pCloud review: Back your Mac up to the cloud

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating

Pros

Looks great

Folder backup

Media playback

Cons

Unlock process

Our Verdict
Up against the likes of OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox and more, pCloud stands out for its ease of use, colorful interface and flexible payment options.

Price When Reviewed
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We’ve been testing a huge number of cloud-based storage services for your Mac, and while the usual mainstays are still easy to recommend, pCloud might just be worth a look for you.

The Mac app is relatively barebones, but it essentially works in the same way as its rivals, albeit with a delightful web interface (who knew a splash of color could make such a difference?), and the option to buy a lifetime subscription outright. It also acts as a great media player, even in the web app.

Are those features enough to catapult it into first place? Not quite. A bizarre ‘unlock’ process to open up additional free storage is neat but a little irritating, while some of its features like file history are tucked behind an additional paywall.

Still, if you’ve not tried pCloud it’s well worth a look, particularly if you’re a little fed up of the usual heavy-hitters.

First Impressions




File Backup: You can point pCloud at a folder or drive on your Mac and it’ll keep it in the cloud for you.Foundry

Once you’re signed up for an account and download the pCloud Drive app, pCloud will let you upload and sync files on your Mac, so you can point it at a specific location and know it’ll keep things up to date. It’s a nice, hands-free backup option to have switched on just in case you need it.

As with many apps of its ilk, though, it’s essentially a wrapped for the web app. Thankfully, pCloud’s web app is clean, easy-to-navigate, and has a touch of color (you’d be surprised at how rare that is).




Unlocking Process: The way users ‘unlock’ more storage could be seen as an inconvenienceFoundry

Right off the bat, you’ll get access to 4GB of free storage, less than we’re used to but, through the option to ‘unlock’ that can be raised to 10GB. On the one hand, that’s nice, and double what some offer, but on the other, needing to invite a friend for an extra 1GB of storage feels pointless — just give us the 10GB upfront!

pCloud features




Encryption: Encryption will cost extra, even if you’re on a lifetime planFoundry

The secret sauce of OneDrive and Google Drive is that they’re great for creating files as well as storing them, but as with Sync and DropBox, pCloud is much closer to a place to edit documents shared between users, or backed up in the cloud for safe-keeping.

That’s a key distinction because you won’t be creating documents in pCloud, but that means it’s a very lightweight and breezy interface as a result.

You can store and share all types of files, as well as setting a directory for a local folder on your Mac to keep backed up. You can also use a File Requests option to ask for files without sharing your pCloud account information.

Perhaps my favorite feature is that media plays so well within pCloud. Saved a video? You’ll be able to watch it via the in-window player, and the same can be said for audio and images, too. You can even backup social media profiles, which could be ideal for anyone working in community management.

Additional costs are incurred for file history for 360 days (that’s $80 per year), but you do get 15 days to recover files for free, or 30 days with premium. There’s also a ‘Vault’ for storing items with client-side encryption, but that’ll set for back $4.99 per month.

That brings us nicely to cost. You can pay $59.88/£59.88 (currently $49.99/£49.99) for 500GB for a year, or $119.88/£119.88 (currently $99.99/£99.99) for 2TB, which is a solid deal. You can also go for lifetime versions, with 500GB for $299/£299 (currently $199/£199) or $599/£599 (currently $399/£399) for 2TB, or splash $1,890/£1,890 (currently $1190/£1190) for lifetime access to a whopping 10TB of storage.

Sadly, those additional features (the extra file history and vault) aren’t included in those lifetime plans. Considering a user may spend well over $1,000, that’s something worth considering.

pCloud annoyances




Web App: pCloud is pretty welcoming to look at, which is surprisingly rare.Foundry

Aside from those pricing gripes, pCloud is pretty fantastic as an alternative to some of the usual suspects.

That initial unlocking process to get you to the 10GB of free storage feels a minor issue, and you won’t be able to edit documents within pCloud, but short of that, it’s a fantastic option.

Should you buy pCloud?

If you’re looking for lifetime cloud storage, pCloud is well worth a look. It’s also easy to use and has some great extra features that could make it a dream for big libraries of home movies and pictures.