Why might you want to know about the best cloud storage for video? Well, video files take up more storage space than any other media format, making it costlier to keep them with just any cloud storage provider.
What you need is a cloud storage platform that’s built for video hosting. This can range from a generic cloud storage provider offering high-bandwidth plans to a more specialised video hosting platform for professional use.
In this article, we take a look at options for the best cloud storage for videos – platforms that offer excellent performance and a slew of additional features to make your video hosting experience smooth and enjoyable. For more general options, see our best cloud storage platform overall, or if you have your own business, see the best cloud storage for business. If you want to learn more about the technology, see our article, what is cloud storage?
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The best cloud storage for videos in full
Over the past decade, Adobe has positioned itself as a titan of the creative industry, providing essential tools for designers of all stripes. Adobe Creative Cloud is the cloud-based subscription platform that the company pivoted to back in 2011, ditching its old buy-to-use model for a software-as-a-service (SaaS) approach.
Depending on your subscription tier, Creative Cloud comes jam-packed with tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere – many of which are an indispensable part of a video producer’s workflow. As an added bonus to its already feature-rich platform, Creative Cloud also offers free storage so that you can access your creative files no matter where you are. It also allows you to collaborate on these files with other members of your team and your clients.
Adobe Creative Cloud is hardly the most cost-efficient cloud storage solution for videos. However, considering that the tools it offers are a must-have for any creative professional and a lot of people are already paying for them anyway, the cloud storage service serves as extra icing on the cake. The only downside is that it doesn’t support external file extensions, such as those used by Apple.
See more in our Adobe Creative Cloud storage review.
A one-size-fits-all cloud storage platform for home and business users alike. However, IDrive also comes with lots of space and powerful features perfect for storing video. Backup and synchronisation happen in real-time, and there is support for file versioning and file retention, meaning that each file is retained up to 30 days after deletion. This helps you recover files you may have deleted by mistake in just a few clicks.
Photos and videos are synced automatically. There is no file compression, and the original quality is always retained. What’s more, IDrive uses artificial intelligence to categorise photos and videos automatically on upload. In terms of security, two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption make it perfectly safe to store sensitive client files.
5GB of free storage is there for those who wish to take IDrive for a spin before making a commitment. This plan is free forever. For those who’re looking for more storage and better support, IDrive offers plans of 5TB and 10TB for $69.50 and $99.50, respectively. There are special plans available for teams and businesses as well.
Read our IDrive review for more details.
Wistia is a little different from the other items on this list. It’s not a cloud storage platform, per se, or even a video storage platform. Rather, Wistia refers to itself as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company selling video marketing solutions. However, you can also use this platform to upload and store videos and embed them on your website. The cloud-based content management system even allows you to collaborate with team members during video production.
Wistia is a favourite among digital marketers and creative businesses. You can think of it as a video-sharing platform like YouTube – with a few added key differences. For one, Wistia will never display annoying ads that distract users from your videos. It also comes specifically equipped with marketing tools like lead capture forms, clickable call-to-action buttons, and powerful analytics to help you increase and measure engagement on your website.
Wistia is one of the most expensive video hosting platforms out there at $99/month for just 10 videos. However, the features it offers in return are well worth the price – provided you need them. If you’re a creative freelancer or video producer looking to quickly store some files, Wistia may not be the best option for you, though.
pCloud is the only platform offering cloud storage for videos with a lifetime subscription plan. What that means is you pay only once and you get to store your photos and videos on its platform forever. You don’t need to pick an annual subscription plan, but the option is still there if the one-time pricing feels too steep.
pCloud offers real-time syncing across all devices, not to mention essential features like file retention and recovery. Deleted files are stored safely for up to 30 days so that you can recover them with a few clicks. There is no maximum limit on individual file size either. A rather welcome addition is the ability to back up videos directly from your favourite social media and cloud storage platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive. There are also 256-bit encryption and two-factor authentication for added security.
You can get pCloud Lifetime for a price of $175 or $350 for 500GB or 2TB of storage space. The annual plans are priced at $47.88 for 500GB and $95.88 for 2TB. Unfortunately, there’s no forever free plan. However, a free trial for one month for up to five users is available for those interested.
Read our pCloud review for more details.
Google is one of four major tech corporations offering cloud storage services, the others being Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. When compared to the others, Google Drive holds its own mostly due to its state-of-the-art collaboration tools and extended list of productivity applications. Security-conscious users might want to avoid it, though, as there is no end-to-end encryption for stored files.
