iCloud Storage Price: Every Plan, Cost Over 3 Years

Plans and Prices

All prices on this page are US dollars for one person, and we could not confirm whether tax is included in every vendor's figure. Apple's iCloud+ plans and pricing page, published 16 September 2026 and read on 2 November 2026, gives the United States prices below. Apple says some US states add tax to the monthly payment, and that after you upgrade you are billed monthly. The page shows monthly prices only, so every yearly and three-year figure in the table is our arithmetic: 12 times the monthly price, and 36 times for three years. We worked each sum out in a script and assumed no price change.

Apple's iCloud page shows the same five monthly prices and says the first sign-in with an Apple Account gives you 5 GB of free storage. Apple's list for the United States has no 1 TB plan. We are quoting Apple's own list, read on 2 November 2026.

Apple's pages that we read list no separate price for iCloud Drive. Apple's storage page says iCloud Drive files use your iCloud storage, so the plan above is what you pay.

Plan Features

Apple's plans page lists the same set of features on every paid plan:

• iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, Custom Email Domain and Apple Invites.
• HomeKit Secure Video support for one camera on 50 GB, up to five cameras on 200 GB, and an unlimited number of cameras on 2 TB, 6 TB and 12 TB.
• Sharing with up to five other family members. The page lists it under every plan, and Apple's iCloud page says you can share any iCloud+ plan with up to five other people in your Family Sharing group at no additional cost, with each person's files kept private and separate.

Apple's plans page lists sharing under the 50 GB plan as well as the larger ones. Sharing needs a quick extra setup, which Apple's iCloud page mentions but which we did not walk through.

Apple's plans page also says Private Relay can mean some websites ask for extra sign-in steps, and that not every feature is available in every country. It accepts credit cards, debit cards and your Apple Account balance, and says Apple Store gift cards are not accepted for upgrading iCloud+.

Choosing a Plan

Apple's pages we read give no guide to how many photos fit in each plan, so we do not invent one. The reliable step is to check what you use. Apple's storage page, published 30 October 2026, says that on an iPhone or iPad you open Settings, tap your name, then tap iCloud to check how much iCloud storage you have used. We did not read Apple's Mac steps for this.

If your use fits in a plan with room to spare, the cheaper plan costs less each month by the amounts in the first table. A move from 200 GB to 2 TB adds $7.00 a month ($9.99 minus $2.99).

Change or Cancel

Apple's buy and upgrade page, published 15 September 2026, gives these steps.

iPhone with iOS 27 and later

1. Open Settings, tap your name, then tap iCloud.
2. Under iCloud+ Features, tap Manage Plan.

iPhone with iOS 18.4 to iOS 26

1. Open Settings and tap your name.
2. Tap Subscriptions, then tap iCloud+ under Active, then tap See All Plans.

Mac with macOS Sequoia and later

1. Choose the Apple menu, then click System Settings.
2. Click your name, then click iCloud.
3. Under iCloud+ Features, click Manage Plan.

If you are not subscribed yet, the same page says to tap Get More Storage on an iPhone with iOS 27 and later, or to click Upgrade to iCloud+ on a Mac.

Apple's downgrade and cancel page, published 15 September 2026, says to download or remove content that exceeds your new storage amount before you downgrade or cancel. On an iPhone with iOS 18.4 and later, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, tap iCloud+ under Active, then tap Cancel Subscription. To go to a smaller plan, tap See All Plans. On a Mac with macOS Tahoe 26 or later, Apple's page says to choose the Apple menu, click System Settings, click Apple Account, then click iCloud, and click Manage Plan under iCloud+ Features. Apple words the Mac path differently on the two pages ("your name" on one, "Apple Account" on the other), so follow the one for your macOS version.

On timing and money, Apple says:

• The change takes effect after your current billing period ends.
• Partial refunds are available where required by law, and if you recently changed your plan, you should contact Apple within 14 days for a refund.
• If you pay for both Apple One and an iCloud+ plan, you can cancel the iCloud+ plan and use the one included in Apple One.
• Back on the free plan, you lose Hide My Email, Private Relay, Apple Invites and HomeKit Secure Video support.

Full Storage

Apple's storage page, published 14 September 2026, says that when you run out of iCloud storage:

• your device stops backing up to iCloud,
• new photos and videos stop uploading to iCloud Photos,
• iCloud Drive and other iCloud apps stop staying up to date across your devices, and
• you cannot send or receive email with your iCloud address.

The same page says deleted photos normally stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days and do not count toward your storage. If you exceed your limit, though, your device removes photos and videos you delete at once, and they cannot be recovered from Recently Deleted. It also says iCloud backups are available for 180 days after you disable or stop using iCloud Backup, which is a separate rule from running out of room.

After a downgrade or cancellation, Apple's cancel page says that if your storage exceeds the new plan's capacity, iCloud will not sync or update your information and iCloud backups will not complete. Syncing and backups start again when you add storage or delete enough to fit.

Apple's plans, buy, cancel, storage and storage-versus-device pages, the five we read, do not say how long your data stays in iCloud while you remain over the limit, whether anything is deleted, or what happens to a link you shared. We do not know, so we leave it at that.

Google One and Dropbox

We read Google's and Dropbox's US pages from web.archive.org captures of 2 November 2026, because our network in the UK shows them in pounds. Prices below are US dollars for one person, and we could not confirm whether tax is included.

The sources are Google One's plans page and Dropbox's plans page. Google's page shows a Monthly and an Annual toggle. Google also says every Google account comes with 15 GB of free storage shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, and Dropbox lists a free Basic plan with 2 GB. Google's 2 TB and 5 TB tiers are sold as Google AI Plus and Google AI Pro, which add Gemini features, and the page shows no 200 GB tier.

