Free cloud services compared

Not all cloud services are built alike. Now that Google Drive and SkyDrive have hit the market, we take a look at some of the most popular options — what they're for, how you can use them and, most importantly, what you get.

iCloud

If you have an iDevice with iOS 5, you already have access to iCloud. It's mainly for backing up your iPhone or iPad, and anything purchased through iTunes — that is, ebooks, music, videos and apps — as well as contacts, calendars and photos synced via Photo Stream, will not be counted towards the free 5GB limit. But you can also back-up things like app data — for example, PDFs that you have in your PDF app, or documents in iWork or all of your text messages. If you do a lot of work on the fly, then this is great, especially given how often mobile devices go missing.

iCloud has a solution for this, too, though: if you enable iCloud location services, you can log-in to iCloud on the web and track your missing gadget on a map — and even wipe it of sensitive information remotely.

Free: 5GB
Subscription: +10GB (15GB total): US$20/year; +20GB (25GB total): US$40/year; +50GB (55GB total): US$100/year
Maximum file size: 25MB for free; 250MB for paid
Compatibility: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Mac OSX Lion, browser
Automatic sync: Yes, but you have to enable it

Box

If you're an Android, BlackBerry PlayBook, Sony Tablet or HP TouchPad user, now is a great time to sign up to Box — for a limited time, you can get 50GB of storage for free. It's a pretty sweet deal, but there is a catch: you have a maximum file-size limit of 100MB, and your accounts won't sync automatically; you have to refresh them manually. If you miss out on the deals, it's even less; a maximum file size of 25MB, and 5GB of space.

If you're a business user, you get a lot for your money, though: 1000GB of space, with a file-size limit of 1GB, as well as automatic syncing.

Free: 5GB; but up to 50GB, according to a special promotion
Subscription: business: 1000GB, US$15/month; enterprise: unlimited storage, pricing TBA
Maximum file size: 25MB; 1GB; enterprise 2GB
Compatibility: PC, Mac, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Ovi, Windows Mobile, browser, FTP
Automatic sync: no for personal users; yes for business users

Dropbox

Dropbox has a relatively low amount of space provided with a free account, but there are ways to get more. It also seems to be one of the most versatile services out there, with automatic syncing, wide, multi-platform compatibility and no file-size limits if you're uploading from your desktop application. It's really easy to use, too, and includes SSL encryption to keep your data safe.

Free: 2GB
Subscription: Pro 50: 50GB, US$9.99/month; Pro 100: 100GB, US$19.99/month; Teams: 1TB+, TBA
Maximum file size: no limit if uploaded via the desktop app; 300MB via web browser.
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, browser, iOS, Android, BlackBerry
Automatic sync: yes, with selective sync option

SkyDrive

SkyDrive is Microsoft's cloud offering, and it's recently had an upgrade. While the free storage has gone down now — from 25GB to 7GB — if you were already signed up, and had the 25GB, then you get to keep it — but you need to log in and actually claim it, so do it soon. Users now have a range of subscription options, too, as well as downloadable applications for Mac and PC.

SkyDrive also has some of the best pricing around, so if you're on a budget, it's a great way to store your photos.

Free: 7GB
Subscription: coming soon: +20GB (27GB total): AU$10/year; +50GB (57GB total): AU$25/year; +100GB (107GB total): AU$50/year
Maximum file size: 2GB
Compatibility: browser, Mac, PC, iOS, Windows Phone
Automatic sync: yes

SugarSync

SugarSync is one of the most value-laden options available. You only get 5GB with a free account, but its subscription prices are cheaper than those of Dropbox, and you don't have a file-size limit. It also backs up automatically, and is compatible with one of the widest ranges of desktop and mobile OSs. Plus, all files are encrypted with 128-bit AES.

Free: 5GB
Subscription: 30GB: US$4.99/month, US$49.99/year; 60GB: US$9.99/month, US$99.99/year; 100GB US$14.99/month, US$149.99/year; 250GB US$24.99/month, US$249.99/year; 500GB US$39.99/month, US$399.99/year
Maximum file size: no maximum file size
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Outlook
Automatic sync: yes

Amazon CloudDrive

Do you have an Amazon account? Then you already have access to Cloud Drive, and, while you can store documents, photos, videos and music — whatever you like — in Amazon's browser-based service, its biggest value is clearly in its support for your Amazon music purchases. Any MP3 purchases made through the Amazon store are not counted towards your 5GB free limit.

Of course, the best bit of this is unavailable to Australians: any music stored on your Cloud Drive can then be streamed through the Amazon Cloud Player. Boo.

