Best iCloud Alternative For Backing up Your iOS & Android files

iCloud is a cloud storage service that’s used to sync data across devices. It’s a great tool for syncing pictures and documents, but there are other services that provide the same functionality and with even more features. With the right tools, you can sync photos, videos, music and documents across devices just like iCloud. It is a great cloud storage tool which is by the way provided by apple and offers 5GB of free storage for any user. Beside these limitations it is only available for the apple ecosystem, however a web based version is available where any user from any platform can use it. So, why not have a look at the Best iCloud Alternative For Backing up Your files on any platform that you are.

Best iCloud Alternative For Backing up Your files

There are couple of reasons that I am not recommending iCloud to the users outside of the apple ecosystem. However even if you are an apple ecosystem user use iCloud but at the same time use other platforms cloud storage tool too. That is if you are using the free plan. There are great iCloud alternatives available across the Internet that you can use to back up your files easily and here are some of them that I am introducing.

1. Google Drive

Probably the number one candidate for the best iCloud alternative in my experience is Google Drive. There are couple of reasons, reason number one is that upon the creation of your account Google is providing you 15 GB of free cloud storage. Which is by the way used across the other platforms or Google too such as Gmail, Blogger, and more. Beside a file sharing cloud storage service, you can also use the Google Suit too. Google’s free suit includes the Microsoft Office alternative like Google Docs, Sheets, slides, photos and more. As long as you have a single Gmail account you can use any free service of Google for free, but remember that it will use the 15 GB storage.

Google Drive Features:

1. It offers free 15 GB cloud storage.
2. It is available on Android platform Android, iOS come up windows, or even macOS.
3. An easy and an organizational interface that anyone can use.
4. Share your file, document or video with anyone anytime or sync between your devices.
5. Opens other file extensions like PDF.
6. With a single Gmail, use any free service of Google which includes Google Docs, sheets, keeps, notes, Blogger and more.
7. Security is also pretty awesome and you can also use the two factor authentication application to log in within your account.

Have a look at the pricing plans of Google Drive, compare and purchase the plan that you want.

2. OneDrive

Here is another iCloud Alternative that you can use to backup your files online on your Android, iOS, Windows or MacOS platforms. OneDrive is a cloud storage and synchronization service by Microsoft. It was first released in 2007, and the latest version is available for Windows, Mac OS, Android and iOS platforms. OneDrive is part of the Microsoft Office 365 platform, and it is included in most Office 365 subscriptions.

Like most cloud storage services, OneDrive offers a free account that provides you with 5 GB of storage space. With this version, you can manually upload your files to OneDrive for safekeeping or for sharing with others. There are also options to purchase additional storage space if needed.

For business users, OneDrive is integrated into the SharePoint platform through Office 365 as well. This integration allows you to access your files from any Internet-connected browser or device, or use the mobile apps on your phone or tablet. You can also set file permissions to control user access to files. For example, you can share a large folder with multiple team members and decide which users can edit files and which ones can only view them and download them if needed.

OneDrive Features:

1. Just like Google you can use a Microsoft account on office online and one drive, at the same time you can use that Microsoft account to log in inside your windows.
2. The free basic plan will give you only 5 GB free one drive cloud storage. With these basic plan you can also use the online office too for free.
3. Security is also pretty good but on the basic plan you can only configure three files with identity verification for securing. With the other plans you have to visit Microsoft’s official website.
4. File reservations within 30 days, ransomware protection, password protect it sharing link and exploiting sharing links are also the other features of one drive.
5. It is available across all platforms of Android, iOS, windows and MacOS.
6. Business plan has more advanced features and functionalities that the admin can configure it and share it across The organization.
7. In the end you can use one drive for backing up your files easily and sync it across your devices.

Microsoft pricing plans for homes and businesses are different, even within the home or business plans there are features available based on the plan that you choose. Even though in the below screenshot you will see a general pricing plans of the one drive, but I am still encouraging you to visit the official pricing plans and compare the features for each plan that you are looking to purchase.