The UI is seamless and easy to use. You can edit stored documents directly by using free productivity tools like Google Docs or Google Sheets. Unfortunately, there’s no built-in video editor with Google Drive. However, those with a paid subscription to Google Workspace – the related business productivity suite – can install third-party add-ons to Google Drive such as MovieStudio or Screencastify. These add-ons bring video editing features straight into the Google Drive environment.
New users get 15GB of free storage with Google Drive, but it’s worth noting that everything from Gmail to Photos now counts towards your total storage. That does not leave enough space to store many high-definition videos, so you will possibly want to upgrade to a paid plan. You can do so by purchasing a subscription to Google One, which offers increased storage capacity and automatic mobile backups. Business users may also consider getting Google Workspace, which includes increased storage capacity for Google Drive and productivity tools like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
Read more with our iCloud vs Google Drive comparison.
If you use Windows 10, you will feel right at home with OneDrive, Microsoft’s native cloud storage service. It integrates flawlessly with apps like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint – making it an excellent choice for professionals and businesses. You even get a basic photo and video editing tool that comes pre-installed with Windows 10, just in case you need to make some quick alterations.
OneDrive doesn’t compress files when uploading and maintains your original video quality. Automatic backup lets you constantly sync all the media files on your desktop to the cloud. There’s also automatic image tagging, real-time syncing, file retention and recovery, ransomware detection, and a personal vault for storing sensitive files. However, you are limited to a maximum individual file size of 100GB.
OneDrive Standalone charges you $1.99/month for 100GB of storage space. If you want more storage capacity, Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that includes the company’s entire productivity suite and offers cloud storage of up to 1TB. It costs $69.99/year for the Personal Plan and $99.99 for Family. Apart from these, there are multiple business plans available for both OneDrive and Microsoft 365 with a storage space of up to 25TB/user.
While not as popular as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, Amazon Photos is a very easy-to-use cloud storage option with just enough features to do the job. There is no limit on individual file size or resolution and videos aren’t compressed on upload.
Amazon Photos is really barebones. There aren’t any productivity tools or extra features built in. What you get, however, is a simple but fast cloud storage solution for all your media files at a very cheap price. Along with videos and photos, you can also store audio files and RAW files. That’s good enough for some, but professional users are left wanting more.
You can use your free Amazon account to log into Amazon Photos. All users get 5GB of photo and video storage for free, whereas those with Amazon Prime get unlimited storage for photos and 5GB for videos. If you’d like to have more storage, Amazon Photos offers 100GB of storage for $1.99/month and 1TB of storage for $6.99/month. See our Amazon Photos review for more details.
If you are someone who uses Apple devices for work, iCloud has to be your platform for choice for cloud storage. Its best feature is just how conveniently it integrates with the rest of the Apple ecosystem, so much so that you don’t even notice that you’re using it. iCloud can be used for both backup and storage purposes, meaning it can also be used to upload individual files aside from backing up your entire device.
iCloud isn’t big on features. However, it’s super easy to use. Files never lose quality when uploaded, making it the perfect platform for storing high-fidelity audio and video. Apart from being built into macOS and iOS, iCloud is also available as a standalone app for desktops and a web-based application for other devices.
iCloud offers 5GB of free storage to all users. If you want more, you can easily upgrade to a paid plan for some of the most affordable prices in the industry. 50GB of storage costs $0.99, 200GB sells for $2.99, and 2TB for $9.99 a month. Read more with our iCloud tips and tricks article.
Sync.com is a Canadian company that bills itself as a secure Dropbox alternative. Because it’s based in Canada, it can take advantage of the country’s relatively lax privacy laws. Combine that with 256-bit end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication, and you get the most secure cloud storage platform on this list. The team account even supports compliance with privacy standards like HIPAA, GDPR, and PIPEDA.
Sync doesn’t compress files on upload, so your videos retain their original resolution and image quality. Sadly, it doesn’t currently offer a built-in video player, which means you have to download your videos to your device before you can play them. On the plus side, Sync not only comes with file versioning, but older versions don’t count towards your total storage quota. Older versions of files are retained for up to 30 days for free accounts, while paid subscribers get to keep them forever.
Sync offers 5GB of free storage to new customers. For individuals, the paid plans cost $8 for 2TB, $12 for 3TB, and $15 for 4TB of storage per month. If you sign up for a team account, however, you pay $5 for 1TB, $8 for 4TB, and $15 for 10 TB of storage per user per month. All plans are billed for at least 12 months at a time.
Read more:
- Cloud storage for photos and images
- iCloud vs Google Drive: Which cloud service is better?
- The best Google Photos alternatives