Free: 5GB
Subscription: 20GB: US$20/year; 50GB: US$50/year; 100GB: US$100/year; 200GB: US$200/year; 500GB: US$500/year; 1000GB: US$1000/year
Maximum file size: 2GB
Compatibility: browser; music can be streamed via Amazon Cloud Player
Automatic sync: no

Google Drive

Google Drive is the new face of Google Docs, and it ups the maximum free storage from 1GB to 5GB. As well as the mobile workplace function of Google Docs, you can now also use it to store photos, videos and other media. It's great for always having access to your documents, spreadsheets and PowerPoints, but competitive pricing on higher storage plans makes it a formidable new contender in the marketplace — even if it is now a little more than you were paying for Google Docs.

Free: 5GB
Subscription: 25GB: US$2.49/month; 100GB: US$4.99/month; 200GB: US$9.99/month; 400GB: US$19.99/month; 1TB: US$49.99/month; 2TB: US$99.99/month; 4TB: US$199.99/month; 8TB: US$399.99/month; 16TB: US$799.99/month
(For comparison, Google Docs was priced 20GB: US$5/year; 80GB: US$20/year; 200GB: US$50/year; 400GB: US$100/year; 1TB: US$256/year)
Maximum file size: 1GB
Compatibility: web, Android app; iOS apps coming
Automatic sync: yes

SpiderOak

SpiderOak is similar to Dropbox, in that it allows you to back-up and sync your files, but where Dropbox is a simple, more holistic service, SpiderOak lets you get right into your files and customise down to the last TXT file exactly what you want backed up and synced, and where. You can choose what folders you want to back-up, and even certain file types — or just choose to have them synced between computers.

It is also great for security, using two types of encryption: 2048-bit RSA and 256-bit AES. Additionally, outer-level keys are never stored in plain text — and it's only half the cost of Dropbox.

Free: 2GB
Subscription: 100+GB: US$10/month, US$100/year
Maximum file size: no maximum file size
Compatibility: Mac, Windows, Linux
Automatic sync: yes

Evernote

Evernote's a bit different to other services, in that it doesn't base your subscription on a set amount of space, but rather on a monthly upload limit. Its value lies in its versatility; it's available across a wide range of platforms, and it allows you to sync the notes you create within the app between as many different devices as you like — and you can search them, too, so you can find them easily.

You can make text, audio and photo notes, and you can even add your own external documents. That said, the monthly upload limit indicates that it's more for keeping notes and files in order rather than storing, say, your family holiday snaps or collection of blues MP3s.

Free: 60MB monthly upload limit
Subscription: 1GB monthly upload limit: US$5/month, US$45/year
Maximum file size: 25MB for free account, with 60MB monthly upload limit; 50MB for premium account, with 1GB monthly upload limit
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Palm, web, Windows Phone
Automatic sync: yes, but you have to enable it

ADrive

If you want 50GB, ADrive is a pretty neat way to get it free, and, with a 2GB file-size limit, it's a great deal. What you pay for when you upgrade to a Signature account isn't more storage space — it's FTP, file history, SSL encryption, the ability to hold multiple concurrent sessions (say, if you're sharing files with someone), 24/7 support and an absence of ads — which, for US$6.95 a month, is an attractive package.

Free: 50GB
Subscription: 50GB: US$6.95/month, US$69.50/year; premium 100+GB: US$13.95/month, US$139.50/year
Maximum file size: 2GB
Compatibility: Windows, Linux, Mac
Automatic sync: yes

Cubby

Cubby is from LogMeIn, and it's a pretty sweet deal. You get 5GB of free space, and it offers unlimited P2P sync across PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices for Pro users, which means that you can host your folder on your own device and simply use Cubby to share it, bypassing the cloud storage. If you have a free account, you can also refer a friend for a bump in storage: for every friend who you refer to the service, you get an extra 1GB, with up to 25GB free. For security, it uses 256-bit SSL encryption.

You can use it for your own personal use, or to share your Cubby folders with other people. It's in invite-only beta at the moment, but you can still head on over to the website to sign up.

Free: 5GB
Subscription: 100GB: US$6.99/month (paid annually); US$9.99/month (paid monthly)
Maximum file size: no file-size limitations
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Automatic sync: yes

Wuala

Wuala is a bit pricy, but if security is important to you, then it's worth a look. It encrypts the data on your computer before uploading it to cloud storage, which it does in 128-bit AES; file signatures are then generated as 2048-bit RSA keys, and the files are checked with 256-bit SHA codes. Wuala claims that not even its employees can see what's in your files.

We quite like that files can be shared with others without them having to sign up to the service or download the software, too.

Free: 5GB
Subscription: 20GB: €29/year; 50GB: €69/year; 100GB: €119/year
Maximum file size: 14GB
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS
Automatic sync: yes

Do you have a favourite cloud service that we missed? Let us know about it in the comments below!