Dropbox's page, captured 2 November 2026 at 12:25 UTC, loads with Billed yearly selected and shows Plus (2 TB, for 1 person) at $9.99 a month. So $9.99 a month is the yearly-billing rate, which is $119.88 a year. The capture holds no monthly-billing price, so we state none.

Over three years, with each column on one billing basis:

The paid-monthly column is 36 times the monthly price. The paid-yearly column is three times the yearly price the page shows. For Dropbox that is 12 times $9.99, billed yearly, three times over. For Google it is $19.99 a year for Basic ("Save $3.89"), $99.99 for AI Plus and $199.99 for AI Pro. Apple's page shows no yearly price, so we put nothing there.

At 2 TB, iCloud+ costs $359.64 over three years of monthly payments and Google AI Plus costs $299.97 paid yearly, which is $59.67 less. Google's monthly price is the same $9.99, so the gap comes from Google's yearly price. At entry level, iCloud+ 50 GB is $35.64 against $59.97 for Google One's 100 GB paid yearly: the Google plan has twice the room and the Apple plan the lower price. We do not call either best, because the plans differ in what comes with them.

iCloud or Google Drive

Pick by the devices you own and what you keep. The prices are in the table above; Google's side has its own post, Google One pricing. Apple's iCloud page says your first sign-in with an Apple Account gives you 5 GB free. Google's help page says each Google Account includes up to 15 GB, shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos.

Devices. Apple's iCloud page says iCloud Drive files open in the Files app on iPhone and iPad, in Finder on a Mac, in File Explorer for Windows PCs, or at iCloud.com. We found no Apple page about an Android app. We did not read Google's pages on which devices have a Drive app, so we say nothing about that side.

Privacy. Apple's data security page, published 5 January 2026, says standard data protection is the default and the keys are held in Apple data centers. Advanced Data Protection is an optional setting that leaves the keys on your trusted devices for most iCloud data. If you turn it on and lose access to your account, Apple says it will not have the keys to help you recover it, so you need your device passcode or password, a recovery contact, or a personal recovery key. We did not read Google's page on how Drive encrypts files, so we do not compare the two.

Stopping payment. Google's help page says that over your limit you cannot upload new files to Drive, and that content becomes eligible for deletion after 2 years over the limit, with at least 3 months' notice. Apple's pages we read do not say how long your data stays while you are over the limit. That does not make Apple's period longer or shorter; the page is silent.

Apple One

Apple One is a bundle, not a storage plan. Apple's Apple One page says it is a monthly subscription with no long-term commitment: Individual is $21.95 a month, Family $27.95 and Premier $39.95. The storage inside is iCloud+ at 50 GB, 200 GB and 2 TB. Apple's iCloud page says iCloud+ is included in all Apple One plans and that you can combine an iCloud+ subscription with Apple One for more total storage.

Over 36 monthly payments those come to $790.20, $1,006.20 and $1,438.20. Apple One pays for up to six Apple subscriptions, so only compare it with a storage plan if you use the rest of what is in it.

Loop

Loop is not storage, and if all you want is room for photos and backups, buy iCloud+. We include it for one narrow case: you have a finished file on your Mac and want to send it as a link with your own name on it, and see when it was opened.

Loop is a Mac app that turns a file into your own branded link. It shows when the link is opened and how long a reader spends on each page, and a reader can sign by typing their full name. Readers open the link in a web browser. Loop costs $49 once for one person.

The files you share sit in your own Cloudflare account, where the first 10 GB is free. Past that, Cloudflare's pricing page, updated 30 October 2026, lists $0.015 per GB-month and no data-transfer charge for downloads. The page also lists charges per million requests past a free allowance, which none of the figures below include. If you held the same files as shared links, the three-year cost is $49 plus about 36 months of Cloudflare storage past the first 10 GB, against the iCloud+ plan those files would fit in:

We worked these out as $49 plus (GB held minus 10) times $0.015 times 36, before Cloudflare request charges. Cloudflare's page says "GB", so read them as about. iCloud+ costs less at 50 GB and under (and nothing up to 5 GB), costs less again from about 119 to 200 GB, and again above about 585 GB. Loop's figure is lower from about 51 to 118 GB and from about 201 to 585 GB, and only because iCloud sells room in steps. The two are not substitutes: Loop needs its $49 even when your files fit in iCloud's free 5 GB, and it holds only the files you chose to share.

If you want to test Loop against your own files first, the 14-day trial starts when you first run it and needs no payment. The pages your readers open show a small "Shared with Loop" badge until you buy a licence. Cloudflare bills you for storage past the free 10 GB. Our setup notes say Cloudflare may ask for a payment method when you switch storage on, even at $0; Cloudflare's pricing page does not say so.

Limits

Loop does a different job from iCloud+. Here is what it does not do:

• It is not storage, backup or sync. Loop does not back up your Mac or sync your folders. It has a Loop location in Finder that lists your links and requests and downloads a file when you open it. It does not replace iCloud Photos or iCloud Backup, and it holds no device backups.
• It costs $49 whatever you store. That applies even when your files fit in iCloud's free 5 GB.
• It needs a Mac to send. Readers can use a web browser.
• It needs your own Cloudflare account for the files.
• It does not send the email. You paste the link into your own mail, or Loop opens a ready-made draft in your mail app for a signing reminder or invite, and you press send.
• It promises no maximum file size.
• A signature is a typed full name. It is a simple electronic signature, and Loop does not check the signer's email beyond its format.

Apple's pages we read do not cover iCloud Drive links, so we say nothing about how they compare. Our post on how long file sharing links last covers expiry, and Mail Drop on Mac covers Apple's way to send a big attachment. For what every plan costs together, see File Sharing Cost.