3. G Cloud Backup

G Cloud Backup is another iCloud Alternative backup application for Android, iPhone, and iPad devices. The mobile app can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store or iTunes, but you’ll need to pay a small monthly fee for cloud storage. G Cloud Backup offers users 10GB of free cloud storage with their free download of the G Cloud Backup app. Paid plans start at $1.99 per month for 100 GB of storage space and go up to $9.99 per month for unlimited storage.

The mobile app allows you to create an encrypted backup of your phone’s data and content. If something happens to your phone, you can restore all of your backed-up data to a new device right from the G Cloud Backup app. The G Cloud Backup app can also help you locate a lost or stolen phone or tablet when you log into your account on the G Cloud website from any computer or mobile device.

Features of G Cloud Backup:

1. It is truly a backup solution for your smartphone (Android and iOS), it means it doesn’t have a Desktop Application but you can use the web version.
2. When you are using G cloud backup, you can backup contacts, SMS, multimedia messages, call logs, photos, videos, or you can simply set up an automatic backup scheduling.
3. The good thing about the G cloud backup is that aside from your contacts, photos, videos, we can also backup your app data like a preferences settings as well.
4. Based on the G cloud backups official website, all of your data is going to be stored in the Amazon cloud storage with the 256 AES encryption of military.
5. The G cloud backup interface is really easy even for beginners.
6. It is an all-in-one package where you can upload, back up, stream live, and share it with others.
7. And finally you can get 10 GB free storage without purchasing any plans.

They have provided two options of monthly and yearly plans for their cloud storage, but for now on the below screenshot you can see the yearly plans. For more details you have to visit their officials website.

 

4. Mega

Mega is another cloud storage and file hosting provider that you can use to back up your files easily. This is a cross platform web based application that you can use in any platform like Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. For free users mega is really comfortable because only if you are signing up for mega it will give you 15 GB of free cloud storage. Once you use start using the application across your other devices like Android or your tablet the storage will increase up to 65 GB of free storage. The only catch is that you have to visit mega every three months because if you don’t your subscription for the desktop will be removed and you will have 15 GB of storage.

Mega has Couple of Good Features that you need to keep your eye on:

1. It offers up to 65 GB or free cloud storage.
2. It uses end to end encryption for file sharing.
3. Security for Real Time Chat communications.
4. Up until Now there are no bandwidth limitations.
5. This cloud storage can be used for video and audio streaming too.
6. It is supported on every browser, and has apps in Google Play Store and App Store on iOS.
7. In my experience, Mega’s security is a lot better than other platforms. Upon creation of your account, it will give you a recovery key, if you forget your Password, use the Recovery Key to get it back, or else say good bye to your mega account.

In terms of cloud storage, I am definitely preferring to use mega and besides here are also the pricing plans of they make a for individuals and for businesses.

5. Ice Drive

Ice Drive is a relatively young cloud storage provider that’s based in the UK. The company was founded in March 2018 and has been growing ever since. Its plan options are attractive, especially if you’re interested in a lifetime subscription. Like many other cloud storage services, Ice Drive makes it easy to upload your files to the cloud and then access them from any desktop or mobile device with an internet connection. You can also share files with others, stream music and video online, and synchronize selected folders to your computer so they’re always backed up if something happens to your device.

Features of Ice Drive:

1. Ice Drive will give you 10 GB free cloud storage if you have not purchased any plans.
2. You can purchase cloud storage up to 5 TB of storage with a lifetime price.
3. You can use this file sharing application inside your Android, iOS, windows or MacOS. If you’re on Linux use the web based version of these cloud storage hosting provider.
4. It has a built in media player which means you can also stream it your audio or video across the Internet with others.
5. Also share a file with others only for a limited amount of time.
6. On free account you will get 3GB daily bandwidth.
7. In my experience security is also good and it has also the client side encryption available too.

The pricing plans of ice drive is divided into 3 categories of monthly yearly and lifetime. In the below screenshot you will see a lifetime price plans of ice drive however you can also check the price plans yourself.

Conclusion:

SugarSync, Amazon Drive, Dropbox, Pcloud, MediaFire are all also the Best iCloud Alternative for backing up your files. Still, at the moment you can use the Best iCloud Alternatives that I have reviewed in this post. Also, share experience if you have used any of the iCloud Alternative that we mentioned here.