product being guided toward a subscription, and the free gigabytes are the cost of acquiring you.
Proton Drive and Sync.com: 5 GB, for different reasons
Both offer only 5 GB free, and both are worth knowing about for specific reasons. Proton Drive's free tier is the on-ramp to a privacy ecosystem — encrypted docs editor included — and it makes sense if you already use Proton Mail. Sync.com's free tier is the trial for its paid encrypted sync, with long file history on paid plans. Neither wins a "most free space" contest, which is exactly why they sit at the bottom of this table. If capacity is the question, the answer remains MEGA; if the question is which free tier respects your privacy, MEGA and Filen tie at the top.
Selection advice: Take MEGA for the largest free allocation with default encryption. Take Filen if you want a clean, encrypted 10 GB without bonus mechanics. Use free tiers for what they are — evaluation and convenience — and put anything irreplaceable behind a proper backup service rather than a free account. Paid upgrades and lifetime options are covered in the storage comparison and the lifetime plan guide; our method is on How We Pick.
Frequently asked questions
- Which cloud storage gives the most free space?
- MEGA gives the most: 10 GB immediately plus up to 10 GB more through achievement bonuses like installing the apps, for 20 GB total. pCloud, Koofr and Filen each offer 10 GB, Proton Drive offers 5 GB, and Sync.com offers 5 GB on its free tier.
- Is MEGA's 20 GB free storage really free?
- Yes, but 10 GB of it is locked behind achievement bonuses: installing the desktop and mobile apps, inviting friends, and similar steps. The base allocation is 10 GB. The bonuses are permanent once earned, not a trial, so the 20 GB figure is achievable without paying.
- Which free cloud storage is end-to-end encrypted?
- MEGA, Filen, Proton Drive and Sync.com encrypt free accounts end-to-end by default. pCloud's free tier is not zero-knowledge unless you buy the Crypto add-on, and Koofr encrypts only files placed in its Vault folders.
- Do free cloud storage accounts expire?
- Most providers keep free accounts active indefinitely but reserve the right to close accounts after long inactivity, and some free tiers include bandwidth or device limits rather than data limits. Read the inactivity terms before storing anything important in a free account you do not use regularly.
- What is the catch with free cloud storage?
- The catch is usually elsewhere in the product: smaller free tiers push you toward paid plans, some services display ads or sell anonymized analytics, and free accounts typically get slower support and no version history. Free storage from an encrypted provider is still safe; it just is not the full product.